Blades fall 4-1 in to Essex in Season Finale

The Blenheim Blades wrapped up their 40-game Provincial Junior Hockey

League Stobbs Division season Sunday night losing to the Essex ’73s 4-1 before

330 fans at the Blenheim Memorial Arena.

For the year the Blades had a record of 11-24-2-3 for 27 points, and an eighth

place finish.

Finishing eighth means the Blades will play the defending champion, and regular

season first-place finishing, Lakeshore Canadiens in a best-of-seven quarter-final

series that will being Tuesday night in Lakeshore at 7:30 p.m.

Game 2 will be in Blenheim Thursday at 7, with Game 3 back in Lakeshore Friday

at 7. The Blades will host Game 4 Sunday at 7.

In the other quarter-final series Mooretown Flags will play the Dresden Kings,

Amherstburg Admirals will take on the Petrolia Flyers, and Essex will tangle with

the Wheatley Sharks.

Essex scored three times in the first period thanks to goals by Jack Sanko, Ty

Moss and Alex Demers.

There was no scoring in the middle 20 minutes, with Liam Hall putting his team

up 4-0 at 8:44 of the third frame.

Blenheim’s lone tally came on a powerplay with 14 seconds to go thanks to a

shot by defenceman Noah Tetrault with assists going to Derek Hueni and Kyle

Hachey.

The goal was Tetrault’s first of the season, and first as a Blade in 73 games over

the past two seasons.

BLADES BITS: The game was the last regular season career one for the team’s

two overage players – Hueni and netminder Chris DeWulf…Prior to the opening

faceoff the duo and their parents gathered on the ice for a pre-game

ceremony…DeWulf and Hueni presented their moms with flowers and their dads

took part in a ceremonial puck drop…DeWulf was in goal for the game and faced

53 shots while his teammates fired 23 on the Essex net…On the season the Blades

scored just 92 goals, second fewest in the league to Wallaceburg’s 62, and took

972 minutes in penalties, second highest to Essex’s 1,053…Sam McKinlay and

Jaxon Boucher did not dress because of injuries, while Carter Wright sat out his

second of a two-game suspension…The Blades went one-for-four on the

powerplay and Essex was 0-5…Third-year forward Seth Henderson led the team in

goals scored (18), assists (20) and points 38…In his first two seasons Henderson

scored just 11 goals and had 10 assists…Christian Moccia was second in scoring

with 25 points…For the third year in a row the Blades finished fifth in attendance

for the entire 63-team PJHL behind Essex, Lakeshore, Amherstburg and

Woodstock….Sunday’s game was the first for former Blade Keegan MacVoy

against his old team…Sunday’s ice time sponsor was Sobeys of Blenheim.