BROOKLIN REDMEN IN A HOLE AGAINST SIX NATIONS

WHITBY — It’s not hard to figure out why the Brooklin Redmen are struggling in their Major Series League lacrosse final.

Much of the reason has to do with the opponent, the Six Nations Chiefs, who finished the season in first place and haven’t lost in the playoffs yet. The Chiefs swept Kitchener-Waterloo in four straight in the semifinal, and then opened the final with a pair of wins over Brooklin, including an 11-5 victory Wednesday at the Iroquois Park Sports Centre.

The other part of the equation has to do with the semifinal series the Redmen prevailed in, and the emotional hangover that still lingers from knocking off the defending Mann Cup champion Peterborough Lakers.

“That’s it exactly. Word for word,” says Redmen GM/head coach Wayne Colley.

“We just played a hard-fought, seven-game series, an emotional high and only had one night to regroup,” prior to Game 1 on Tuesday in Six Nations, he continued. “We go down to Six Nations, we’re late due to traffic so we didn’t get a warmup, then play back-to-back nights.”

The Redmen were better in Wednesday’s home game compared to the 12-7 loss in Six Nations on Tuesday. Wednesday’s game was just a one-goal difference late in the second period when the Redmen went on a five-minute power play to close out the period and start the third. During the power play, Six Nations scored three times to put the game out of reach.

With Game 3 in Six Nations on Friday, the Redmen need to regroup, and fast, trying to avoid going down 3-0 in the best-of-seven.

“The Peterborough series we were playing as a group together. Right now we’re struggling to get everyone together to play at the same time,” said Colley. “We just have to put it all together. We’re not out of it. We just have to focus on what we have to be doing. Some people are trying to do things out of normal, trying to carry somebody else. We have to go back to the basics and do your own jobs.”

The Redmen will host Game 4 of the series on Monday at 8 p.m.

The winner of this series earns the right to travel to British Columbia to compete for the Mann Cup.

Courtesy of: Durhamregion.com