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| Dillon Ward was outstanding but Gavin Prout and the Brooklin Redmen prevailed 7-6 over the KW Kodiaks. (Photo: Tim Prothero, VintageLax) |
The Brooklin Redmen continue to find
ways to win lacrosse games. The Redmen moved to 4-0 on the Major
Series Lacrosse season by playing strong defence, getting a solid
performance from goalie Steve Fryer and scoring just enough to
eke out a 7-6 home win over the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks Wednesday
night. Brooklin got a pair of second-period goals, including a key
shorthanded marker, from Shawn Williams then won the third
period 2-1 to earn the victory.
The Redmen's winning goal came when
they had the tallest right side in the league on the floor. Kiel
Matisz, Mike Triolo and defender Steve Priolo—averaging
about 6'5”--worked together to create space and Triolo completed a
high touch pass over a defender to Matisz, who walked towards the
crease and snuck the ball past Dillon Ward at 11:39 of the third.
Brooklin was up 3-1 after the first
period but the Kodiaks had an outstanding specials teams second to
even things up. They connected for 3 power play goals (2 by Aaron
Wilson) and a shorthanded goal by Ryan Dilks to outscore
Brooklin 4-2 in the frame. Dilks' goal came when he finished a
perfect cross-floor pass on a two-on-one with Jason Noble, who
stole the ball in the defensive zone and skidaddled down the floor to
create the scoring opportunity.
Wilson had a hat trick and an assist
while Corey Fowler had 1 goal and 3 assists to lead the
Kodiaks. Dillon Ward was solid throughout and outstanding in
the third period in his first MSL start, while Fryer moved to 2-0 in
his second start in the league.
Both teams worked hard to limit each
other's transition opportunities, so the track meet that was expected
between two fast young teams didn't materialize. What arose instead
was a fascinating defensive chess match that saw both clubs effective
in forcing their opponents to run the set offence. “You have to
keep that in the back of your mind,” said Brooklin's Gavin
Prout, who had 3 assists on the evening. “You see it on tape
and you realize how fast they are but when you get on the floor
they're that much faster. You have to keep that in the back of your
head when you're taking a shot and react very quickly.”
Prout is enjoying a renaissance of his
summer career with the Redmen after spending 2011 with the
Peterborough Lakers and sitting out last year because of work
commitments. He looks right at home in Brooklin's retro red-based
uniforms.” It's like the old school with both Gaits and Marechek,”
Prout said with a chuckly. “It's nice history on this team and
we're trying to honour it this year. We have a great team, a very
fast and talented team and gritty. It showed tonight that we can come
out here and win a one goal game. That's very important for us in a
confidence factor and that's a typical playoff type of game.”
KW's veteran forward Wilson said the
game, although they were disappointed to lose it, helps his team's
confidence as well. “We worked hard. We battled defensively,”
Wilson said. “Dillon Ward played great; it was his first start in
the MSL so we're proud of his performance. I hit the post with two
minutes to go. If it goes in we're going to overtime. We're getting
more confident as we go.”
Wilson said the Kodiaks understand they
are underdogs on many nights in MSL but believes they're improving
every time they step on the floor. “That's what we want to do, get
better as the season goes. We realize that we're going to be battling
for that last [playoff] spot. Peterborough, Six Nations and Brooklin
on paper are the best three teams. We're going to give them a battle
whenever we play them, but realistically I think we want that fourth
spot. We want to earn respect in this league and I think we're
starting to earn that respect.”
