Blades fall in 6-5 OT to Lakeshore

BELLE RIVER – The Blenheim Blades need to find a way to pick up an
overtime road victory as Friday night the team lost 6-5 to the
Lakeshore Canadiens in OT, marking the third time in as many road
OTs that they have missed scoring the game winner.
That said they did pick up a point and now have 35, and sit third in
the Provincial Junior Hockey League’s Stobbs Division, three points up
on the fourth-place Wheatley Sharks, and 10 ahead of the fifth-place
Mooretown Flags.
The Canadiens, with the win, now have 43 points, and are in second
place, six behind the first-place Essex ’73s, who will be in Blenheim
Sunday night to take on the Blades at 7 p.m.
Friday’s game saw lots of scoring with Lakeshore leading 2-1 after
the first period. The teams were tied at 3-3 after 40 minutes had been
played, and 5-5 after 60 minutes.
It took only one minute and 27 seconds for Lakeshore to record their
fifth victory in as many games against the Blades thanks to Tyler
Hamlin’s second goal of the game.
Hamlin also scored in the first period to put his club up 2-1, with
Liam Sinasac, Aedan Sullivan and Maetto Frattaroli netting the other
Lakeshore tallies.
Darby Lemieux scored twice for the Blades, with his second one
coming with just six seconds left in the third period to force overtime.
Lemieux now has nine goals and 22 points in 20 games.
Zach Van Boxtel, with his 10th, Sam Warriner, his fifth, and Craig
Spence, his third, had the other Blenheim goals.
Both Warriner and Spence scored powerplay markers.

Ben Barnard, Ethan Waddick, Connor Roth, Ben Brooks, Austin
Drew, Spence, Warriner and Tate Bowden recorded an assist each.
BLADES BITS: Owen Lemieux was in goal for the Blades and faced 38
shots, while his teammates fired 35 on the Lakeshore cage…Not
dressed for Blenheim were Evan Wells, Daniel Norton and Connor
Wright…There was lots of excitement in the last two minutes of
regulation time as Frattaroli scored with 1:46 to play, and then
Lemieux forced overtime with his goal at 19:54 with netminder Owen
Lemieux on the bench in favour of a sixth attacker…The Blenheim
Blades Alumni Association with be hosting their first “Steak Night”
since 2019 because of the Covid pandemic on Monday, Jan. 30 at the
Blenheim Legion…Ticket are $20 each, and will be available at Blades
home game through Jan. 29.