After two road losses, the Blades returned home for a rare Wednesday game against a new rival, the Aurora Tigers. The Blades played the Tigers three times this season, winning one and losing two. The last face-off against the Tigers was a chippy affair that ended in a 5-2 Aurora win.
Adding to Oakville's challenges for this contest, some big names were out, including three of their top five performing players:
- Forward #22 Jacob Crisp with 20 points
- Forward #44 Andrew Brown with 20 points
- Forward #71 Luke Johnston with 16 points.
The Blades had their work cut out for them.
Dec. 14, 2022: Aurora Tigers vs. Oakville Blades
The first period was great, with chances going both ways and goaltenders playing great in their respective nets.
Aurora had slightly better chances than Oakville, but Blades goalie Gavin McCarthy was up to the task.
Toward the end of the period, Oakville’s Matthew Wang intercepted the puck and went on a shorthanded breakaway. A Tigers player hooked him, and the official granted Wang a penalty shot.
Wang skated down the middle, picked up speed, and shot a low blocker, but Tigers goalie Glen Cardell saved the shot to keep the game scoreless as the players headed into the first intermission.
In the second period, Aurora took over and got some great offensive chances.
Sadly for Aurora, Blades goalie McCarthy went full beast mode and stopped every shot.
Oakville rewarded their goalie with a top-shelf snipe into the top right corner by Akimov to give the Blades a 1-0 lead.
Akimov’s goal was the only goal in the second. The Blades went into the intermission up 1-0.
In the third period, the Blades were looking to run out the clock and maybe even get another goal to extend the lead.
Unfortunately, Oakville was unable to keep the puck out of their net. Aurora's Joseph Martino scored to tie the game.
Both teams traded chances for the next seven minutes, but the game was sent to overtime.
In overtime, both teams had chances to score. It all changed with around three minutes left in the first overtime when Matthew Wang took the puck in the Blade's zone and skated it into the offensive zone. He fired the puck past the Aurora goalie to give the Blades a 2-1 lead and two important points in the standings.
Gavin McCarthy spoke after the game about what went right for the Blades, saying, "I think we all built up a lot of courage for this [game] after what happened last game against [Aurora]."
He continued, "The boys came together tonight and got the job done."
Dec. 17, 2022: Georgetown Raiders vs. Oakville Blades
After a big win against Aurora, Oakville returned home to play another big rival, the Georgetown Raiders. The teams had previously competed twice this season, with Blades losing by just one goal each time.
The game did not start the way the Blades hoped. Georgetown got on the board first with a goal by Kaleb Nelson to give the Raiders an early 1-0 lead.
The Blades responded soon after when Jake Alcaraz deflected in an Andrew Brown shot to tie the game 1-1.
Both teams traded chances for the rest of the period, but the first frame ended with a 1-1 tie.
In the second period, Georgetown re-took the lead with a beautiful goal by Kristian Lamanna to make the score 2-1 Raiders.
After Lamanna's goal, the Raiders started to control the game, creating many offensive opportunities and doubling the Blades on the shot clock.
Following Lamanna's goal, Oakville goalie Gavin McCarthy was up to the task and stopped every shot until the end of the period.
When the third period began, the Blades needed to create offence chances to get back in this game, but gifting the Raiders a power play didn't help. Kaleb Nelson took advantage of the opportunity and scored his second of the game to bring the Raiders’ lead to 3-1.
With the Blades down 3-1, they desperately needed a goal. With about six minutes left in the game, Oakville was granted a power play, a prime chance to get back in the game. Unfortunately, the Raiders forced a turnover at the blue line, and Nathan Naves finished off a passing play to make the game 4-1.
During this game, the Raiders more than doubled the Blades' shots on goal. Blades defenseman Luke Modry spoke on how the team can limit the number of shots on the net and get more shots.
"I think we need to hold down our net and protect the house more," said Modry. "In the O-zone, just shoot the puck. [We] tend to stick-handle the puck a little too much."
Oakville’s next game is Tuesday against Burlington. Their final game of 2022 will be at home against Collingwood on Friday, Dec. 23. Puck drops at 7:00 p.m.