Blades get payback, beat Sharks 5-2 before huge crowd

The Blenheim Blades, after losing 3-2 in overtime Wednesday night to the Wheatley Sharks, bounced back Sunday evening before a huge
crowd of 529 fans to defeat the same Sharks 5-2 and move back into sole possession of third place in the Provincial Junior Hockey League’s
Stobbs Division.

The Blades now have 25 points in 21 games, while the Sharks remain in fourth with 23 in 19 games. Blenheim will hit the road Saturday for a 7 p.m. contest against the
sixth-place Amherstburg Admirals before returning next Sunday to host the second-place Lakeshore Canadiens at 7 p.m.
Blenheim opened the scoring when defenceman Ethan Waddick, who came to the team Thursday in a deal with the Dresden Kings, scored on his first shot as a Blade at 1:29 of the first period.  Tate Bowden and Austin Drew set up Waddick’s goal.
Wheatley’s Blake McNally tied things at 8:37 for the only scoring in the first period.  The Sharks then went ahead 2-1 thanks to a powerplay goal by Kyle Green at 10:44 of the middle 20 minutes, with Daniel Norton sending the teams to the third period tied 2-2 with his fourth score of the season at 15 minutes with assists going to Ben Barnard and Evan Wells

Connor Roth netted a powerplay tally for the Blades with just 38 seconds remaining in the second frame. The goal was Roth’s fourth with assists going to Ian Campbell and Sam Warriner. All the third-period scoring came off the sticks of Blades players with Warriner netted his second of the year on a powerplay with just 2:10 gone in the frame, assisted by Noah Prudhomme and Alec Webster, and Connor Wright scoring his fifth into an empty Wheatley net at
18:42. Barnard assisted on the play.Owen Lemieux was between the pipes for the Blades, and stopped 35 shots, while his teammates fired 32 on the Wheatley net. In Wednesday’s OT loss to the Sharks, the Blades led 2-1 on a pair of Campbell’s goals (his sixth and seventh of the season) late in the third period before Wheatley’s Braedon Caetano scored at 16:17 to force overtime. Greene scored to give the Sharks the win at 5:47 of the extra time. Ryan Cronheimer had given Wheatley 1-0 first period lead before
Campbell netted his two goals. Campbell’s first goal was unassisted, with Ryan Sanders and Owen Reeve helping out on the second. Jake Vancoillie was in net Blenheim and made 25 saves, while the Blades fired 30 shots on the Wheatley goal.

BLADES BITS: The Blades have six more games before the Christmas
break…At home they will face the Lakeshore Canadiens, Wallaceburg
Lakers and the Sharks, and will play on the road in Amherstburg,
Dresden and Wheatley…Not dressed for Blenheim Sunday were Craig
Spence, Jaxon Boucher, Reeve and Zach Van Boxtel…Not dressed for
the Blades Wednesday were Van Boxtel, Spence and Alex
Edwards…Campbell was named the third star of the game…In
November the Blades won four of eight games, lost three in
regulation time and one in OT for nine points…The team scored 28
goals and gave up just 17 for the month…Guests of the Blades Sunday
were members of the various Chatham Crush hockey
teams…Waddick, Warriner and Owen Lemieux were named the three
stars…Ice sponsor was Blenheim Food Basics.