ALL East Game Recaps - Week 14

The Arena Lacrosse League East had four power packed games this past weekend. 

Friday evening at the Memorial Arena in Brampton, Ontario 

Paris RiverWolves 15  Brampton Express 14

This was a contest that showed us a number of things in this year's race.  The first thing, as we already knew, was that Brampton is a very strong offensive team.  The second thing is that the Paris RiverWolves are for real, and will make a lot of noise in the upcoming playoffs.

The two teams went back and forth until midway in the second quarter.  Tied 4-4 Paris strung together a five goal run, with five different scorers.  Not to be outdone, Brampton stormed back scoring six of the next seven goals.  Curtis Ward led the charge for the Express and we were tied 11-11.

As we headed down the stretch, Paris scored twice to grab a 13-11 lead.  The Express kept working and were rewarded with three goals to take the lead with just 3:08 remaining.  Caiden Merritt of the RiverWolves became the hero of the game scoring twice in 0:49 seconds to give Paris the lead with just 1:41 remaining.  Brampton tried for one final comeback, but the RiverWolves defense was up for the challenge.  Paris outlasted the Express 15-14.

Caiden Merritt (5g,4a), and Kurtis Woodland (2g,3a) led the RiverWolves offense, with Marley Angus (1g,4a) and Carson Moyer (0g,3a) being the playmakers. 

Curtis Ward (3g,4a), Jacob Janke (2g,3a), Zach Sunderland (2g,3a), and Jeremy Searle (2g,1a) accounted for most of Brampton's offense.  Jake McNabb (2g,5a) was the playmaker. 

The Three Stars:

1. Caiden Merritt (Paris)
2. Curtis Ward (Brampton)
3. Chase Cosgrove(Paris)

Saturday night at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre in Oakville, Ontario 

Peterborough Timbermen 18  Toronto Monarchs 17 in Overtime 

In another battle of strong offensive teams, the Peterborough Timbermen defeated the Toronto Monarchs 18-17 in overtime Saturday night at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre. 

Another prime example that this is a game of runs had the Monarchs put together a five goal run to jump out to a 6-3 lead early in the second quarter.  The Timbermen came back with a six goal run of their own that started in the second into the early parts of quarter number three for a 10-7 Peterborough lead.

The second half was played just as wide open.  Both teams went back and forth with eighteen goals scored between them.  Things got interesting was in the fourth quarter.  Down 17-14, the Monarchs staged a late rally with Riley Ford and Tanner Buck scoring 0:29 seconds apart to bring the game within one goal.  With the goalie on the bench and an extra attacker on the floor, Jordan Dance potted his fourth goal of the game with just 0:27 seconds left to send it to overtime. 

The extra period lasted all of 0:26 seconds when Riley Morgan scored unassisted for the Timbermen to give them the hard fought victory. 

Jack McAlpine (3g,4a), Cam Milligan (3g,3a), Zach Thompson (3g,2a), and Aaron Woods (4g,1a) led the offense for Peterborough.  Geoff McNulty (1g,6a), Sam Parent (0g,4a) and Angus Rawding (0g,5a) were the playmakers. 

Jordan Dance (4g,4a), Tanner Buck (3g,3a), and Riley Ford (3g,1a) led the way for the Monarchs.  Parker Pipher (2g,12a), and Ty Jesso (1g,4a) were the playmakers. 

The Three Stars:

1. Parker Pipher (Toronto)
2. Riley Morgan (Peterborough)
3. Jordan Dance (Toronto)

Sunday at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena in Hagersville, Ontario 

Early Game 

Oshawa Outlaws 15 Ohsweken Bears 19

This was the best start Ohsweken has had this season.  Led by Eddie Renaud, the Bears jumped out to a 7-1 lead after one quarter.  However, the Outlaws were equal to the task scoring seven of their own in the second quarter led by a John St. John hat-trick for a 9-8 Outlaws lead at the half.

After an entertaining third quarter where both teams scored four goals each, the Bears were still down by a goal.  However, Ohsweken would put it in overdrive in the fourth.  The Bears scored seven more times on the strength of seven different scorers.  Oshawa wasn't able to match the energy, scoring only twice, dropping the game 19-15.

Eddie Renaud (4g,4a), Chris Attwood (2g,4a), and John Harrington (3g,3a) led the way for Ohsweken, with Josh Sanchez (1g,5a), Thomas Richardson-Bonar (1g,3a), Jon Perry-Smith (1g,3a), and Steven Portelli (1g,4a) were all playmakers. 

John St. John (5g,2a), and James Whiteford (3g,2a) led the way for Oshawa, with Ryan Haigh (1g,3a), Gareth Haigh (1g,3a), and Alec Simons (1g,3a) as the playmakers. 

The Three Stars:

1. Eddie Renaud (Ohsweken)
2. John St. John (Oshawa)
3. John Harrington (Ohsweken)

Late Game 

Whitby Steelhawks 7  Six Nations Snipers 8 in Overtime 

A game which Whitby seemed to have in hand took a strange turn in the second half.  The Steelhawks had everything going their way up 7-2 early in the third, when Dusty Hill became unbeatable in the Six Nations goal.  Led by Thunder Hill, the Snipers chipped away at the lead one step at a time until tying the game at 7:53 of the fourth quarter.  The action in the last few minutes was frantic, with both Dusty Hill of Six Nations and Lukas Coote making game saving stops to keep the game tied 7-7.

In overtime Ross Hill was able to convert an Avery Steinbach-Parker feed at 3:29 to complete the Six Nations comeback.  The Snipers stunned the Steelhawks 8-7.

Thunder Hill (2g,2a) and Ross Hill (2g,1a) led the Six Nations charge with a pair of goals each, while Liam Osbourne (2g,1a) led Whitby with a pair of goals himself.

The Three Stars:

1. Ross Hill (Six Nations)
2. Dustin Hill (Six Nations)
3. Lukas Coote (Whitby)

You can catch all the Arena Lacrosse League action on YouTube at Arenalacrosseleague Channel 3.