Lakers down Excelsiors 11-4 in season opener

Mark Steenhuis had 3 goals and 3 assists to lead Peterborough
over Brampton. (File photo: Tim Prothero)

The Peterborough Lakers blanked the Brampton Exceliors 4-0 in the second period to blow open a tight game and pull away to an 11-4 win in the first game of the 2014 Major Series Lacrosse season. The game was tied 2-2 after the first period. Peterborough took a 2-0 lead in the first five minutes but Brampton battled back to tied things up. Both teams were playing effective defence and both goalies were sharp.

In the second period, the Lakers got two quick goals early to grab the momentum. Scott Evans buried a sidearm shot as he was falling to the turf. Less than 30 seconds later, Matt Crough raced in from the bench to grab a loose ball on a broken play off a long breakout pass and tucked it home to make it 4-2. The Lakers added another pair in the period, including a spectacular shorthanded goal by Mark Steenhuis, who would lead all scorers on the evening with 3 goals (all shorthanded) and 3 assists.


Pat Saunders, who was a scoring threat all night, finally put a ball behind Tyler Carlson on a great play right on top of the crease. He accepted a pass tight to his body with a defender all over him and his back to the net, spun and released a quick shot that found the top corner.

The Lakers answered within a couple of minutes, though, when Chad Culp potted his second of the game. Culp's was the first of five straight Laker goals as they took command of the game. Carlson was outstanding in the Peterborough net, stopping 43 of the 47 shots he faced and always seeming to be in the right position. Tye Belanger played well for the Excelsiors as well, making 49 saves on 60 shots.

Matt Holman led the Excelsiors with 2 goals and an assist. His second goal, the last one of the game, came in spectacular fashion as he drove in from the side boards and went horizontal from well out from the goal to tuck the ball into the far side.

The Lakers have a busy opening to the season. They head to Six Nations Saturday for a game at 7 pm and are in Oakville Monday at 8 pm. Both those games can be seen live via JVI Video webcast by clicking the Webcast Sports link in the right hand column of this page or by going to JVI's Livestream channel.