what a game for the 1100+ in attendance. not sure where they were hiding about 400 people.
exciting game as both teams battled hard for every moment. goaltenders started slightly shaky but found their groove. savage was brilliant making several clutch saves through the first and second. not sure what happened in the third. newmarket took a couple sloppy penalties that cost them and mcparland had two near breakaways but the score doesnt reflect the closeness of the game.

the final saturday night should be awesome.


p.s. smc and mattyb you were both in attendance lets hear each of your rports so you can bicker about them. (lol).

Oakville was the better team in the third period. Newmarket came out in the third looking to sit back to protect the league and the Blades let them have it. Their speed and quickness on the boards resulted in Newmarket taking penalties because they were getting beat in one on one battles. Once Newmarket took their foot off the pedal they were unable to find it again. Getting outshot 19-4 in the third coupled with only getting 23 shots on Wren tells the whole story of the game.

Savage played really well, but I don't think Wren ever really settled down. The Oakville defense played very well while Newmarket did not throw enough rubber at him. If Wren plays on Saturday then Newmarket has a chance, but they need to throw a lot more rubber at him.

Vito made his return to the Rink and made a totally ass of himself as always. I'd like to know who the kid is who was sitting with him and challenging a Newmarket player to fight. Just a note for him, your not on the ice anymore and the newmarket kid is. Good work.

Toronto Maple Leafs= Ford Motor Company

Newmarket can beat Oakville just not the spotty officiating by the referee tonight. No idea what backwoods league they found this guy in, him and his linesmen couldn't ref a tyke game let alone the most hyped game of the Dudley thus far, the finals aside! Awful penalty calls, blown icings, it all just left a bad taste in my mouth when the third period buzzer sounded. Savage stood on his head in net although the team in front of him wasn't able to do much damage on 23 shots including a few missed opportunities that were all but gimmes during the regular season; where was Greenham in net for Oakville? Definitely caught off guard by the announcement of his scratch after the warm ups. All in all, I'm certain the Canes will beat the Blades on Saturday when it matters most although having played five games in five nights by that point anything can happen!

As for Vito, I thought I heard his voice at one point during the third period but I wasn't sure...it's been a while!

Greenham turned 21 on the 24th. If he plays any more games he will lose NCAA eligibility for at least one year.

If you want to know about the Greenham situation, check out the Tiger Paw Forum under the thread "Another Big Blade Win".

Hey Craig, Bryon and I enjoyed discussing the Greenham situation with you last night and getting an update on the Otters. Always enjoyable.

I think my friend "Matty B" has covered last night's game very well. The only thing that I would add is that I really thought at the end of the 2nd that the Hurricanes were in a position to win, even though they were being badly outshot. The Tigers have found over the years that outshooting the Canes sometimes means nothing. I can recall outshooting them many times and losing in the end. I think what really did them in was the 4 penalties in a row in the 3rd from the 4.43 mark to the 13.01 mark. Not only did Sparks score the tying goal at 12.03 on a PP, but the total penalty minutes put the Canes on the defensive for a long stretch and it's tough to score when you have to kill penalties. I was really surprised that in such a crucial game, that the Canes lost a bit of their cool in the 3rd, but then again that has been one of the problems with this team all year. Very impressed with the Blades for not incurring a penalty and staying on the ice in the 3rd, getting the job done and earning that all important bye into the final Saturday night.

Before last night's game Nick McParland had scored 6 goals in 2 games. I haven't coached for a while, but I would have put a "Shadow" on McParland. Years ago one of the greatest Junior "A" coaches of all time "Hap" Emms of the Boston Bruin Junior "A" Barrie Flyers used to put a shadow on Frank Mahovolich every time we played them. He used to put a speedy player by the name of Jack Loveday on the Big "M". Loveday would stay with big Frank everywhere he went on the ice, even follow him to the bench on line changes and if Frank went for a "leak" Loveday would go with him. Result, Frank's goal output against the Barrie Flyers was held to a minimum all season, and believe me "Frank the Tank" could score goals at will, when he wanted to in Junior but not against the Barrie Flyers. I know the coaching game has changed considerably today and coaches are reluctant to take a player out of play to "shadow" someone. McParland now has 8 goals in 3 games, if I were coach Perrin, I would be seriously considering a "Shadow" for McParland Saturday night, provided the Canes beat the Ice Dogs tonight of course.

If the Canes do meet the Blades Saturday night, I think it will be a real "Barnburner" now that Newmarket has had a "sniff" of possibly beating the Blades. This Dudley is not over yet.

Couldn't believe the "imfamous" Vito cheering on Oakville behind their bench last night. What happened did Newmarket fire him?? Whatever team he is behind, he managed once again to show his "no class" antics. As for the young man taking on the Cane players with some choice verbal remarks, it was an ex RBC Tiger from last season, actually he was one of the Tigers that was responsible "big time" for Aurora going all the way and winning the RBC. There was never any love lost between him and the Canes, especially with Soso who seemed to the target of his "affections". I will leave it up to you to figure out who he was. All I can say is that if the Tigers had him this year, the Cats would be playing Saturday night.