For the 3rd time in less then 3 days, the Jim Newton Electric Bantam Fury
lacrosse squad took to the floor against their rivals, the Peterborough
Lakers. Having defeated the Lakers twice over the past weekend in the Kingston
Tournament, and missing key players Craig Shier and Mitch Naylor, as well
as goaltender Mac Langford, the boys knew they would be in for a game,
as Peterborough would want to show why it is known as the "Lacrosse
Capital of the Kawarthas!"
Also going against the Fury this time, was the number 1 Peterborough goaltender was back between the pipes for the game this evening. The Fury came out ready to play, and seem to be having the upper hand with the Lakers early on, and their hard work paid off, with Brendan Hlibchuk opening up the scoring, assisted by Tom Weber. The rest of the period was dominated by lots of great plays, but even better goaltending by the Laker goaltender, and the Fury tender, Josh O'Neill. The period ended with the score in favour of the home team at 1-0.
As the second period got under way, the same level of play was continued, as both teams went end to end, only to by stymied by the goaltenders. At the 10 minute mark however, Colin Naylor increased the Fury lead to 2-0, with a goal, assisted by Riley Smith. Just about 30 seconds after having building the 2 goal lead, the Lakers cut the lead in half, with a goal of their own, but the Fury came right back 30 seconds after giving up that goal, and built another 2 goal cushion, when Riley Smith buried a shot into the lower corner on the Laker goalie. Smith's goal was a unassisted tally. The Fury then seemed to go into a shell, letting the Lakers move the ball around the floor with ease, and before they knew it, the score was all tied at 3's before the buzzer sounded to end the 2nd period.
After hearing what the coach felt of their effort for the latter part of the 2nd period, you could see a more determined look on the faces of the Fury players, as they hit the floor for the final period. They were rewarded for their good start to the period, when Brendan Hlibchuk took a great feed from Liam Newton, and Hlibchuk's quick release found it's way over the Laker goalies shoulder into the back of the net to give the boys a 4-3 lead. Again, stellar goaltending by Josh O'Neill kept the Fury in the lead, as Peterborough took it to the Fury during the middle part of the 3rd. The Fury looking to put the game away, increased their lead again to 2 goals, when Riley Smith scored his 2nd of the game, from Luke Tamlin. The Fury seemed content to try and maintain ball possession and let the clock run down, but the Lakers had other ideas, and with just 1:14 to go in the game, a beautiful underhand shot from a Laker player, eluded O'Neill, and made things interesting. With the Lakers down just a goal, they gained possession from the face off, and as soon as they had the ball, the Laker coach, Joe Hiltz, called a time out to draw up one last play to try and knot the score up. When the Lakers retook the floor, they had pulled their goalie for an extra attacker, and proceeded to move the ball around, looking for the perfect shot. In the span of 30 seconds, the Lakers had 4 great scoring chances, but the O"Neill would not allow the ball to get past him, and on a loose ball, the Fury gained possession, and Liam Newton scored an empty netter, to give the Fury the 6-4 win, their 3rd victory in a row over Peterborough, and a record of 5-1 in Zone 6 play.
The next action for the Fury is on Monday June 22, 2009, when the Clarington
Gaels will come to the Rec Centre. Game time is 8:00pm.
