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REGULAR SEASON
RECORD – 39W 6L 4OTL (5th in Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League)
GOALS FOR – 222 (10th)
GOALS AGAINST – 139 (8th)
TOP SCORER – Nick McParland (29G 48A 77P)
PLAYOFFS
ROUND 1 – bye
ROUND 2 – defeated Milton Merchants 4-1 (4-1, 0-2, 6-2, 3-2, 3-0)
QUARTERFINAL – defeated Georgetown Raiders 4-1 (4-2, 7-1, 5-2, 3-4, 2-1)
SEMI-FINAL – defeated Aurora Tigers 4-2 (4-1, 1-5, 1-0, 4-3, 2-3, 4-3)
OPJHL CHAMPIONSHIP – defeated Markham Waxers 4-1 (6-3, 2-4, 6-4, 4-1, 6-3)
DUDLEY HEWITT CUP – 1st in round robin (defeated Dryden 5-1, Sudbury 5-3 and Newmarket 5-2), defeated
Newmarket 6-3 in championship game
PREVIOUS NATIONAL JUNIOR A CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE
NONE
For the first time in their 15-year history as a Junior A franchise, the Oakville Blades are
Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League champions, Dudley Hewitt Cup champions, and on their way to the
National Junior A Championship. The Blades finished fifth in the OPJHL with a 39-6-4 record, an impressive
feat considering that 35 teams laced up the skates in 2007-08. The offence didn’t blow any teams out of the
water – the Blades scored 222 goals, good for 10th in the league, and top scorer Nick McParland (13th with 77
points) was the only Oakville skater to crack the top 25 – but it was still good enough to finish among the
OPJHL’s top 10 teams, as did the defence, which was eighth with a stellar 2.84 goals against average.
Goaltender Scott Greenham was among the league leaders in a number of categories, finishing tied for fifth in
goals against average, at 2.32, third in wins, with 27, tied for second in save percentage, at .923, and tied
for fifth in shutouts, with three. A West Division regular season championship meant a first-round bye in the
grueling OPJHL playoffs for the Blades, who made short work of the Milton Merchants – who had gone six games
in their opening round series – in the second round, topping the Merchants in five games, dispatched the
Georgetown Raiders in five games and ended the repeat dreams of the defending RBC Cup-champion Aurora Tigers
in six, advancing to the first OPJHL final in club history. Facing the Markham Waxers, the teams split the
first two games, with each winning on home ice, before Oakville rolled off three straight victories to claim
the league title. Next it was on to the Dudley Hewitt Cup in Newmarket, ON, where the Blades ran unbeaten
through the round robin to earn a bye in the championship game, and knocked off the host Hurricanes in the
final to advance to the 2008 RBC Cup, where they will look to become the second OPJHL team in as many years
to take home the top prize from the National Junior A Championship.
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