Oakville's attempt at sweeping the Mississauga Chargers in a back-to-back series proved to be successful on Friday, defeating their rivals from down the road 7-1 almost a week after taking the 6-2 victory.
It took the Blades a few minutes to get their feet really moving in the game. But when they finally did, they were able to find the scoresheet first. On the first shot of the game, Christian Rajic continued with his tremendous season by tipping in a shot from Daniel Jelic in front of the net, giving Oakville the 1-0 lead.
With eight minutes off the clock, the Blades found themselves back on the board. Rajic was off to a great start to the game, beating Tyler Richardson for the second time after his shot beat the Chargers goaltender. It gave Oakville the 2-0 lead before the half-way point of the first. Ryan Garvey would get credit for his second point of the night, helping create the play in the offensive zone to add some extra ticks in the point column.
Everything was going right in the early stages of the game, with the Blades taking the 3-0 lead with 15 minutes off the clock. Ryan Foss would do most of the work, dancing around three Mississauga players, but it would be Oliver Benwell tipping the puck in just before it crossed over the goal line to take the three-goal advantage.
Blades fans are very familiar with the dominant playing style of Josh Kosack and Tyler Rollo, so seeing them connect for the 4-0 goal wasn't much of a surprise. At the two-minute mark of the second, Kosack made a nice pass in front to his fellow Team Canada East teammate, with Rollo tapping in the puck to extend Oakville's lead.
Rajic may have missed a good chunk of the season due to a hand injury, but it definitely didn't show on Friday. Just as the game hit the half-way point, the young Oakville star put in his third goal of the game after deflecting a shot over Richardson, making it 5-0 for the Blades.
Mississauga would score after 33 minutes of play. A goal by Bryce Misley with just over two minutes to go in the second made sure to bring the crowd back to their feed. Misley, a recent commit with the University of Vermont on the NCAA, scored a nice goal after backing the puck over Richardson just in front of the crease to give Oakville the 6-1 lead heading into the intermission.
The third period started off very well, with the Blades adding to their score count. Kosack would find the back of the net on his own, pushing it into the white paint behind the Chargers goaltender to make it 7-1 with just two minutes completed. It was the final marker in an eventful game for the Blades, who finished off the Chargers with a six goal differential.
With the win, the Oakville Blades will shift their focus to their annual "Pink in the Rink" event this Saturday. All net proceeds from this event will be going to the Canadian Cancer Society. During the evening, there will be special cancer survivor tributes, a "Puck Toss", a 50/50 Draw, a bake sale, and more.
This event will prove not only entertaining for those in attendance, as two long-time teams in the OJHL (Oakville Blades vs. Milton Icehawks) will be battling it out; but also, we hope to surpass last year's impressive goal of over $20,000! Puck drop is at 7:30 pm, hope to see you there!