Frustration, fighting boil over in big loss by junior-A Lakers
The Peterborough Merit Precision junior-A Lakers couldn’t beat the Orangeville Northmen on the scoreboard Monday night, falling 10-2 at the Memorial Centre, but they beat them in other ways.
Several fights broke out in the third period as the Lakers, now 0-4, let their frustration boil over.
At the 5:03 mark, players converged behind Northmen goaltender Chris Origlieri. Nick Crowley wrestled with Owen Rahn against the boards and Ben Trumble squared off with Aidan Fearn in the main event. All players were handed 15 minutes in penalties, effectively ending their nights.
Shortly thereafter, the players converged again at the Lakers bench with Wyatt Wiggins fighting Noah Millsap after Millsap took a cross-checking penalty. Wiggins got the takedown.
“It’s a tough game out there; it’s a heated game,” said assistant coach Jeff Ralph. “There were a couple of questionable hits that happened. Our boys were just sticking up for each other. We don’t go out there looking for it, nor do we condone it but we do want guys sticking up for themselves and taking care of their teammates.”
The Lakers didn’t find the back of the net until the second period. Orangeville led 3-0 after the first, with two early goals from Cam Sanderson and Amos Whitcomb. Koleton Marquis scored with 57 seconds left in the period on a power play.
Lakers goaltender Deacan Knott opened the second period with a strong right shoulder save on Marquis, but the Northmen opened up a 4-0 lead after Nate Ruff scored short-handed on a long pass from Origlieri.
Nick Crowley finally whipped the ball past Origlieri for the Lakers’ first goal, coming more than halfway through the game. Liam Matthews replied for Orangeville with another short-handed goal and a 5-1 lead after two.
Despite only scoring once in the first two periods, the Lakers agreed they played a decent game until that point.
“We have to start games faster,” Trumble said. “It’s all about the first period and we haven’t been stepping up to play in the first and that’s something that we have to fix.”
“We saw four or five defensive guys back, leaders and veteran players who really stepped up tonight,” Ralph said.
“I thought our boys battled hard. Orangeville … is arguably the best junior program in Canada and they’ve added more offensive players to their roster this year. Deacan held us in there, the defence held us in there the first two periods. We just couldn’t get inside on the offensive end and get that extra goal to tighten it up a bit.”
One of those new offensive stars is Joey Spallina, the Syracuse University phenom from Mount Sinai, N.Y. He assisted on five goals and now has six goals and 12 assists in three games.
Northmen head coach Rusty Kruger said Spallina is still pretty new to the box game, having played only “a bit” in New York, where the main focus is field lacrosse.
“He’s still learning the game but he’s going to be a great addition to our team and he’s already a great teammate,” Kruger said. “He’s got a great skill set; he loves the game and wants to get better. He’s very coachable and he’s a great kid.”
He’s not just offensive flair: Orangeville scored five goals in the third period, making it 10-2 with two minutes left in the game, and Spallina still ran up the floor to backcheck Oliver Hazelwood, who was in the offensive zone alone.
Sam Trumble scored Peterborough’s only other goal 7:27 into the third period.
The Lakers were outshot 52-37, with Knott making 42 saves.
The Lakers will try to right the ship Friday evening when they visit Tony Rose Arena in Orangeville for a rematch with the Northmen. On Sunday, they’re in Six Nations and then they return home Monday to host the Toronto Beaches.