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| Brooklin's defence kept Mark Steenhuis and the Lakers offence in check throughout the game. (Photo: Kendall Taylor) |
To paraphrase the late, great Casey
Stengel, good defence always beats good offence and vice versa.
Wednesday in Whitby was definitely a night for defence to shine as
the Brooklin Redmen beat the Peterborough Lakers 6-4 in an MSL game
where scoring chances were at a premium.
Peterborough led 3-1 after the first
period as Evan Kirk made 16 saves but the Lakers were able to
sneak a few past Zack Higgins. It got awfully difficult for
Peterborough to find any holes after that, though, while the Redmen
managed to create just enough offence to score.
Redmen forward Shawn Williams said it's
a real challenge for the offences to produce in a game like that.
“It's unbelievable. Both defences and both goalies played so well,”
Williams said. “It's hard for the untrained eye to see, but the
lanes the D gets in, the passing lanes and shooting lanes and what
they take away from you... People from the stands can see what they
want, but it's not there. It's tough going out there and every goal
is a huge goal.”
Brooklin got a transition goal from
Ryan McSpadyen two minutes into the second period. A long dry
spell ensued during which neither team could connect despite a fast
pace of play that put heavy demands on both transition and reverse
transition players, especially given the humidity in the Iroquois
Park arena.
Finally, with less than half a minute
to go in the period, Kiel Matisz received a pass that allowed
him to cut down the left-wing alley and he managed to bury a shot
that tied the game 3-3. With an assist on the play, Willams passed
legendary former Laker Johnny “Shooter” Davis for second
on the all-time Canadian senior lacrosse scoring list. It was
Williams' 2,116th point in regular season, playoff and
Macc Cup games.
Two minutes into the third period,
Curtis Knight took a pass heading in from the left wing and
managed to sneak the ball past Kirk, just grazing off the goalie's
left leg pad and in off the far post. It was a perfect shot, the only
kind that was successful in the game.
Just after the nine minute mark, Ryan
Keenan was under heavy defensive pressure from Chad Tutton.
Keenan had his back to Tutton and stepped away from the net, creating
a bit of space that the defender came out to close. Keenan expertly
spun from the check and took two quick steps towards the crease
before firing a shot home. It was a heady play in close quarters that
took advantage of a tiny mistake by Tutton in rushing out a bit too
precipitously. Again, the offensive player had to be almost perfect
to create a goal.
Peterborough was pressing as the period
wore on, clearly frustrated by their inability to score but
continuing to grind to try to create chances. Cory Vitarelli
got one and made the most of it. He slipped into open space and took
a cross-floor pass from Mark Steenhuis that was in and out of
Vitarelli's stick in an instant, on a rope to just inside the
intersection of the far post and crossbar. That spot came open as
Higgins zipped across his crease to follow the pass. It was like a
quarterback perfectly leading his receiver on a crossing route; the
ball arrived at the net just as the hole was opening that allowed it
in to make the score 5-4.
With just over three minutes to play,
Adrian Sorichetti sprinted off the Brooklin bench to take a
breakout pass from Mitch Wilde. It actually looked like
Sorichetti had the ball in his stick and was heading towards the net
while the defender he was replacing was still a couple of steps from
the change box, a call that usually gets made because the early
change directly creates a scoring chance.
With no whistle sounding, though,
Sorichetti was off to the races. Kirk moved across the crease with
him as Sorichetti threw a couple of fakes and eventually leapt to try
to dump the ball over the goalie's shoulder. The shot looked like it
may have grazed Kirk on its way to the concrete to rebound just
across the goal line under the crossbar. It was yet another perfect
shot when the goalie had been in excellent position.
Brooklin's Chris Corbeil, in his
last game before getting married this weekend and going to Europe for
his honeymoon, said the goalies were the stars of the game. “Kirky
was great for them and Higgy was good for us. There were some good
opportunities. Both defences played pretty well but I really think
the goalies played tremendous,” Corbeil said. “Higgy closed the
door for us: one goal in two periods is huge. Against that offence,
fantastic.”
The Redmen have allowed 132 goals,
third-most in the league, but they're getting stingier as the season
goes. Adding Corbeil and Kyle Rubisch in a deadline trade with
Brampton has been a huge factor. But while the pair are familiar with
several Brooklin players from being teammates with the Saskatchewan
Rush, there's still an adjustment period, especially with the
changing lineups summer lacrosse often sees.
“The problem you run into is every
game it's a little bit different personnel. It's not the same 10 or
11 guys back there like it traditionally is for an NLL game,”
Corbeil said. “You might have guys away, work commitments, travel,
whatever it may be. We're slowly getting there. As we get more and
more comfortable and familiar with one another, things start to come
more naturally and the defence improves exponentially as that
happens.”
Corbeil was brought to Brooklin for
what he brings on the floor as one of the best defenders in the
sport, but also for his leadership. That is reflected in him being
made an alternate captain already, although he wasn't aware of it at
first.
“Funny story” he said. “I showed
up in Peterborough [last week] and they needed a captain to do the
faceoff because [captain Derek Suddons] was hurt. I told
[Steve] Priolo, 'You're the only guy I see with a
letter on your jersey' and he goes 'Well, you've got a letter on your
jersey' and I looked down and said, 'Well, I do have a letter
on my jersey.'”
The win was a huge one for Brooklin,
who jumped into a second-place tie with Oakville, two points back of
Peterborough and one ahead of Six Nations in the jam-packed MSL
standings. From the Lakers perspective, it was a disappointing game.
Head coach Mike Hasen said his message in the locker room after the
game was simple and direct.
“Turn the page,” he said he told
his team. “I didn't think we were very good. So on our way home
tonight let's just see what we need to do a little bit better for
tomorrow. This is going to be real fresh. Let's just be better.”
Peterborough looked a little out of
synch, a factor in which may have been adding John Grant Jr.
and Adam Jones back into the lineup. Grant had previously been
able to make only two games this summer and Jones was away for about
three weeks for his wedding and honeymoon. They were prepared for
that, though, according to Hasen.
“It's been planned that way for all
year long,” the coach said. “So we've got to get used to each
other again. It'll come. The good thing is we play again tomorrow
night.”
That game is against the Six Nations
Chiefs and will have a major impact on the standings. A Peterborough
win will virtually assure them of first place at season's end. A Six
Nations win will mean the top four teams sit within two points with
two games each remaining. It's coming down to crunch time.
