After a big win in Caledon, the Blades travelled to Markham for a Friday night competition with the Royals.
Markham entered this game in third place in the North/West conference, so Oakville had their work cut out for them from the start of the game.
Oakville Blades @ Markham Royals. Sept. 30
The game started weirdly. Markham was given a penalty before the puck even dropped for what has been labelled a "Pre-Game violation."
I am not fully aware of what that meant, allowing the Blades to start the game on the powerplay.
The Blades could not capitalize on that powerplay but were able to on their third.
Cole Mckenna skated behind the net and sent the puck out front to Aidan Taylor, who found the back of the net to give the Blades a 1-0 lead.
Shortly after that goal, Markham took advantage of a missed pass between the Blades and darted in on a 2-on-1.
Steven Klink sent a great saucer pass over to Cole Cooksey. Cooksey beat an outstretched Gavin McCarthy for his sixth goal of the season, tying this game up for the Royals as both teams head into the first intermission.
The Royals took the lead in the second period when Shane Hyman got the puck off a Blades turnover and found Owen Halloran out in front. He scored to give the Royals a 2-1 lead.
Although they were down, the Blades would not be denied.
Markham took a penalty at the 12:08 mark of the second period for cross-checking, putting the Blades on another powerplay.
After some great puck movement by the Blades in the offensive zone, Andrew Brown found Jacob Crisp near the top of the right circle. Crisp sniped the puck past the Markham goalie, bringing the game back to a tie at a 2-2 score as both teams went into intermission tied.
Ten minutes into the third period, the deadlock was broken by the Markham Royals.
Owen Porter took the puck at the point and shot the puck on net. The rebound came out in front of Justin Mauro. He cashed in the rebound, putting the Royals up 3-2.
The Blades tried to push for another goal but were unsuccessful. Markham added an empty net goal to seal a 4-2 victory.
After the game, Jake Alcaraz commented on what didn't go right for the Blades in the third, saying, "I think we just made a few puck-watching mistakes. I think we outplayed them. But we made little mistakes, and we need to take care of business in our own end."
Milton Menace @ Oakville Blades. Oct. 1
After a loss in Milton, Oakville went back home to play Milton Menace.
This season, Milton has picked up right where they left off from last year's North Division title.
Milton is second in the North/West conference and one point behind the Collingwood Blues for first place.
The Blades started the game off well with a powerplay goal by Jacob Crisp to open the scoring.
But after that, all hell broke loose.
Nearly five minutes after the Blades scored, Jake Alcaraz was hit from behind by Miltons Blake Riddal. Alcaraz crashed into the boards and stayed down for a few minutes before being helped off the ice by his teammates and trainer.
Alcaraz left holding his arm in severe pain, no word has been given on his injury, but he may be benched for some time.
Riddle was also given a five-minute major and a game misconduct. He's suspended indefinitely.
That hit left a sour taste in the Blades player's mouths. The team wanted to get back at the Menace for hurting their oldest player.
The Blades could not score on their five-minute powerplay after receiving two minor penalties on the major powerplay.
After both teams returned to even strength, Milton got on the board with a goal by Luca Rea to even the score at 1-1.
Shortly after the Menace tied it, they took the lead. Cory Liu set up Aidan Puley to make the game 2-1 Menace at the end of the first period.
The second period saw little scoring but saw lots of chippy play.
The only goal scored in the period was a powerplay goal by the Menace.
Dylan McFadden took a pass from Ryan O'Toole, dragged the puck to the backhand, and put the puck past the Oakville keeper for a 3-1 lead.
Shortly after the goal, Blades forward Luke Johnston and Menace defenseman Owen Forester mixed it up after the whistle. Both players wrestled to the ground in the hopes of sparking their teams.
Both players were given two minutes for roughing and 10-minute misconduct, but the fun was about to start in the third period.
In the third period, the Menace started with a 5-on-3 advantage.
The Menace scored one goal and another shortly after the last penalty ended, knocking the game out of reach for Oakville.
Milton added two more goals to make it 7-1 and seal a victory. But the game was not over.
With just over four minutes left in the game, Milton's Ryan O'Toole received a game misconduct for checking from behind, the second Menace player to do that.
After that, Blades player Jack Churchill and Menace player Bradley Banach engaged in a fight. The refs ejected both players, and each received a one-game suspension.
Oakville's Cole Mckenna scored the game's final goal, but Milton left this game victorious by a score of 7-2.
Oakville now has an away game Monday against the Toronto Jr. Canadiens. Their next home games will be Friday against Cobourg and Saturday against Pickering.