By Ty Brooks
This past weekend:
The rookie players burst onto the scene this weekend that saw a lot of season and OJHL firsts! The standout player among them was #27 Matthew Indovina who recorded 3G-3A in 2 GP this weekend and showed huge improvements in his game. Make sure to keep an eye on the young guys when you come back to Sixteen Mile this weekend!
Oct. 13th vs. the Caledon Admirals
Blades Top Players:
Indovina 3G, 1A
Mikkel Christensen 34/34 SO
Crawford 1G, 2A
Prior to the start of this one, Blades’ co-captain Sean Clarke, presented a $6,003 cheque to Christine Mieczkowski, Wellspring’s Director of Development, the funds raise in this year’s Pink in the Rink game. The organization thanks you all for the support in this worthy cause.
The crowd of over 300 was treated to quite the show on this Friday the 13th game. The rookies shone in a game that saw pure domination from your Blades against the fellow Western Conference Caledon Admirals. A hat-trick, a shutout and a 57 shot offensive display made for quite the show at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex. The Blades would play this very one sided game to a score of 5-0 after 60 minutes.
Former NOJHL forward Silas Crawford had what most would consider his best game of the year in this one, recording a goal and two helpers. This is a promising sign for the veteran forward who the Blades acquired from the Elliott Lake Red Wings, now Vikings, before the season started. He has been playing very well throughout the season but showed another level in this game, demonstrating his wide array of skills to the coaching staff.
The most notable performances however, came from 2 rookies. Goaltender Mikkel Christensen made his 2nd appearance of the season after a very strong showing at the Governors’ Showcase in Buffalo, and he carried his strong play into this matchup as well. A 34 save shutout will go a long way to proving that you belong in this league and although tougher challenges remain ahead, the early signs look great. Christensen is a very athletic goalie and will likely get more starts with performances like those.
The aforementioned performances were undeniably fantastic, but this night belonged to rookie forward Matthew Indovina. With a home ice hat-trick, an assist, and his usual relentless play, Indovina has never looked so good. The Blades faithful quickly got to see the value of Indovina through the pre-season and first couple of games of the year, he’s just everywhere. It’s extremely difficult to not notice Indovina while he’s on the ice, his relentless forechecking, willingness to throw the body and quick feet make him stand out. #27 has quickly worked his way into the hearts of Blades fans as someone who will work tirelessly on the ice to give his team the best chance of winning.
While the spectators at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex have grown used to these performances from Indovina, he showed us a different side of his game in this contest. Indovina has fantastic skill when it comes to stickhandling and finishing abilities. Having completely undressed the goalie twice, this is a side of Indovina I think the team could very easily get used to. He led the team to this victory, a very impressive performance.
Oct. 14th @ the Georgetown Raiders
Blades Top Players:
McCarthy 40/44 SVS .909 SV%
Rosati 1A
Indovina 2A
The 5:30PM matchup in Georgetown at the Mold-Masters SportsPlex, in the Gordon Alcott Arena, was the 2nd time this year these two squads had met. Oakville took the first meeting at the Governors’ Showcase in Buffalo by a score of 4-2.
In this one, Oakville conceded a goal quickly, which we don’t typically see. Nonetheless, Sean Valere would come up strong before the 1st period ended as he tallied his first of the season to tie the game up 1-1. Primary assist on this one goes to Luca Rosati, that’s an OJHL first as Rosati manages his first Jr. A assist! Oakville was able to outshoot the Raiders in the frame by a margin of 17-11 but the score remained 1-1.
The team came out really strong in the 2nd period, and Oakville lit the lamp twice! Go ahead goes to Jack Churchill who registered his first of the season just like Valere did in the 1st. Both of those first goals were also assisted by weekend standout Matthew Indovina who has been on fire recently. Next goal scorer was Jacob Crisp from that all so dangerous top line and we had ourselves a 3-1 hockey game.
Unfortunately for the Blades, their luck ran out here. Georgetown scored 4 unanswered goals, including one into the empty net, and took the 2 points home with a final score of 5-3. That does it for the Blades winning streak, which ends at 7 games. The run was great while it lasted, and one loss does not define this squad, who now sit with a record of 8-3-1 and 5th in the OJHL (24 teams) based on win%. The Blades will be back stronger than ever!
Looking ahead:
Next up are the bitter rivals in the Milton Menace. These are two teams that are always at each other’s throats and the games get crazy! This 1st edition of the 2023-2024 season will be played at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex on Friday, October 20th at 7:00PM. After that, you can come right back the next night at the same time to see the first ever game between the Oakville Blades and the recently promoted Niagara Falls Canucks! It will be an action packed weekend in Oakville so come out and enjoy some of it with us!
