A Bump on the Road for the Steelhawks

The Whitby Steelhawks packed their gear and 9-3 record for a visit to the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena in Ohsweken on Sunday afternoon. They had a date with the Ohsweken Bears who were on a three-game win streak and jockeying for a playoff position. The last time these teams met was on January 17th  and  Whitby won by a final of  21-8. The Steelhawks arrived with 14 runners, two goalies and one coach for Sunday’s contest. By the time the final buzzer sounded the Bears had registered a 12-10 victory (their fourth straight) while the Steelhawks suffered their first loss since January 3rd (14-13 to the Toronto Monarchs).  

Other than that early January blemish and the one on Sunday, the Steelhawks had assembled eight successive wins to guarantee a top-two finish (alongside the defending champs Brampton Express) and a  first-round bye in the playoffs.  This season, the bottom two teams drop out of playoff contention and the remaining four play in a one-game elimination quarter-final series.  The final-four weekend for the Arena Lacrosse League championship is scheduled for the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre in Oakville on March 28th and 29th, 2026.

The game on Sunday afternoon was generally a close affair. The Bears did strike first but the Steelhawks kept at it and after the opening quarter it was 4-3 in their favour.  The teams traded goals early in the second quarter. The Steelhawks owned a 6-4 lead with half of the second quarter elapsed. At the half, the score was 7-6 for the Bears as they reeled off three straight to end the second quarter.

The short bench for the Steelhawks took its toll as they watched the Bears record three more  unanswered goals for a 10-6 lead to open the second half.  Not to be outdone, and in a show of team grit, Quinn Hyland led the way for Whitby as they countered with three straight in the last two minutes of the quarter. It was 10-9 after three quarters in favour of the Bears.

“I could sense that fatigue  was starting to set in, I was sending seven players out the front door and seven out the back. We had a great pushback, but it just wasn’t enough,” said coach Brad Reed.

The Steelhawks clawed back to 11-10 early in the final quarter on Hyland’s third goal of the game and they were pushing. A late goal by the Bears put a dagger into Whitby’s heart and it was a 12-10 final at the buzzer.

“We have one regular season game left (Saturday March 14 at 1 pm vs the Toronto Monarchs at home) and of course we want to win that one to set the tone going into the playoffs.   We will enjoy the opening round bye and regroup for the final four at the end of the month,” added Reed.

In addition to Hyland’s three goals, Parker Pipher and Rowan Kelly scored a pair each with singles going to Keagan Croley, Scott Reed and Trent Boyd.  Ethan Harwood took the loss in the Steelhawks net.