PETROLIA – Blenheim Blades, only able to score four goals in their last four Provincial Junior Hockey League Stobbs Division games that included three defeats and a tie, turned things around Thursday night in Petrolia by putting eight tallies on the scoreboard in an 8-3 thrashing of the Petrolia Flyers.

   The win, the Blades third of the season, brings their seventh-place record to 3-5-1-0 for seven points, three up on the eighth-place Flyers, and four behind the sixth-place Mooretown Flags.

   Next action will be Sunday when the winless Wallaceburg Lakers come to town for a 7 p.m. game at the Blenheim arena. Tuesday the Blades will be in Essex to tangle with the ’73s before hosting the Amherstburg Admirals Thursday at 7.

   Unlike recent games the Blades started off on the right foot with Kier Cumming scoring with just 1:54 gone in the opening period. The goal was the third on the season for Cumming.

    Then the Flyers took over with Matt Hunt scoring at 4:51 and Lucas Ross at 7:27.

    That lead did not last long as at 8:37 the Blades captain Dede Cato was sent off for crosschecking, and while he was in the box Christian Moccia scored his second and third goals of the year to put the Blades back on top.

    “Scoring two shorthanded goals by the same player on the same penalty kill is pretty rare,” said Blades director of player personnel Bill Saunders. “I have been around this game for a long time and don’t remember seeing it happening before.”

    Cumming then added his second of the night, and fourth of the season, at 17:05 to give the Blades a 4-2 lead after 20 minutes.

    Blenheim added two more goals in the second period; the first by rookie defenceman Sebastian Stubberfield, and the second by another rookie Malcolm Campbell.

   Stubberfield’s tally was his first as a Blade and Campbell’s was his team high sixth.

    Petrolia made it 6-3 at 13:35 of the third period thanks to a goal by Jack Hackett, but Seth Henderson than scored his first two of the year – one at 14:37 and the other at 15:57 – to wrap up the scoring for the night.

    Another rookie Cam Symons was awarded a penalty shot with 1:34 to play, but was stopped by Petrolia goalie Josh Lorganger.

   Chris DeWulf played the first 53 minutes and 35 second in goal for the Blades stopping 50 shots, with AP netminder Kaleb Moore finishing up. Moore stopped all seven shots sent his way.

  Another AP player, forward Chandler Glassford of Ridgetown, played his first game and assisted on Henderson’s initial goal.

   Moore plays ‘AA’ hockey in Riverside and Chandler ‘AA’ in Chatham.

   BLADES BITS: Besides Chandler’s assist the Blades had 11 other helpers…Will Tetzlaff led the way with three, with Drew Marlatt and Cato getting two each, and Stubberfield, Derek Hueni, Noah Tetrault and Keegan MacVoy one apiece…The Blades will be without Tetrault Sunday as he will be sitting out a one-game suspension for a head contact major in the last 10 minutes of the third period…For the second game in a row it was a constant trip to the penalty box for both teams as referee Chris Harwood called everything in sight…The Blades racked up 52 minutes in penalties and the Flyers 38…Moccia was the game’s first star and Tetzlaff the second…Attendance was 155.