Shannon Coulter
The moment has finally arrived for the Oakville Blades to welcome the best Junior A teams in Canada to compete on its home ice.
The Blades have been patiently waiting for the Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons, to get underway after a second-round exit in the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) playoffs. After defeating the Buffalo Jr. Sabres in six games, Oakville lost to the eventual OJHL champion Collingwood Blues in a five-game quarterfinal.
That series finished March 29, which means it will have been 40 days until the team returns to the ice May 10 at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex for its tournament opener against the Miramichi Timberwolves.
Noah Tyrrell led the Blades offensively with 58 points (28-30—58) in 54 games, including 22 points (11-11—22) in 21 games after a deadline trade from the North York Rangers. The 20-year-old added a team-high five goals and 12 points in the playoffs.
The Blades earned a 32-20-3-1 record in the regular season, good for fourth in the West Conference and ninth overall in the OJHL.
The offence was middle-of-the-pack, finishing 15th in the 24-team league with 180 goals, but it was a different story between the pipes, Oakville allowed only 151 goals, which slotted the team fourth in the OJHL. Gavin McCarthy led the way in the crease, boasting a 23-15-2-1 record, a 2.59 goals-against average (10th in the league) and a .928 save percentage (second in the league).
The Blades also iced the OJHL’s best power play, clicking at a 38.9% success rate, although they enjoyed only 95 power plays in 56 games – 34 less than Burlington, which had the second-lowest total.
This will be the Blades’ fourth appearance at the Centennial Cup. They last competed in 2019, earning a third-place finish, their best ever. Oakville is looking to join the list of 22 hosts who won Canada’s National Junior A Championship on home-ice—a feat that has not been accomplished since 2019.
HOW THEY GOT TO OAKVILLE
Ontario Junior Hockey League Preliminary round: defeated Buffalo Jr. Sabres 4-2 (6-2, 6-1, 4-0, 2-3 OT, 2-3, 6-1) Quarterfinal: lost to Collingwood Blues 4-1 (2-3, 2-4, 1-10, 5-3, 0-3)
REGULAR SEASON
Record (W-L-OTL-T): 32-20-3-1 (9th in OJHL) Goals for: 180 (15th in OJHL) Goals against: 151 (4th in OJHL) Power play: 37 for 95 (38.9% – 1st in OJHL) Penalty killing: 27 of 105 (74.3% – 17th in OJHL) Longest winning streak: 8 (Feb. 19-March 3)
Top 3 scorers: • Noah Tyrrell – 28G 30A 58P (T-33rd in OJHL) • Luke Johnston – 18G 35A 53P (T-48th in OJHL) • Sean Clarke – 14G 39A 53P (T-48th in OJHL)
PLAYOFFS
Record: 5-6 Goals for: 36 Goals against: 33 Power play: 7 for 22 (31.8%) Penalty killing: 8 of 25 (68.0%)
Top 3 scorers: • Noah Tyrrell – 5G 7A 12P • Max Donohoe – 3G 7A 10P • Eric Bonsteel – 1G 9A 10P
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
2019 – Oakville Blades | 3rd place | 2-3 | 17GF 22GA 2010 – Oakville Blades | 5th place | 0-4 | 11GF 24GA 2008 – Oakville Blades | 5th place | 1-3 | 15GF 21GA
COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY COMMITMENTS
Eric Bonsteel – University of Guelph (2024-25) Sean Clarke – University of Toronto (2024-25) Dawson Doner – Fredonia State University (2024-25) Noah Tyrrell – University of Wisconsin-Stout (2024-25)
CJHL TOP 20 RANKINGS
Oct. 2 – not ranked Oct. 9 – not ranked Oct. 16 – not ranked Oct. 23 – not ranked Oct. 30 – not ranked Nov. 6 – not ranked Nov. 13 – not ranked Nov. 20 – not ranked Nov. 27 – not ranked Dec. 4 – not ranked Dec. 11 – not ranked Dec. 18 – not ranked Jan. 8 – not ranked Jan. 15 – not ranked Jan. 22 – not ranked Jan. 29 – not ranked Feb. 5 – not ranked Feb. 12 – not ranked Feb. 19 – not ranked Feb. 26 – not ranked March 4 – not ranked March 11 – not ranked