Hockey / Blades hold off Wallaceburg, win 4-3

Blades hold off Wallaceburg, win 4-3

Date:  Source: Blenheim Blades Junior C Hockey Team
WALLACEBURG – The Blenheim Blades ran their Provincial Junior Hockey
League Stobbs Division record to 4-3-0-1 Saturday night thanks to a narrow 4-3
victory over the Wallaceburg Thunderhawks in Wallaceburg.
The Blades have now picked up a point in each of their last three games – two
wins and an overtime loss – with all three being played on the road. The team will
wrap up a four straight road games stretch Tuesday when they travel to Essex to
play the ’73s at 7 p.m.
Next home game for the Blades will be Sunday when the Mooretown Flags
come to town at 7 p.m.
The two points gained Saturday gives the team nine in eight games to date, and
sole possession of third place, one up on the Amherstburg Admirals who are
fourth, and three in front of the Dresden Kings, Wheatley Sharks and Petrolia
Flyers all tied for fifth with six points each.
The Flags lead the league with 16 points, with the Lakeshore Canadiens second
at 14.
The Flags were beaten for the first time this season when they dropped a 5-3
verdict to the Admirals Saturday in Mooretown.
In Saturday’s Blades game Wallaceburg kept things close until the final buzzer
by scoring three powerplay goals as the Blenheim continues to spend way too
much time in the penalty box.
Fifteen minors and four misconducts totaled 70 penalty minutes, and moved
the Blades into second place in the nine-team division with 191 minutes. Petrolia
leads the league with 244 minutes.
The Blades got on the board first when Seth Henderson scored his eighth goal
in as many games at 6:27 of the first period. Sam McKinlay and Keegan MacVoy
assisted with the tally that came on a powerplay.
Halfway through the period Christian Moccia upped the lead to 2-0 with his
secon score of the season assisted by Henderson and Ryan Malott.
 
Then the penalty problems began with Wallaceburg tying things at 2-2 thanks
to powerplay goals by Jake Vancoillie at 13:37 of the first period and Blake Doe at
5:56 of the second.
Things stayed tied until Moccia netted his second of the night at 12:53 of the
third frame followed by Alex Cunningham’s shorthanded goal at 13:41 to give the
Blades a 4-2 lead.
Henderson and Malott again assisted on Moccia’s tally, with McKinlay and
Sebastian Stubberfield helping out on Cunningham’s first of the year.
However Wallaceburg wasn’t done at that point as Vancoillie netted his second
powerplay marker of the night at 14:35 to cut the Blades lead to 4-3, but that was
as close as the Thunderhawks could get.
BLADES BITS: Caleb Pinsonneault started in goal for the Blades but was
replaced by Chris DeWulf after Doe’s goal tied the game at 2-2…Pinsonneault was
having problems with his contact lenses…The Blades outshot Wallaceburg 41-
40…Attendance was 125.