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Josh Gillam was named player of the game for his
7-point performance in Peterborough's 11-7 win.
(Photo: Anna Taylor) |
The Peterborough Lakers' offensive
players didn't like the look of the scoreboard after two periods
Thursday night, so they came out in the third and made it look
better. An 8-goal third period propelled them to an 11-7 win over the
Brooklin Redmen that solidified their hold on second place in a
likely preview of the first round of the playoffs. The score was tied
2-2 after the first and Brooklin led 4-3 after the second period.
Josh Gillam and Shawn Evans
each posted 3 goals and 4 assists to lead the Lakers attack. Gillam
said it was largely a matter of making the most of their shots. “We
came in after the second period looking up at the scoreboard and only
seeing three goals up there, so we knew we had to step it up, get the
ball moving and just stick our shots,” Gillam said. “We had
pretty good shots in the first couple of periods but we just weren't
hitting our spots.”
It appeared that it took the Lakers a
while to get used to playing again without John Grant, Jr.,
who had to miss the game. Gillam acknowledged that there is an
adjustment period to having him in the lineup and then another one to
having him away. “Junior is the best player in the world and when
he's here he does amazing things with the ball, and you let him do
that. That's just the way it goes,” Gillam said. “He wins us
games left, right and centre. When he's gone we try to fill the
spots, have a bit of a different game style, maybe move the ball a
little quicker.”
The adjustments they made in the second
intermission worked, as Peterborough came out in the third and took
the lead in the first minute and a half on perfectly placed shots by
Gillam and Scott Evans for power play goals. The Lakers scored
the final three goals to pull away in what had been a tightly
contested defensive battle through 40 minutes. Brooklin, with only 16
runners and having played a game the night before, appeared to tire
somewhat in the final frame.
Redmen assistant coach Paul Stewart
pointed out that missing three key offensive players on the right
side didn't help any. “You take [Gavin] Prout,
[Kevin] Brownell and [Kiel] Matisz out of
the lineup and that hurts us,” Stewart said. He was pleased with
the play of the defence through most of the game, but said they made
a few mistakes in the third and gave credit to the Lakers for taking
advantage of their chances. “We let Shawn Evans set his feet a few
times and you can't do that. They're a talented team. On broken
plays, I don't think there's a team better than them in the league
and we had a few broken plays and they capitalized on them.”
Derek Hopcroft was the only
multiple goal scorer for Brooklin with a pair while Shawn Williams
scored once and added 2 assists and goalie Steve Fryer had 3
assists.
Lakers' captain Scott Self said their
defensive unit is finally starting to find some of the consistency
they need. “We have had stretches where we've had great games,
great periods, but then we'll have meltdowns like last game [against
Six Nations] where we'll have a meltdown and give up 7 or 8 in a
period, and that's brutal,” Self said. “It's something we need to
get shored up, but I think we're on the right track.”
It's hardly surprising that it has
taken the D a while to gel given the number of changes from last
year's team. “We had so much turnover from last year's team and
this year we're playing a system where basically everybody's new to
it, so there's going to be some growing pains as guys get used to
it,” Self said. “I think it's getting to the point now where guy
are getting it and things are just happening, guys don't have to
think about it as much. You're just reacting.”
It's helped to have veterans Chris
White and Kyle Sorensen return, Self agreed, but young players like
Mark Farthing and Robert Hope are making big contributions, too.
“They've been awesome. It's good because a guy like Mark has kind
of stuck it out the last two or three years, where he would get in
for a couple of games then be out for a couple of games. He could
have easily said, I'm going to go play Senior B, the hell with it,”
Self said. “He's got a great attitude and it's starting to pay off
here. He's a smart guy out there. Hopey is the same way. He was
awesome for the juniors last year. He's a really intelligent player
and he's picking things up really quickly here.”
With the win, the Lakers hold on to
second place, now 3 points ahead of the Redmen with a game in hand.
Peterborough is 5 back of the first-place Six Nations Chiefs, whom
they play in Six Nations on Saturday. Brooklin is off until next
Wednesday, when they play host to the Chiefs.
