The Oakville Blades pulled out a 4-3 (OT) overtime victory over the Buffalo Jr. Sabres on a clutch goal by Todd Bannerman.

The win gave Oakville a 1-0 lead in the best of seven series.

The Blades overcame a two-goal deficit to capture the victory. Oakville fell behind 2-0 after a short handed goal by Buffalo's Tim Kielich at 13:36 in the first period. The Blades tied things up at 3-3 on a goal by Kielich at 19:35 in the third period.

Both teams had a hard time staying out of the box, and they combined for 16 penalties during the game.

Oakville's penalty kill was spotless, allowing no goals on four Buffalo power plays. The Jr. Sabres were unable to stop the Blades from sending pucks towards the net, and Oakville eventually piled up 37 shots on goal.

Sean Federow also scored for Oakville. More assists for Oakville came via Conor McGlynn, who had two and Bradley Ryan, Stephen Hickey, Tyler Karius, Tye Campbell, and Brad Kobryn, who contributed one a piece.

Buffalo put up an impenetrable defensive front on the penalty kill, and did not allow the Blades to score on any of their four power plays. The Jr. Sabres' offense rang up 35 shots on Oakville's net. Buffalo could not stay out of the penalty box, as the team accrued 16 minutes in penalties during the game.

Buffalo also got a goal from Rocky Gruttadauria as well. Other players who recorded assists for Buffalo were Jacob Ledyard, Chris Luker, Ryan Schmelzer, Max Mikowski, and Mark Arnone, who each chipped in one.

The Blades' James Prigione stopped 32 shots out of the 35 that he faced. Oakville incurred 16 minutes in penalty time with eight minors. Parker Gahagen rejected 33 shots on goal for the Jr. Sabres.