Six Nations Chiefs win 8-6 to draw within 3-2 in MSL finals

Dillon Ward wasn't unbeatable, but he wasn't far from it for the Chiefs as they won Game 5 8-6. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

The aberration isn't that the Major Series Lacrosse championship series now sits at three games to two for the Peterborough Lakers over the Six Nations Chiefs; the aberration was that one team won three games in a row to open the series.

That was the underlying theme in comments from coaches and players on both sides of the floor after Six Nations took Game 5 in Peterborough Tuesday night to get within a home win of evening the series up. They'll have that chance Thursday night at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena.

“Before the fourth game I just told them all our goals are still attainable. We wanted to win four games against Peterborough, we can still do that,” said Chiefs head coach Rich Kilgour. “We've got a great group of veterans in there and they echoed the same thing: it's not over till it's over. If we get the first one we go from there. We get the second one, I think they might be feeling a little pressure now. We just line up and play. We don't look behind us, we look forward.”

Dhane Smith led the Chiefs with 2 goals and 3 assists and Randy Staats chipped in a pair of goals while Dillon Ward made 38 saves on 44 shots. Cory Vitarelli scored 3 goals and added an assist to lead the Lakers. Matt Vinc stopped 36 of the 44 shots he faced.

Game 5 goes Tuesday night at 8 pm; free live webcast by JVI Sports Network

Game 5 of the Major Series Lacrosse finals Tuesday night in Peterborough will be available via free live webcast by JVI Sports Network, thanks to presenting sponsor Thompson Brothers Lacrosse.

The Peterborough Lakers lead the series 3-1 but the Six Nations Chiefs built some momentum with an 8-1 domination in Game 4 in Six Nations Sunday night.

Thompson Brothers Lacrosse is growing the game of lacrosse with camps and other efforts that leverage the appeal of Lyle, Miles, Jeremy and Hiana Thompson, all of whom play in the National Lacrosse League and are breakout stars for the sport. Jeremy also plays for the Chiefs.

Chiefs stave off elimination with domination 8-1 win in Game 4 of MSL Finals

Randy Staats may have come out the worse in this encounter, but the Six Nations Chiefs won almost every facet of the game in trouncing the Peterborough Lakers 8-1 to force a fifth game in the MSL finals. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

Courtesy Darryl Smart

Billy Dee Smith didn’t want to call Sunday’s 8-1 victory over the Peterborough Lakers a comeback.

“We showed up tonight,” said Smith, who was one of the defensive catalysts for the Six Nations Pro-fit Chiefs. “Down 3-0 we didn’t want to be swept.”

With the victory, the Chiefs staved off elimination, with the Lakers still leading the best-of-seven Major Series Lacrosse final 3-1.

“For whatever reason, the last three games we didn’t bring it… mentally, emotionally,” Smith said. “If someone did something good, nobody had their back. No excuses aside, they capitalized on their opportunities more than we did.”

But Sunday at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena was different.

“Tonight we had a goal, and we stuck to our game plan, did what we did all season, and what we’ve always done,” Smith said. “We played some really tight and we swung the ball instead of standing still. Those two or three things make a huge difference and it showed tonight.”

Free live webcast of Sunday night's 7 pm Game 4

An important note for all Major Series Lacrosse fans. Sunday night's Game 4 in Six Nations starts at 7 pm. It was previously scheduled for a later start time but will face off at 7 pm.

Thanks once again to Canadian Tire Pit Stop at 1050 Lansdowne St in Peterborough for coming back on as presenting sponsor once again, making it possible for JVI Sports Network to stream the game live and free of charge to viewers. Canadian Tire Pit Stop staff are the Oil Change Experts and can also take care of your tire rotation, tire repair and transmission flush needs.

Welcome aboard to 3 Stars sponsor Liberty Tax Service in Peterborough. During the game, tweet your suggestions for the 3 Stars, making sure to tag @jvivideo.

To always be informed of when games are streaming on JVI Sports Network, make sure to subscribe to their YouTube channel.

Peterborough Lakers dump Six Nations Chiefs to move to verge of MSL title with 3-0 finals lead

Brad Self scored on a brilliant end to end run, including hurdling over a falling Chiefs defender, as part of Peterborough's opening 7-0 run. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

In any tight, hard-fought series, there's bound to be at least one blowout. Even considering that, Thursday night's 15-9 win by the Peterborough Lakers to take a 3-0 lead in the Major Series Lacrosse finals over the Six Nations Chiefs was stunning.

Shawn Evans started the onslaught at 2:18. When Josh Currier connected just under 11 minutes later the scoreboard read 7-0 in the Lakers favour and for all intents and purposes, the game was over.

Six Nations fought hard to get back into the game but were never able to close the gap to fewer than five goals because Peterborough kept playing hard, knowing how dangerous the Chiefs can be. Six Nations twice scored three straight goals but each time, the Lakers responded.

One play could symbolize how the night went for each of the teams. Six Nations had just run off three goals to close the gap to 13-8 with 5:47 to play. Peterborough had the ball in the offensive zone when a Chiefs defender stripped the ball from rookie forward Holden Cattoni, who lost his stick in the process. Cattoni spun away towards the ball, ran around it and kicked the ball straight into the stick of teammate Cory Vitarelli, in stride and right in the mesh.

When Vitarelli fired a shot home, it showed that it was the kind of night where even when the Chiefs did things well it just didn't seem to work out for them.

Peterborough Lakers forge 2-0 series lead with 7-6 win Tuesday in Six Nations

Cory Vitarelli reacts after scoring for the Lakers in their 7-6 win over the Chiefs in Game 2 of the MSL finals.
(Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Peterborough Lakers took a 2-0 lead in the best of seven Major Series Lacrosse championship series with a 7-6 win over the Chiefs in Six Nations Tuesday night. 

The game was webcast by JVI Sports Network and can be viewed in their YouTube archives. Anyone interested in sponsoring a game webcast can contact Stephen Stamp via email at stamplax@hotmail.com. 

Peterborough got an early lead on an unusual power play goal. With Six Nations controlling the ball in the offensive zone, they pulled goalie Dillon Ward to place a fifth runner in the neutral zone. It's a common tactic that teams employ; when the penalty expires, the player from the penalty box steps to the bench so the goalie can return to his crease. Meanwhile, the player in the neutral zone steps in to join the offence with a full 30 second clock.

This time, however, the move backfired when Ryan Benesch was pressured into a turnover near the restraining line and no other Chiefs player had run to the bench to let Ward back on the floor. Brad Self scooped up the loose ball and launched a shot from his own side of centre that bounced into the empty net for the game's first goal.

MSL finals Game 2 will be webcast live and free by JVI Sports Network

It's great news for Major Series Lacrosse fans who can't make it to the ILA Tuesday night. Thanks to Canadian Tire Pit Stop at 1050 Lansdowne Street in Peterborough, Game 2 of the MSL finals will be streamed live and free on JVI Sports Network's YouTube channel.

Canadian Tire Pit Stop are the Oil Change Experts. They also do tire rotations, transmission flushes, tire repairs and more. And now they are heroes to lacrosse fans who can't get to Game 2 in person thanks to their sponsorship of the game webcast.

Game 1 was an absolute thriller, won 12-11 by the Peterborough Lakers in double overtime on Adam Jones' sixth goal of the game. The Lakers and Six Nations Chiefs are meeting in the finals for the third straight year with each of the previous two championship series going the full seven games, so expect the excitement to build as this year's title tilt progresses.

To watch the game, go to JVI's YouTube channel here.

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