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Special teams continue to be nothing more than ordinary for Oakville Blades If the Oakville Blades have a Christmas wish list this year, improved special teams is likely at the top. Oakville's power-play and penalty-killing units continued to struggle last weekend as the Blades won one of their three Ontario Junior Hockey League contests they played. The Blades went 1-for-9 with the man advantage in a 5-2 loss to the Kingston Voyageurs Friday at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex, were unable to capitalize on a five-minute power play in a 2-1 road victory over the Toronto Lakeshore Patriots Saturday, and were 0-for-5 with the extra man Sunday in a 4-1 loss at the Toronto Jr. Canadiens. The Blades rank fourth-last in the OJHL in power-play percentage (14.4). The three teams behind Oakville -- Hamilton, Burlington and Orangeville -- are a combined 22-67-9 on the season. Meanwhile, Oakville allowed the Voyageurs, Patriots and Jr. Canadiens to score on four of 12 power-play opportunities. The Blades rank fifthlast in the league in penalty-killing percentage (78.2). Sean Perichak scored both Oakville's goals in the loss to Kingston. Evan Buitenhuis made 32 saves for the Blades, who outshot Kingston 44-37. Perichak also tallied the following night at Toronto Lakeshore, and Kris Bennett notched the game-winning goal 1:32 into overtime. Brendan McGlynn stopped 30 of the 31 shots he faced to record the victory. Ross Sloan had Oakville's tally in the loss to the Jr. Canadiens. Buitenhuis made 24 saves. The Blades won't have much time to do any last-minute Christmas shopping over the next week as they are scheduled to play three times in a four-day span. Oakville will be home to the Georgetown Raiders Friday (7:30 p.m. at Sixteen Mile), then visit the Mississauga Chargers Saturday and Hamilton Red Wings Monday. 19 | Wednesday, December 18, 2013 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Blacker blanked league champs as rookie continued from p.1 the path to being a goalie, they also began instilling the importance of an education at an early age. Each time Sabine scored a goal on her son, Ben would have to spell a word from his workbook. (After Ben started allowing too few goals, it was changed to every five shots). Following the offer from Facca, Ben called his dad, and for nearly four hours they discussed the pros and cons of the NCAA and the OHL. On Jan. 4, Blacker committed to Western Michigan. "It was very humbling," Blacker said. "It took a while to sink in, but it gave me more motivation to be better at everything." If there were any concerns of complacency, Blacker quickly put them to rest. Three weeks later, with the IceHawks riddled with injuries and inconsistency in net, Milton summoned Blacker for his junior debut. He stopped 46 of 48 shots in an overtime victory over the Toronto Jr. Canadiens, showing the Broncos were wise in locking up the netminder before others discovered him. Over the next month, the IceHawks called upon Blacker four more times. He posted a 2.35 goals-against average and a .941 save percentage, going 3-1-1, including a 42-save shutout against the St. Michael's Buzzers, who went on to win the league championship. This year, Blacker has continued to show his cameo was no fluke. He was one of only two 16-year-olds named to the Canada East team for the World Jr. A Challenge and was again in rare company as one of only two non-OHL players to be named to Ontario's team for the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge later this month. "He puts an awful lot of work into it," said Ted Blacker. "He doesn't know how to do anything half way." "A lot of it comes from my parents," Ben said. "It makes me want to work harder to be the best at what I do, whether it's hockey or school." And it seems the harder he has to work, the better Blacker is. In 10 games this season in which he has faced 39 or more shots, Blacker is 8-2-0 with a 2.63 average and .940 save percentage, better than his overall marks of 11-9-0, 3.38 and .910. Blacker says the opportunity Milton has given him to handle a heavy workload as a 16-year-old has helped his development. But he also credits his dad, who has always been there to offer advice to his son about stopping pucks. "If I have a bad game, he's there to help me," Ben said. "It's nice to have another goalie in the family. He can relate to what I'm going through, because he's been through a lot of it himself. He knows what I'm feeling in certain situations. A lot of my success, I owe to him." When Blacker joins Western Michigan for the 2015-16 season, he'll have another strong presence to help him achieve his goals. The Broncos are coached by Andy Murray, who spent 11 years behind an NHL bench as the head coach for the Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues. In the meantime, Blacker will continue to develop his game and show that following in his father's footsteps wasn't such a bad idea after all. -- Herb Garbutt can be followed on Twitter @Herbgarbutt Christmas Ticket Sale! February28 to March2,2014 Metro Toronto Convention Centre Tickets Now Available Online! Valid on admission until Thursday December 26, 2013 3 OFF Great Gift Idea! Limited time only. $ torontogolfshow www.torontogolfshow.com A DIVISION OF Finding your next used car is as easy as pie. The best way to find your next used car. The Car Buyers' Network SO LD ! 1. Go to autocatch.com 2. Choose the perfect vehicle 3. Buy your dream car.