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| Matt Crough is one of 3 Peterborough players headed to Cobourg in exchange for Joel Matthews. (Photo: Tim Prothero) |
The Cobourg Kodiaks have completed
their first Major Series Lacrosse trade just days after moving from
Kitchener-Waterloo. Cobourg sent righty forward Joel Matthews
to their new Highway 28 rivals the Peterborough Lakers in exchange
for a trio of young players. Right forward Matt Crough, lefty
forward Dylan Goddard and defender Pete Rennie are
headed to the Kodiaks. Peterborough had acquired Goddard recently
from the Brampton Excelsiors for goalie Don Alton, whom they drafted
last year but who never played for the team.
The trade gives the Lakers some size up
front. Peterborough GM Paul Day is also a coach with the
National Lacrosse League's Rochester Knighthawks, where Matthews
plays in the winter. “We saw him play in Buffalo two years ago. He
drove us nuts one night so as soon as he became available we grabbed
him,” Day said of the KHawks acquiring Matthews.
Day has been impressed with how
Matthews adapted to what was needed of him in the NLL and believes he
will capably fill a similar role for the Lakers. “He's 24, you know
he's just ready to make the next step, he works so hard on his
fitness and his game,” Day said. “In junior he was a guy who
carried the ball. Now he's a guy who words hard inside like a Cory
Vitarelli for us, works off ball. Not many goal scorers will
change their game. He's completely morphed his game. We need someone
to open up some space for some of our O guys.”
While Day was unwilling to trade local
players to KW where they would have to travel across the province for
all their games, that barrier disappeared when the Kodiaks relocated.
“With KW moving to Cobourg it made the deal a little easier for
everybody. At the end of the day, we want guys that can play,
playing,” he said. “A, it'll help Cobourg and B, it'll help a
couple of pretty good kids coming out of Peterborough to take the
next step if they play every night and play a lot every night.”
Matthews had back to back 100+-point
seasons for the St. Catharines Athletics in Junior A and has played
10 MSL games between Brooklin and KW. He is 6'3” and weighs about
215 pounds.
Crough, 24, was a junior standout and a
solid depth contributor for the Senior Lakers but didn't get a lot of
playing time because of the Lakers depth at his position. He should
have a chance for plenty of touches with the Kodiaks. In three
seasons with Peterborough, Crough played 49 games, scoring 36 goals
and 41 assists.
Goddard, 23, is a teammate of both
Crough and Rennie with the Durham Turfdogs of CLax. He was a
superstar in Junior B, three times scoring at least 120 points with
the Clarington Green Gaels. He has averaged almost 5 points per game
in two seasons in CLax and finished second in the OLA Senior B league
last summer.
Rennie is on the New England Black
Wolves practice roster and has developed into one of the best
defenders in CLax. He has gotten into 34 games over four-plus seasons
with the Lakers but just wasn't able to crack a very deep lineup for
regular playing time. With Andrew Suitor and Ian Llord
returning from injury and a trio of junior graduates being protected
by the team from the MSL draft, the logjam is only getting thicker.
The 25-year-old Rennie should be a regular with the Kodiaks, giving
him a chance to establish himself in the league and gain more
experience which will help in his battle for NLL playing time.
