Hamilton vanquishes Oakville in shootout, 3-2 (2-1 SO)
Three periods of regulation and an overtime session were not enough to settle matters as the Hamilton Red Wings defeated the Oakville Blades in a shootout 3-2 (2-1 SO).
The shootout lasted for five attempts between the teams. Oakville's shootout goal was scored by Ross Sloan. In addition to the clincher, Hamilton got a shootout goal from Corey Caruso.
The Red Wings were sparked by Alex Zaccaria, who finished with one goal and one assist. Zaccaria scored 12:59 into the third period to make the score 2-1 Hamilton. Marco Mattina assisted on the tally.
Hamilton was paced by Zaccaria, who grabbed one goal and one assist.
The Red Wings excelled on the penalty kill, not giving up a single goal in five chances.
Mitch Reid also scored for Hamilton. More assists for Hamilton came via Caruso, who had one.
The Blades managed to stay out of the box better than usual, tallying one minor for two minutes in penalty time. Oakville wound up below its season average of 18.0 penalty minutes per game.
The Blades were led by Kris Bennet, who racked up two goals. Bennet scored the first of his two goals at 19:43 into the second period to make the score 1-0 Oakville. Greg Campbell provided the assist. Bennet's next tally made the score 2-2 with 1:28 left in the third period. Sean Perichak picked up the assist. In addition, Oakville received assists from Daniel Jelic and Matthew McLeod, who contributed one a piece.
Mark Sinclair made 28 saves for Hamilton on 30 shots. The Red Wings incurred 10 minutes in penalty time with five minors. Oakville's Brendan McGlynn stopped 27 shots out of the 29 that he faced. For the Blades, Chris Poletek was ejected from the game.
