 |
| The Peterborough Lakers went into Oakville and won Game 6 to advance to the MSL finals. (Photo: Anna Taylor) |
The Peterborough Lakers had been to the
Major Series Lacrosse finals in 12 of the previous 13 years. The
Oakville Rock had never won an MSL playoff series. While the Rock
appear poised to end their streak in the near future, Peterborough
kept theirs rolling by beating the Rock 6-4 to win the semifinals
four games to two.
Oakville led 1-0 after a first period
in which defence and goaltending ruled the roost. Only Dan Lomas'
power play goal at 11:12 was able to find the back of the net.
Peterborough didn't get on the board until 6:06 in the second period
and it took a sensational effort.
Nick Weiss ragged the ball on
the penalty kill before eventually cutting to the net, fighting off
three defenders and slotting the ball past Nick Rose. Mark
Steenhuis followed that with a power play goal on a similar drive
to the net. His shot went off Rose and the post, bounced on the goal
line and spun up into the air, just barely crossing the line if
indeed it made its way across.
Matt Vinc held the Lakers in the
game with some excellent saves as Oakville put pressure on throughout
the second period and eventually did manage to strike paydirt,
getting three straight goals over an eight-minute stretch. Steenhuis
clawed back some momentum for the Lakers with another power play goal
30 seconds from the end of the period.
It took another spectacular play for
the Lakers to even things up in the third. Chad Tutton stayed
up for an offensive shift, horizontally towards the crease, took a
perfectly time pass from Josh Currier and whipped a backhand
off Rose's leg and into the net at 3:13.
Peterborough had taken 43 minutes to
get its first four goals, but the Lakers took just 10 seconds to
score the final two goals of the game. Chad Culp ripped a
step-back sidearm in off the post at 5:56 for what would prove to be
the winning goal. Off a scramble on the ensuing faceoff, Stephen
Hoar scooped up the ball and raced down to beat Rose.
Peterborough held on the rest of the
way to close out the series and set up their third straight
championship series against the Six Nations Chiefs. That series will
begin Sunday night at 7 pm in Peterborough.
“I might have been the most surprised
of everybody in the arena that went in,” Tutton said of his
critical goal. Most of his effort was expended as part of a Lakers
defensive group that helped Vinc keep the Rock in check.
“It feels like each and every game we
become more and more one cohesive unit rather than five individuals
out there,” said Tutton. “It just becomes really cohesive and
everything's seamless. It's almost like clockwork.”
Vinc was happy with the effort the
Lakers came up with to finish off the series but noted they'll have
to step things up even further if they hope to play host to this
year's Mann Cup. “We can't give them looks like we did Oakville and
let them get on a run because they have experience and they have a
lot of guys on their team that are looking to get another ring on
their finger,” Vinc said.
For Oakville, it was a difficult pill
to swallow but an important step in the process they hope will make
them Mann Cup contenders in the near future.
“Definitely proud of the group”
said Rock head coach Matt Sawyer. “It doesn't soothe the sting
right now of losing a series that we thought we were capable of
winning.
“You've got to use these experiences
to get better. There's a saying that you've got to lose a few to
learn how to win. We've got a lot of winners in that room who have
won at different levels, Minto Cup or NLL, but I truly believe that
this is what they call a man's league. The Mann Cup is the ultimate
and I think it's the toughest. We need to learn what it takes to get
there. “
