Spartans open at home
If anyone knows what a tough battle for ball possession feels like, it’s an indoor lacrosse player.
A new batch of rookies will experience exactly that feeling, and what it’s like to compete in a fastpaced environment, when the junior B season gets underway for the St. Catharines Spartans.
St. Catharines may be rebuilding after finishing third in the South East Division with an 11-9 record, but head coach Robert McKibbon has high hopes for this season and he believes the Spartans can tough it out with the top dogs in their division.
Maybe even take home the title.
“I expect us to end up in the top three in the standings and do some damage in the playoffs this year,” the third-year coach said.
Leading a junior B team to a Founders Cup championship is no small feat. It requires teams to play with with intensity and dexterity, all while enduring the bumps and bruises inflicted by sticks.
McKibbon, acknowledging that Canada’s national winter sport can get very physical at times, said the first challenge his team faces is getting the guys used to the hard knocks again.
“We have quite a few guys coming back from last year. Last year we had a lot of rookies, now this will be their sophomore year,” McKibbon said. “We have veterans like Cree Blakely, our top scorer, and Adam Kirchmayer, who we picked up in a trade with Welland.”
Blakely’s 76 points led the team and was tied for 15th overall in the 25-team league. The gritty Blakely’s 32 goals and 44 assists were also team highs.
Other veterans, such as Kirchmayer, hope to use their leadership to inspire teammates. He is looking forward to playing his first full season in St. Catharines and is getting fully on board with the system.
“We have a good team offensively,” Kirchmayer said. “We got five guys that can put the ball in the back of the net twice or three times a game easily.”
He is entering his sixth season in junior B. In 58 career games, he has 22 goals and 53 assists. Last year, between the Spartans and Generals he had 14 goals and 24 assist for 38 points.
Now that he’s had a chance to get to know the players around him, the left-handed forward is looking to have a breakout season.
“I just want to get better every day, every game,” Kirchmayer. “It’s a good game. It’s fun to get out there and compete.”
The Spartans made the playoffs last year as the fifth seed in the Western Conference and were swept 3-0 by the Six Nations Rebels in the first round.
St. Catharines needs to play much better on the road if it hopes to improve this year. In 2016, the Spartans were just 3-7 away from Merritton Arena and had a fivegame losing streak on the road.
League play opens Saturday for St. Catharines, with the Spartans hosting the Owen Sound North Stars in a 7 p.m. faceoff at Merritton Arena.
St. Catharines’ last game against Owen Sound, in May 2015; ended in a 12-9 victory for the Spartans.