By Ty Brooks
March 27th vs. Collingwood
Blades Top Players:
Junkyard Dog: Allison
Fire Extinguisher: Taylor 1G
McCarthy 45/48 SVS .937 SV%
Clarke 1G, 1A
After riding the line of playoff elimination against Collingwood, Oakville came back to the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex and put on a great game for the fans! Staving off elimination and picking up a strong 5-3 where they took the lead early is exactly what we wanted to see from this team, and we got it. We are guaranteed at the very least one more game of Blades hockey in the Buckland Cup playoffs, and on top of that, they have handed the Collingwood Blues their first loss of the postseason. If they can do it once, they can do it again.
The Blades did what they so badly needed to do straight out of the gate in the first period: start stronger. A slow start is what resulted in the disastrous game in Collingwood, but the team didn’t let it happen again. Although they came out of the first period with fewer shots, they came out of it up 2-1 for goals, and that’s what matters when it comes to winning hockey games. Solid all-around performances put the team in a great spot at the end of the first period and, consequently (with a lot of help in the net), for the remainder of the game.
Scoring Summary:
1st Period
G: Taylor (2) (10:00)
G: Donohoe (3); A: Modry (3); Tyrrell (7) (18:05)
2nd Period
G: Kussmann (4), A: Crisp (4), Johnston (1) (18:09)
3rd Period
G: Shantz (3); A: Clarke (4); McKenna (6) (15:09)
G: Clarke (5) A: Akimov (4) (EN) (19:37)
The Play of the Night is a great goal at a great time, really kicking this game off. Aidan Taylor scored unassisted on a beautiful goal that jump started the offence for the team and allowed them to play ahead for most of the game. Off a seemingly routine play, Taylor skated into the offensive end on the forecheck while Bonsteel was draped all over the Blues player that was trying to break out of the zone. Noticing that the opposing player looked like he was trying to dish the puck off to someone else, he skated into the passing lane and perfectly cut off the lateral pass between the two defenders. Then, he toe dragged around the defender, slipped the puck through his legs onto his backhand, and forced it past the goalie for the 1-0 goal! A beautiful play of anticipation and skill that also kickstarted the team and the building in an elimination game nonetheless gets Play of the Night honours.
Game 5
With the series now at 3-1, all eyes move to the next matchup against Collingwood. Game 5 takes place at the Eddie Bush Memorial Arena at 7:00 PM on Friday, March 29th. The Blades showed they can win at home; now the next challenge will be to win on the road, which is especially difficult when the attendance for the first two games there was no lower than 920 people. It’ll be a tough matchup, for sure, but this team is resilient. Let’s hope for a win so that the boys can come back to Oakville once again!
