Peterborough Lakers down Six Nations Chiefs 9-7 in playoff-style affair

Davide DiRuscio, here starring for the Niagara Lock Monster in CLax,
helped lead the Peterborough Lakers to a 9-7 win over Six Nations.
(Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Peterborough Lakers won the fights and they won the game Saturday night, downing the Six Nations Chiefs 9-7 in a rematch of Six Nations' 10-8 win in Peterborough Thursday. The Lakers led 4-2 after the first period in both games, but the situation was different. Thursday they had scored the first four goals then surrendered the next five as Six Nations grabbed the momentum and pulled away to the win. Saturday night the Chiefs got off to the fast start with a pair of goals but Peterborough scored four times in just over five minutes to take the momentum and kept it by getting the first two goals of the second, including one by Brad Self just 13 seconds into the frame.

Six Nations did replay, though, finally getting some balls behind Lakers goalie Davide DiRuscio, who was excellent in his first Major Series Lacrosse start. When Craig Point scored 51 seconds into the third period, the game was tied 6-6. A fight between Peterborough's Andrew Suitor and David Brock of Six Nations broke out before the ensuing faceoff. Both players landed some punches before a right from Suitor knocked Brock out and down. Brock was assisted from the floor but was reported after the game as being alright. That was the second fight of the game, as Peterborough's Nick Weiss pounded Wayne Van Every after a goal-mouth fracas in the second period.

Brampton Excelsiors beat KW Kodiaks 10-8

For the first time this season, the Brampton Excelsiors scored more than 7 goals in a game. And for the first time, they won a game on the floor. Brampton used a balanced scoring attack to down the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks 10-8, getting goals from nine different players. Brady Heseltine led their scorers with a goal and 3 assists while Ryan Learn was the lone multiple goal scorer with two. Much of KW's offence came from their defensive players: Jay Thorimbert had 2 goals, Joey Cupido a goal and 2 assists and Hayden Smith 3 assists. 

Brampton led 5-3 after the first period and used two goals in the final two minutes of the second to head to intermission with an 8-7 lead. There was no scoring for the first half of the third, then Jordan Critch connected to tie things up. Chris Corbeil scored unassisted for what proved to be the winner and Heseltine gave the Excels a bit of insurance with three minutes to play. 

Brampton officially moves to 2-4 while the Kodiaks fall to 3-5. KW's next game is Sunday night when they play host to the Oakville Rock at 6 pm. Brampton returns to action next Wednesday in Brooklin at 8 pm. 

Six Nations Chiefs down Peterborough Lakers 10-8

Randy Staats scoring the first of his three goals to help the Chiefs win 10-8. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

They're back. For the first time this season, the Six Nations Chiefs really looked like the team that won last year's Mann Cup. Ironically, the resemblance was achieved largely thanks to the contributions of two players who weren't with the team last summer. Randy Staats scored 3 goals and 3 assists and Jeff Shattler added 3 goals and 5 assists to lead the Chiefs to a 10-8 win over the Peterborough Lakers. The win moves the Chiefs to 6-4 and within two points of first-place Brooklin, although the Redmen have two games in hand. Peterborough falls to 3-5 pending their appeal of forfeiting their first four games of the season.

The Lakers got off to a fast start, running up a 4-0 lead and making it look like they may carve out a repeat of last week's 15-9 win. But Six Nations Head Coach Rich Kilgour said the Chiefs made a decision that they weren't going to fold. “Last week we just laid down and took it. We had a good talk about that on the ride home that that's not acceptable,” Kilgour said. “It was 4-nothing and they were rolling. We got together on the bench and said we can either give up right now and go start the bus or we can buckle down and get the next one and go from there. That's what kept us going last year. That last goal doesn't mean anything, let's think about the next one.”

Redmen edge Rock 9-8 behind 6 assists from Shawn Williams

Shawn Williams had 6 assists as Brooklin beat
Oakville. (File photo: Tim Prothero)

The Brooklin Redmen won a tight back-and-forth matchup with the Oakville Rock 9-8 Monday night. The Redmen got a hat trick from Kyle Aquin and six assists from Shawn Williams while Rob Hellyer led the way for the Rock with three goals and one assist. Brooklin trailed 3-2 after the first period but scored the first four goals of the second to take the lead. Oakville responded with three goals in less than a minute, from 14:57 to 15:44, to tie things up 6-6 heading into the second intermission. Those goals chased goalie Steve Fryer from the Brooklin net but he returned for the third period and was excellent for the Redmen, turning aside breakaways and in-close shots to allow them to hold on for the win.

Curtis Knight and Kiel Matisz scored the first two goals of the third period to give Brooklin the lead. Once again, though, the Rock scored in quick succession to tie things up. Shayne Adams put one in at 10:17. Just under a minute later, Billy Hostrawser broker out of the Oakville end with a loose ball and pushed it towards the Brooklin net. Hostrawser passed to Jordan MacIntosh on the left wing and he flung it back to a trailing Ethan O'Connor, who ripped a bounce shot home to tie the game 8-8.

NOTE: Change to viewing process to watch Brooklin at Oakville tonight on JVI Video

The main JVI Video web site is down right now, so to watch tonight's game between the Brooklin Redmen and the Oakville Rock, go to the JVI Livestream page. Click this link to be directed to the page. Game faces off at 8 pm.

Chiefs keep winning, hold off Kodiaks comeback to win 8-7

By Darryl Smart

Even though the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks clawed out of a huge hole, the Six Nations Pro-Fit Chiefs were still able to muster up two more points in the Major Series Lacrosse standings.
The Chiefs were able to strike early and often, scoring five goals in the first period and rode that all the way to an 8-7 victory over the Kodiaks at the Waterloo Rec Complex Sunday evening.
After Randy Staats, Roger Vyse, Vaughn Harris, Rob Marshall and Kasey Beirnes gave the Chiefs a five-goal lead after one period, Cody Jamieson and Stephen Keogh added to the cause in the second period.
Mitch Wilde and Corey Fowler responded for the
Kodiaks.
But in the third period, it was all Kodiaks, with Jordan Critch leading the way with three goals in the frame, while Dhane Smith added a pair.
Fortunately for the Chiefs, Jeff Shattler's goal less than three minutes into the third period was the difference maker, giving them a lead the Kodiaks couldn't claw back from.
Brandon Miller earned his first win of the season between the Chiefs pipes, making 33 saves, while former Chief Mike Poulin made 37 stops in a losing effort.

Chiefs down Rock 7-5

Evan Kirk turns aside a shot against Oakville. Kirk allowed

just 5 goals in Six Nations' win. (Photo: Darryl Smart)

By Darryl Smart

The Six Nations Pro-Fit Chiefs finally got back on the winning track.
After losing its last two games, the defending Mann Cup champions needed a four-goal third period rally to better the Oakville Rock 7-5 in Major Series Lacrosse action at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena Saturday.
CLICK HERE for photos from the game. 
The chemistry between Cody Jamieson and Jeff Shattler started to show, especially in the second half of the game, as the pair combined for five goals.
"This was a big win for us,"  Shattler said. "Nick Rose played well. We had a lot of shots on him. It's a little unfortunate that it took so long to get hot, but Cody scored a big goal for us and we were able to get a couple in the third and that's all that matters."
After the Rock outscored their host for two periods, Shattler scored a pair of early third period goals, before Jamieson netted the winner with six minutes remaining. Six Nations Arrows call up Vaughn Harris added an insurance marker late in the game.

Shawn Evans welcomes twin girls in the morning, helps Peterborough Lakers beat Six Nations Chiefs at night

Shawn Evans added two daughters to his family Thursday 

morning and scored nine points Thursday night. 

(Photo: Tim Prothero) 

The Peterborough Lakers broke open a tight game with six straight goals in the second period en route to a 15-7 win over the Six Nations Chiefs. Shawn Evans, playing about nine hours after the birth of his twin daughters Ella and Emery, led the way for Peterborough with a goal and 8 assists. Mark Steenhuis and Aaron Wilson each had 4 goals for the Lakers, who took advantage of Six Nations penalties by scoring on four of their six power plays. Jeff Shattler was the top Chief with 3 goals and 2 assists.

The Chiefs arrived late for the game after getting caught in bad traffic on the way to Peterborough and didn't get a warmup, but they didn't show any ill effects early on as they were tied 4-4 after the first period and held a 7-6 lead almost midway through the second. A couple of minutes later, with the score tied up, Billy Dee Smith took a double minor for roughing and Rodd Squire a slashing penalty at the same time to put the Chiefs shorthanded. Peterborough took advantage with power play goals by Adam Jones and Wilson, then the Lakers just kept going.

Lakers down Redmen 11-10 behind Steenhuis hat trick

Mark Steenhuis buries the winning goal in Peterborough's 11-10 victory over Brooklin Wednesday. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Peterborough Lakers took care of business on the floor Wednesday night, downing the Brooklin Redmen 11-10 thanks to a goal with just under two minutes to play by Mark Steenhuis. The goal, driving in from the wing to tuck the ball home as he does so often, gave Steenhuis a hat trick to go along with an assist. Aaron Wilson led all scorers, adding 2 goals and 5 assists for the Lakers. Curtis Knight, Derek Hopcroft and Mike Melnychenko each had 2 goals and an assist for Brooklin while Shawn Williams had his third five-assist game of the season for the Redmen.

The Lakers used their transition game to lead 5-2 after the first period and stretch the lead to 7-3 early in the second before Brooklin got its act together. The Redmen fought back with a strong second, though, outscoring the Lakers 7-4 in the frame to tie things up at 9-9 by the second intermission. Brooklin took the lead again just 14 seconds into the third an stayed ahead for 11 minutes until Aaron Wilson tucked home a quick stick on a nice three-way passing play.

Kodiaks down Oakville Rock 8-7 in overtime

The Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks took a lead, fell behind then came back to force overtime and eventually pull off an 8-7 win over the Oakville Rock Monday night. Craig England took a pass from Joey Cupido on a 3-on-1 break and tucked the winning goal into the net behind Nick Rose for the only goal of the extra period. Dhane Smith led the way for the Kodiaks with 3 goals and an assist while Jamie Rooney and Corey Fowler each had a goal and 4 assists for KW. Jeremy Noble, playing his first Major Series Lacrosse game, had 4 assists for Oakville. Brendan Thenhaus and Patrick Corbett each scored twice for the Rock. The game was Oakville's second straight loss in overtime. 

The Kodiaks got off to a good start thanks largely to Dillon Ward, who turned aside all 16 shots he faced in the first period (and 49 of 56 overall) to help KW take a 4-0 advantage into the first intermission. They got goals from Fowler and Smith then a pair from Ryan Benesch on similar shots mid-height to Rose's right side about a minute apart.

Oakville started to find the range in the second period while keeping KW in check to go on a 7-1 run to the midway point of the third period, taking a 7-5 lead and looking like they had control of the game. Then Rooney and Smith connected back to back less than a minute apart with about five minutes to play in regulation to even things up.

Redmen down Chiefs 8-6

The Brooklin Redmen won a defensive battle at Six Nations, downing the Chiefs 8-6 to improve their season record to 4-1 and move into a tie for first place with the Peterborough Lakers. Six Nations falls to 3-3 with the loss.

Brooklin led 3-2 after the first period and 4-3 after the second, then opened the second with three straight goals to take command of the game. Redmen goalie Steve Fryer, who made 27 saves to earn the win, also earned assists on all three of those goals. Six Nations fought back, though, with three of their own to pull within a goal at 7-6. Shayne Jackson capped the scoring at 15:48 to provide the final margin of victory.

Dan Lintner continued to excel in his rookie season for Brooklin, scoring twice and adding 3 assists to bring his season totals to 10 goals and 12 assists in five games, putting him second in the league in scoring to Jackson. Kevin Brownell and Joel Matthews each added a pair of goals for the Redmen. Jeff Shattler had 2 goals and 3 assists for Six Nations. Cody Jamieson and Craig Point each chipped in with 2 goals and 2 assists.

Jeff Shattler has immediate impact for Six Nations Chiefs in win over Brampton

By Darryl Smart

When the Six Nations Pro-Fit Chiefs acquired the rights to Jeff Shattler, the rest of Major Series Lacrosse took notice. And for good reason.
In his Chiefs debut at Powerade Centre in Brampton, the former National Lacrosse League Most Valuable Player had four assists to help lead his new team to a 9-6 win over the Brampton Excelsiors Thursday night.
Cody Jamieson also made his first appearance for the Chiefs and was an instant impact, scoring one goal and adding five assists, while Dean Hill and Craig Point each netted hat tricks.
Jon Sullivan, and Kasey Beirnes each added one goal.
Kevin Ross led the Excelsiors, scoring a pair of goals, while Ryan Learn, Mike Burke, Pat Saunders, and Mark White added one goal each.
Evan Kirk recorded the win between the Chiefs pipes making 36 saves, while Ian Duffy made 35 saves in a losing effort.

Lakers come back to force overtime, down Rock 12-11

Nick Weiss and Brock Sorensen celebrate
Weiss' winning goal in overtime.
(Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Peterborough Lakers had to go to overtime but they maintained their perfect home record against the Oakville Rock franchise with a 12-11 win Thursday night. Brock Sorensen, who had a pair of breakaway goals earlier in the game, forced a turnover, raced down the floor and fed Nick Weiss for the game-winning goal with 59 seconds left in the overtime period. Oakville had a final chance to tie the game up but were turned aside by new Lakers goalie Matt Vinc to hold on for the win.

The game went back and forth through the first two periods with Oakville seeming to have an answer every time Peterborough started to make a push. The Rock led 5-4 after the first period and 9-8 after the second. Aaron Wilson tied it up for the Lakers just 1:18 into the third period but once again Oakville responded quickly. Stephan Leblanc put the Rock back in front less than a minute later. Shayne Adams made the lead two goals at the 5:09 mark.

It took the Lakers almost 10 minutes to find the net again, but fortunately for them Vinc wouldn't be beaten again in regulation or overtime. Cory Vitarelli finished off some quick ball movement with a quick stick bounce shot past Nick Rose to pull the Lakers within one. Oakville held on to that lead into the final minute. Peterborough took a time out, pulled Vinc and put six attackers on the floor. Mark Steenhuis took a pass at the top of the offensive formation and ripped home a shot from well outside the dotted line, much to the delight of the 2,758 in attendance.

Redmen down Kodiaks for second straight time, 14-12

Zach Higgins and the Redmen downed KW 14-12 Wednesday.

(File photo: Tim Prothero)

Shayne Jackson continues to have a hot start for the Brooklin Redmen. Jackson scored 3 goals and 4 assists to lead the Redmen to a 14-12 win over the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks Wednesday night. Curtis Knight added a hat trick and an assist while Mark Cockerton had a big night in his MSL debut, scoring once and adding 4 assists. Ryan Benesch led all scorers, tallying twice and adding 5 assists for KW. Dhane Smith, Jamie Rooney and Luke Laszkiewicz each added a pair of goals for the Kodiaks.

Brooklin led 5-2 after the first period but KW got the better of a high-scoring second frame, including a pair of shorthanded goals just six seconds apart from Joey Cupido and Jay Thorimbert, to tie things up at 9-9 after 40 minutes. Brooklin took control with the first four goals of the third. Smith and Rooney connected about a minute apart to pull the Kodiaks closer with five minutes to play but Graeme Hossack gave the Redmen a little breathing room when he scored with just over two minutes left.

The win leaves Brooklin in a first-place tie with Peterborough at 3-1 while KW is in fifth place with a 1-2 record. The next Major Series Lacrosse action is Thursday night when Oakville visits Peterborough.

Oakville Rock earn first win of season, 13-11 over Six Nations Chiefs

The Oakville Rock faced quite a challenge to start the 2014 Major Series Lacrosse season, squaring off in their first two games against the top two teams from last year's regular season in the Peterborough Lakers and Six Nations Chiefs. They held their own after a slow start in an opening loss to Peterborough but last night the new-look Rock downed the defending Mann Cup champion Chiefs 13-11 to earn their first win of the summer.

Things got going slowly last night in Oakville, with neither team able to score for the first 11 minutes of the game. Six Nations took a 2-1 lead but then Brendan Thenhaus and Jordan MacIntosh scored 29 seconds apart late in the period to give Oakville a lead it would never relinquish. Oakville took control of the game with a 5-1 second period in which they kept the potent Six Nations offence in check while taking advantage of some transition opportunities.

Six Nations raises championship banners then beats Brampton 10-7

Dean Hill had a goal and three assists to help the
Chiefs down Brampton Saturday night.
(Photo: Darryl Smart)

By Darryl Smart

The Six Nations Chiefs may be short handed, but that hasn't stopped the defending Mann Cup champs.
With the likes of Sid Smith, Cody Jamieson, Brandon Miller, Colin Doyle and Craig Point out of the lineup, the young guns continue to lead the way. This time the Chiefs beat the Brampton Excelsiors 10-7 Saturday night at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena.
For more photos from the game CLICK HERE. 
Vaughn Harris continued to take advantage of his opportunity to play for the Chiefs, scoring two goals and one assist to lead the way. Rookie Randy Staats, and veteran Steven Keogh also added a pair of goals.
Kasey Biernes made his return to the Chiefs lineup and scored a goal, with Dave Brock, Tom Montour, and Dean Hill also adding one.
Joe Resetarits led the Excelsiors, scoring three goals and one assist, while Pat Saunders netted a pair and had a helper.
Chad Tutton, and Justin Pychel scored one each.
The Chiefs, now 2-1, are on the road against the Oakville Rock Monday, and Thursday they travel to Brampton. Both games are at 8 p.m.

Lakers down Redmen 14-10

John Grant Jr had 9 points to lead the
Lakers to the win over Brooklin. 

The Peterborough Lakers used a strong third period to pull away from the Brooklin Redmen and take a 14-10 win Thursday night in Peterborough behind a 9-point performance by John Grant Jr. The teams had traded runs through the first two periods and entered the final 20 minutes tied 7-7. Scott Evans got things started in the third with his second goal of the game just 55 seconds into the frame on a nice pass from Grant to the top of the crease. That was one of 8 assists Grant got in the game. Five Lakers scored a pair of goals each and Shawn Evans contributed 4 assists. Shayne Jackson had another excellent game for the Redmen, scoring twice and adding 4 assists while Shawn Williams had five helpers for Brooklin.

Peterborough ran out to a 5-1 lead and looked to be controlling much of the play in the first period, but Brooklin got their legs under them and battled back to make it 5-4 by the intermission. Neither team scored for almost half of the second period as the defences came to the fore and both Zach Higgins for Brooklin and Tyler Carlson for Peterborough were turning aside everything they faced. The Lakers eventually cracked the dam, getting goals from Aaron Wilson and Chad Culp a couple of minutes apart to extend their lead. But Brooklin got the last three goals of the period to tie it up heading into the third.

Redmen win season opener 11-7 over Excelsiors

The new members of the Brooklin Redmen had an impact as the team won its home and season opener 11-7 over the Brampton Excelsiors Wednesday night. Shayne Jackson lead all scorers with 2 goals and 4 assists for 6 points while Curtis Knight had a hat trick and an assist and Dan Lintner a goal and 2 assists. Jackson is returning from a couple of years with the Langley Thunder of the Western Lacrosse Association while Brooklin protected Knight and Lintner as graduating juniors for the 2014 MSL draft. Shawn Williams also added 5 assists for the Redmen. Brampton was led by Chris Attwood with 2 goals and 2 assists as well as another graduating Whitby Warrior, the Excels top draft pick Chad Tutton who had a pair of goals.

Brooklin is 1-0 while Brampton drops to 0-2. The Redmen are right back in action tonight for a rematch of last year's MSL semi-finals when they travel to Peterborough to take on the Lakers. You can see that game via live JVI webcast by following the Webcast Sports link in the right hand column of this web site.

Young goalie gets a chance to practice with Brooklin Redmen

Nolan Garrard at practice with Zach Higgins (left) and Steve
Fryer. 

The Brooklin Redmen tonight become the last team to kick off their Major Series Lacrosse season when they play host to the Brampton Excelsiors. They'll be going with the same goaltending tandem that performed well for them last year in Zach Higgins and Steve Fryer. But if either of those two are unavailable, they have a young man who would be more than happy to step in and fill a spot. Nolan Garrard practiced with the Redmen recently and hopes for nothing more than to one day be a Redman.

When we say a young man, we really mean it. Nolan is a 7-year-old tyke 2 player in his first year of lacrosse. He plays on the same team as Brooklin assistant coach Paul Stewart's youngest son. The team had a game at Iroquois Park recently that wrapped up just before the Redmen took the floor to practice. “His father mentioned to me that he wanted to stick around and watch the goalies, which I thought was great,” Stewart said. “Our practices are open and Higgy and Fryer are great guys to learn from. I thought, he's got his gear on so why not come out and take a few shots in the warmup and he was having fun so it just sort of progressed.”

Lakers down Rock 9-7

John Grant Jr. got off a plane at 4 pm, made his way to the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre for an 8pm start and proceeded to fill the net with three goals in the first 25 minutes of play to lead the Peterborough Lakers to a 9-7 win over the Oakville Rock Monday Monday night. Grant scored the first two goals of the game and the opening goal of the second period as the Lakers jumped out to a 5-1 lead.

After that, Oakville started to find their game in their season opener and outscored the Lakers 6-4 the rest of the way. The Rock made it all the way back to within one goal at 8-7 when Stephan Leblanc scored his third goal of the game at 15:40 of the third period. Mark Steenhuis gave the Lakers some insurance with two and a half minutes left when he bounced an off-speed shot past Nick Rose to reach the final score.