‘We made it happen,’ Higgins says at banner raising
LAKERS LIFE
Long-time Peterborough Century 21 Lakers president Ted Higgins was feted for more than 50 years of service to senior lacrosse in the city Thursday night.
Going back as far as 1964 and the revival of the local senior team, Higgins has been a central figure in the team’s operation. That dedication was celebrated prior to the Lakers’ latest contest with the raising of a banner to the Memorial Centre rafters bearing his likeness.
The Lakers board also presented Higgins, who was joined on the floor by family members, with a team jersey bearing the number 50 to represent more than five decades with the team. He was also presented a collage depicting his days as a young athlete through to his role as club president.
“I’d like to thank all the wonderful people who helped me along this journey,” Higgins told the crowd, acknowledging sponsors, coaches, staff, players, family and a number of deceased volunteers. “I’d like to acknowledge how tough the first 10 years were and those people who ground it out and were always there for me. You know what? We made it happen.”
An emotional Higgins paid a special thanks to the fans.
“We say a very heartfelt thank you to all,” he said.
Tutton Out For Season, Vitarelli Uncertain
Chad Tutton sustained an Achilles tendon injury in the NLL playoffs that will sideline him for the entire summer season, said Lakers GM Paul Day.
Tutton’s Georgia Swarm beat the Saskatchewan Rush in the NLL final.
While Day acknowledges Tutton’s loss is significant, he says the team is lucky to have two new defenders in Matt Gilray and Thomas Hoggarth who can help absorb the loss.
Cory Vitarelli was also diagnosed with a hernia by the Rochester Knighthawks doctor and he is contemplating surgery, Day said. A timeline for his return is unclear but Day hopes Vitarelli will be available for playoffs.
Josh Currier’s visit to Rochester last week also confirmed he’ll need another two to three weeks of rehab on a knee injury suffered in the NLL season.
Day says Mark Steenhuis will need another couple of weeks to recover from an ankle injury suffered in the team’s season opener.
As well, Adam Jones, who also participated in the NLL final with Saskatchewan, will complete his teaching commitments in Owen Sound and join the club at the end of the month, said Day.
Also sidelined by injury are Nick Weiss and Dylan Evans. Weiss is out three to four weeks with a shoulder injury sustained in a golfing cart mishap. Evans will miss a week or two with a hand injury sustained at work.
Day says all these factors have meant plenty of floor-time for younger players and call-ups. Gilray was unavailable due to a lacrosse camp commitment in Maryland, said Day. Brad Self and Evan Kirk were also absent Thursday. Senior B call-ups included Jeff Swift, Ryan Masters, Brett Coons and Brad Baker and juniors Jake Fox, Nick Finlay and making his senior debut Taite Cattoni.
Six Nations were also missing a number of key players like Dhane Smith, Cody Jamieson and Billy Dee Smith to injury and NLL players Randy Staats and Johnny Powless.
Day On The Bench
Lakers GM Paul Day served as head coach on Wednesday and Thursday with Mike Hasen accompanying his son to a lacrosse event in North Carolina this week. Hasen is expected back for the club’s match Sunday in Cobourg.
Day said he will likely remain on the bench all season as offensive coach Tracey Kelusky will miss time in July with coaching commitments to the Finnish national team at the European championship.
Withers, Currier To MLL
There are three Lakers players playing pro field lacrosse in the Major League Lacrosse this summer. In addition to Shawn Evans (Chesapeake Bayhawks), Zach Currier (Denver Outlaws) and Jake Withers (Atlanta Blaze) both made MLL debuts recently after completing their collegiate careers at Princeton and Ohio State, respectively.
Day said there are not a lot of conflicts between the MSL and MLL schedules so he doesn’t anticipate the trio missing a lot of games. The MLL season concludes around the beginning of MSL playoffs. Currier is expected to make his Lakers season debut next week.