Admirals Get Long-Awaited Playoff Victory With OT Win In Game 4

The Amherstburg Admirals lived to play another day, thanks to a 4-3 overtime victory over the Blenheim Blades in Game 4 of the Stobbs Quarterfinals on Tuesday night in Amherstburg. In what was the team’s first playoff win since 2019, the young Admirals squad showed their mettle on a night where their backs were against the wall.

Making his first start of the series, rookie netminder Joe Costea turned in a stellar night of puck-stopping, and was particularly strong in the overtime session where the Blades outshot the Admirals 13-4 through the 12 minutes of play. Costea’s overtime heroics allowed for further heroics from fellow rookie Finnigan Russett, who scored the overtime winner on a perfectly placed shot from a bad angle on Blenheim goalie Jake Vancoille. It was Russett’s second goal of the evening, after his first of the game late in the second period gave his team a 3-2 lead through 40 minutes. Blades captain Craig Spence’s power-play goal tied the game with under four minutes left in regulation to force overtime.

Overall, Blenheim outshot Amherstburg 52-32 and their 28-12 shot advantage in the third period and overtime exemplified Costea’s work between the pipes. Brett Jones and Jake Archer scored the other Admirals goals, with Jones having a very strong all-around game.

Earning themselves another crack in the best-of-seven-series, the Admirals will now head to Blenheim for Game 5 on Thursday. Game-time at the Blenheim Memorial Arena is set for 7:00 PM.