Canadiens Win Game 3 ; Push Blades to the Brink

Canadiens win Game 3; push Blades to the brink of elimination

  LAKESHORE – The Lakeshore Canadiens are now one win away from advancing to the Provincial Junior Hockey League Stobbs Division semi-final playoffs, and the Blenheim Blades are one defeat away from seeing their 2019-20 season come to an end following Lakeshore’s 6-2 victory over the Blades Friday night in Lakeshore.

   Lakeshore has won all three games to date, with Game 4 set for Sunday at 7 p.m. at the Blenheim arena. If the Blades win, Game 5 will be Tuesday at 7:30 in Lakeshore.

   In other quarter-final action Friday the Mooretown Flags took a 2-0 lead in their series with the Dresden Kings, thanks to a 9-2 win in Dresden, with Game 3 Saturday at 7:30 in Mooretown.

  Also Saturday at 8 p.m. the Wheatley Sharks will be looking to take a stranglehold on the Essex ’73s when they play Game 3 in Essex with Wheatley up 2-0.

   Lakeshore scored three times in the first period, twice in the second, and once in the third for the win. The Blades netted a single tally in the first and second periods.

   Jake Nimmo netted the first two goals of the opening 20 minutes for Lakeshore, followed by a single marker by Matt Smith. Nimmo’s second score came a on powerplay.

    The Blades Christian Moccia made it 3-1 Lakeshore at 19:11 on a two-man advantage powerplay with assists going to Seth Henderson and Sebastian Stubberfield.

   Andrew Thoms’ powerplay goal at 2:42 of the second period upped the Lakeshore lead to 4-1, with Blenheim’s Malcolm Campbell cutting that in half at 9:26 with an assist going to Darby Lemieux.

    Ameen Fadel put Lakeshore up 5-2 with 40 seconds left in the middle 20 minutes, and Adam Pizzo wrapped up the scoring for the night at 14:41 of the third.

    BLADES BITS: Blenheim was missing five regulars for various reasons Friday  – Will McCracken, Sam McKinlay, Spencer Chatel, Tyler Davis and Carter Wright…Caleb Pinsonneault was in net for the Blades and faced 45 shots, while his teammates managed just 23 on the Lakeshore net…The Canadiens took 14 of 26 penalty minutes called by referee Andy Anthony, and were two-for-four on the powerplay, while the Blades scored once on five chances…Attendance was 496.