Lakers maul Kodiaks to solidify hold on first
18-9 win moves Lakers four points ahead of Rock for first place
The Peterborough Century 21 Lakers got lots of offence from lots of sources Thursday night.
A night after a defensive battle in an 8-8 overtime tie against the Brooklin Redmen in Whitby, the Lakers blasted the Cobourg Kodiaks 18-9 before 2,964 fans at the Memorial Centre.
The usual suspects like Corey Small, five goals and Kyle Buchanan, nine points, piled up offence while Eric Shewell potted his first MSL goal and fellow defenders Thomas Hoggarth, with two, Bryce Sweeting, Matt Gilray and Chad Tutton scored in transition in a diversified attack.
It helped the Lakers (7-1-1) open a four-point lead on the Oakville Rock (5-1-1) for first place.
The Lakers scored a game’s worth of goals in the first period riding a six-goal run to a 10-4 lead. Chad Tutton’s fast-break goal 15 seconds after Cobourg went up 3-2 started the six-goal flurry.
Kodiaks starting goalie Kevin Orleman was replaced by Davide DiRuscio after the seventh goal. The game was never in doubt after the Lakers outscored Cobourg 5-1 in the second period.
Shewell’s goal was one to remember. He passed to Buchanan who circled the Kodiaks defence and from the side of the net retuned the ball to Shewell who put it far-side.
“It’s always nice to kind of feel like a goal scorer,” said Shewell, who scored a goal in the 2015 Mann Cup. “They’re few and far between and I’ll take them whenever I can. Any chance we get to contribute it’s always nice to help out the offence.” The game disintegrated into a series of fights in the final few minutes. The Lakers felt Cobourg took liberties with offensive players instigating on players like Buchanan, Holden Cattoni and Cam Milligan.
“it was a little bit of aggression from their side, being down 10 goals, throwing some whacks at us and us retaliating,” said Shawn Evans. “They jumped our offensive players like Milly and Buchanan, and we pushed back. We’re in our building and we’re not going to take that crap.”
Jake Withers was one of four Lakers assessed fighting majors while Sweeting got a five-minute roughing penalty.
“It’s something that has to be done sometimes in the sport of lacrosse especially when you have team that is so close, like a family, you stick up for your family members and your brothers,” Withers said.
On Wednesday, Shawn Evans and Brooklin’s Nick Chaykowsky exchanged overtime goals. Evans led the Lakers with four goals and two assists while Small had a goal and assist and Josh Currier, Cattoni and Andrew Suitor also scored.