SHORTHANDED REDMEN SILENCE THUNDER
by thistles forever
CORNWALL - The Dominion champions paid a visit to one of the great historic centres of lacrosse Sunday afternoon. The ghosts of Norm Carpenter, Alex Black, John White and Newsy Lalonde looked down upon the Si Miller Arena and had to be pleased. Following in the footsteps of such great teams as the Orillia Terriers and Montreal Shamrocks, the Brooklin Redmen came to the Factory Town. Yet the Mann Cup holders hardly had their full lineup with them. No Shawn Williams, no Steve Toll, only a dozen regulars and only fifteen runners. Still the impression they made was enormous. After the game I heard one fan say, "is that #9 ever fast," and his friend replied, "the whole team is so fast!" For the Redmen rolled into Thunder country and ran Akwesasne out of the building enroute to an 18-11 triumph.
The initial period was one of the best played all year. The teams made up for the half hour delay with an action packed 20 minutes. Even with the delay, the Thunder played the first 8 minutes in white. On one possession call referee Tim Vinson shouted white ball - which white team? Finally the red sweaters arrived and Akwesasne took a minute to change right on the bench(the goalies changed at intermission).
Brooklin blasted off to a 4-1 lead. There fast break exploited the home side's one clear weakness, their inability to get back on defence fast. Brad MacArthur set up one goal then scored another.
Some terrific open floor hitting in the period. Brad Reed continues to be an enormous physical presence as he floored a Thunder player on one play. Later John Tavares showed his portfolio is about more than just scoring. He caught a Redmen with his head down at centre and absolutely destroyed him. On the same shift J.T. drew two penalties in retaliation. The biggest hit of the frame was delivered by Darryl Gibson. He met Craig Delormier up floor and flattened him as he was knocking a loose ball to a teammate. The goaltender was down for two minutes and had to leave the game.
The highlight of the session was the play of Gord Nash. He was stopping everything in sight. On a 4 on 3 Akwesasne power play, all four Thunder players handled the ball with rapid fire timing, the last pass going across the crease. Nash was on his knees leaving more than half the net open, yet he got his stick up to bat the shot away.
On the same power play, Tavares finally beat the Brooklin netminder. That was followed by Reed hadling the ball in the crease, which gave J.T. a penalty shot. Again Nash came up big - he would own John Tavares one on one all day. Again the save was in vain. Shortly after, Tavares completed his natural hattrick, tying the game 4-4. Peter Lough answer off the draw as the defending champions won the period 5-4. Shots on goal favoured the Thunder 24-18.
The second period was all Brooklin. They scored three times on their first four shots and quickly built up a 9-4 lead. The home side managed only one shot through the first 6 minutes. At 10-4 Delormier returned to goal. He slowed the Redmen down, holding them to one goal the last 11 minutes of the session.
The Mann Cup holders do have a discipline problem. In the opening period, back up goalie Rob Blasdell earned a bench minor with his mouth. This came after Referee Vinson specifically warning Blazer to shut up twice. In the second period Gary Rosyski out did his teammate and nearly turned the game against his team. He compouned the harm of a two minute minor by picking up another two then a ten minute misconduct from Don McGrath. 14 minutes in the box when your team is running a short bench...hmm.
The second penalty was what got the Thunder rolling again. They finished the period with a couple of goals to draw back to 11-6. Travis Kilgour shook the rust off his stick and finally did something right. He actually scored before and after the intermission. Brooklin had an 18-15 shot advantage over the 20 minutes.
The visitors could have blown this game. During a week of unbelieveable comebacks, an Akwesasne rally was very likely and could have stolen the game had the Redmen stopped scoring. Even with a short bench, Mark Evans kept his chargers running, thus the final 20 minutes proved to be their most productive.
But there was a scare or two given to the Mann Cup holders before they pulled away. One Tavares who could score on a breakaway was newly acquired Peter. He beat Nash to get the Thunder close at 12-8. By the 7 minute mark, Rich Kilgour scored off a moving pick to cut the lead to 13-10. That was the end for Gee Nash. Blasdell entered and immediately closed the door. The back breaker for the home side came midway through the period. MacArthur scored his second straight fast break goal to put Brooklin up 14-10. Peter Tavares scored a couple of minutes later to make it 15-11 but that was all Blazer would surrender. Both teams had 19 shots during the session.
From my vantage point referees McGrath and Vinson did not miss a single call the entire afternoon. The defending champions took the bulk of the penalties and they deserved them. This is one weakness the Redmen must clear up. They may not get away with such lack of discipline against Brampton or Peterborough. Plus seeing how upset they became with good officiating, what will happen to Brooklin if faced with the WLA style of refereeing?
|