Steelhawks Declaw Bears in Home Win

The Whitby Steelhawks enjoyed some home cooking this past weekend after a dominant 21-8 win over the visiting Ohsweken Bears.  With their second consecutive win, Whitby is back to .500 on the season with a record of 3-3, the Bears are also at 3-3.  The crowded standings in the eight-team Arena Lacrosse League (ALL) feature five teams at .500 or above, approaching the halfway mark of the 2025-26 season.

The Bears scored first in the contest and had some jump while showing no signs of bus legs. That lead was brief however and they would not be in that position again. The Steelhawks answered with a pair of goals off the sticks of Devin Pipher and Owen Orpana. They also reeled off four unanswered to end the first quarter amassing a 7-3 lead.

Coaching staff, Ryan Degerdon and Brad Reed and GM Will Petschenig have been high on Orpana since selecting him second overall in the 2024-25 ALL entry draft. Orpana ended his 2024-25 rookie campaign with 10 regular games played, 19 goals, 17 assists and 36 assists. In the 2025-26 season, to date, in four games he has collected 14 goals, 12 assists for 26 points.

“The guys took me in really well last year, I was a bit nervous in my first year as a young guy but have more confidence coming into my second year,” said Orpana after his two goal and four assist performance on Saturday afternoon.

“With these two wins now, we are looking to the next game and expect more of the same. I see my role on the team as playing where I am told, if I am needed inside I can do that and if the coaches want me outside I can play there as well,” added Orpana.

The Steelhawks opened the second quarter with a short-handed marker by Curtis Conley on a nice pass from Rowan Kelly. They took the second quarter 4-2 and possessed an 11-5 lead at the half. Degerdon’s game plan was paying off and his expectation of winning each quarter was intact.

The third quarter was more of the same as Whitby took it 7-2 and built an 18-7 lead with 15 minutes remaining. The Steelhawks took their game to the Bears and rallied for four straight in a two-minute span to take the dominant lead down the stretch.

The Bears found themselves in penalty trouble in the final quarter. The Steelhawks took advantage of that with all three of their goals in that frame on the power-play.

The 21-8 win was their largest margin of victory this season. The Steelhawks will be the visiting team on January 24 for a 1:00 p.m. date at Children’s Arena against the Oshawa Outlaws. The Outlaws are coming off a win Friday night over the Toronto Monarchs and will look to improve on their 2-4 record.