The young Blenheim Blades have played 14 games this Provincial Junior Hockey
League Stobbs Division season and in half of them they have fallen behind 2-0
only coming back once to win when they rallied with three third-period goals to
beat the Petrolia Flyers 3-2 in their home opener Oct. 3.
Sunday night at the Blenheim Memorial Arena the Blades were down 2-0 after
the first period and eventually fell to the Wheatley Sharks 5-1.
The loss was the second in a row for the Blades, who are now 6-8-0-0 for 12
points on the season. Going into the weekend they were fourth in the nine team
division, but after losses to the third-place Mooretown Flags Saturday and
Sunday’s defeat at the hands of the Sharks they now sit sixth, a point behind the
Sharks and three in back of the now fourth-place Amherstburg Admirals.
Next action for the Blades will be the annual Dave Baldwin Alumni Night game
Saturday at 6 p.m. at the arena against the Dresden Kings. Prior to the game
former Blade and current Blades Alumni president Dave O’Brien will be inducted
into the Blenheim Blades Hall of Fame.
Ashton Anderson and Shannon Olson scored first period goals for the Sharks to
give them a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes.
There was no scoring in the second period, with Wheatley adding third period
tallies from Olson again, Matt Carvalho, on a powerplay, and Anderson again to
go up 5-0 before Ayden McKinlay scored his second of the season with just a
minute and 47 seconds to play.
Brett Wegrzyn assisted of the play.
Both teams have 29 shots on goal.
BLADES BITS: The Blades were without veteran assistant captain Connor Wright
for the game as he was sitting out his first of a four-game suspension for a
discrimination penalty he was assessed Saturday in Mooretown…Then at 4:05 of
the first period the team’s leading scorer and assistant captain Tate Bowden was
ejected when he was assessed a two-minute checking-from-behind penalty…That
was followed by the team’s second leading point getter assistant captain Seth
Henderson being ejected at 1:41 of the second period when he was given a five
minute crosschecking penalty and a game misconduct…The PJHL will put on two
prospects games in December with players from the West Conference (the Blades
conference) playing players from the South Conference Saturday, Dec. 18 at 1
p.m. in Norwich…Blades selected to play in the game are 16-year old goalie Jake
Vancoillie and 17-year old defenceman Alex Edwards…The games are to give
scouts from higher level teams a chance to look at some of the various
conference’s best young player…Sunday’s ice time sponsors were Blenheim’s SM
Freight and Blenheim Food Basics.