Blades beat Kings 3-1, now up eight points on Wheatley

Sunday, on a fridged January night, the Blenheim Blades outshot the Dresden
Kings 48-24, and racked up their 23rd victory of the season before a crowd of
395 at the Blenheim Memorial Arena.
The victory gives the third-place Blades 48 points, eight up on the Wheatley
Sharks in the PJHL’s Stobbs Division. Blenheim has now played 34 games and
Wheatley 30 of their 42-game schedule.
Next action for the Blades will be Friday in Dresden against the Kings at 7:30
p.m., with Wheatley playing the Walpole Island Wild on Walpole Island
Thursday at 8.
There will be no game this coming Sunday, with the next home game Sunday,
Jan. 28 against the Wild.
Blenheim was all over Dresden in the first period, outshooting the Kings 20-8
with Tate Bowden giving the Blades a 1-0 lead thanks to his 21st goal of the
season with assists going to Zach Van Boxtel and Brad McAlpine.
Dresden’s Notah Hopkins tied things at 1-1 when he scored a powerplay tally
at 12:58 of the second frame, and things stayed at 1-1 until former King Breck
Rainey netted the eventual game winner at 12:01 of the third period.
The goal was Rainey’s sixth of the season and was assisted by Ethan Chittle
and Owen Reeve.
Dresden continued to press to tie things up, and pulled goalie Joseph
Malinowski late in the period for a sixth attacker, but the move backfired when
Cameron Robertson, who was playing just his second game since joining the
Blades from the Chatham Maroons, scored his first goal at 19:14, with assists
going to Craig Spence and Matt Hayter.
BLADES BITS: Owen Lemieux was in goal for the Blades and picked up his 14th
win of the season…Not dressed for the Blades were Andrew Goulet, Darby
Lemieux, Gavin Meriano, Alec Webster and Nick Cameron…The Blades Alumni
will host a Steak Night Monday, Feb. 5 starting at 6 p.m. at the Blenheim
Legion…Tickets are $20 and available at the admission desk on game
nights…Sunday’s game was Chatham Cyclones Night with all Cyclone players
and staff, wearing a team jersey or jacket getting in for free…The Jan. 28th game

will be Chatham-Kent Crush Night, with players and staff wearing team jerseys
or jackets getting in for free…The three stars of the game were Lemieux, first,
Dresden’s Malinowski, second, and Bowden, third…The ice sponsor was Salas
Mutual Insurance.
Amherstburg 6 Blades 5 OT
Thursday night at home the Blades blew a 4-1 third-period lead over the
Amherstburg Admirals, and ended up losing 6-5 in overtime.
Getting to OT gave the third-place Blades a point to give the club 46 on the
season, six up on the fourth-place Wheatley Sharks who have played three less
games than the Blades.
The Admirals, to get the win were down 4-1 before Jacob Archer cut the
Blenheim lead to 4-2 at 6:45 of the third period.
Allan Djordjevic made it 4-3 at 15:43, before Joey Hayter put the Blades up 5-3
with a powerplay goal at 17:43.
The goal was Hayter’s eighth of the season with assists going to Ryan Sanders
and Everitt Swayze.
Then with 1:46 to play, and the Blades on a powerplay, Archer got his second
of the night, and while still shorthanded and their goalie Josh Courtney on the
bench in favour of a fifth attacker, Stefan Jacobs forced overtime setting up
Ryan Dufour’s game winner at 4:44.
It was the only shot on goal for either team in the OT.
Justin Ewald, with his 13th of the season, had put the Blades up 1-0 in the first
period with assists going to Joey Hayter and Swayze
Archer tied things for the Admirals early in the middle 20 minutes to kick off
his eventual hat trick.
An unassisted goal by Rainey at 7:20 of the second period, his fifth, put the
Blades up 2-1, with McAlpine and Cameron making it 4-1 before the period
ended

Van Boxtel assisted on both goals and Swayze helped set up McAlpine’s 13th
and Bowden did the same on Cameron’s eighth of the season and first as a
Blades since coming from the Essex ’73s.
Blenheim outshot the Admirals 31-20.
The Blades were without five players – Craig Spence (last game of a four-game
suspension), Will McCracken (school), Andrew Goulet, Darby Lemieux and Beau
Moison (injured) and new addition ex-Blade Ayden McKinlay (working).
Another new addition, defenceman Cameron Roberston, played his first game
as a Blade. Both Robertson and McKinlay came from the Chatham Maroons
Wednesday.
Attendance was 303 and the ice sponsor was Brokerlink of Blenheim.