Brooklin registers impressive victory against visiting Kodiaks

By Sam Laskaris

It was not an ideal start for members of the Brooklin Lacrosse Club on Wednesday. The host Brooklin squad found itself trailing by a pair of goals before its Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) contest against the visiting Cobourg Kodiaks was even three minutes old. And even though it was past the midway mark of the opening period before Brooklin scored its
first goal, the hosts then took charge and posted a convincing 12-7 triumph in the match held at the Iroquois Park Sports Complex in Whitby.

“That was a pretty good effort from everybody,” said Brooklin coach Gavin Prout. “Especially with it being on back-to-back nights.” Brooklin had also played on Tuesday evening, when they were edged 9-8 by the host Six Nations Chiefs.

- photo by Sam Hossack

Prout said many members of the Brooklin squad, including himself, had some lengthy commutes back to their homes on Tuesday, made even worse for some by Highway 401 closures following a late-night accident, which involved fatalities.
Thus, Prout wasn’t surprised to see his charges get off to a slow start on Wednesday. 

“Once we got our legs under us, we were okay,” he said. 

Brooklin led 4-2 after the opening 20 minutes. And the squad then took charge of the contest by outscoring the Kodiaks 7-2 in the middle frame to take a commanding 11-4 advantage into the third period. Cobourg did make things a bit interesting in the final frame by scoring three unanswered goals. 

“It was all about clock management in the third,” Prout said.

Brooklin outshot the Kodiaks in each period and by a 56-43 count in the match. Riley Hutchcraft made 36 saves between the pipes for Brooklin to earn the W. Meanwhile, Josh Toguri, who scored once and added an assist, was among those impressed with the efforts of his Brooklin teammates.

“The boys are buzzing, we’re getting more guys back and everybody is meshing together,” he said. Toguri added he wasn’t surprised with how the Brooklin squad performed, despite playing in its second game in as many nights.

“We came out a little flat but we just picked it up from there,” he said. “I wasn't surprised.” 

The Brooklin team, which has been utilizing numerous players from its Senior B affiliate this season, welcomed three new faces to its roster last night. Defenders Keenan Cook and Mike Byrne and forward Tristan Hanna all played their first MSL game of the year. With the victory, Brooklin evened its record at 3-3. The Kodiaks saw their mark fall to 1-5. Toguri believes Brooklin’s fortunes will improve once the club gets some consistency with its roster.

“The more games you play together the better you mesh,” he said. “I think things can only go up from here.”

Brady Kearnan and Kyle Waters both registered hat tricks for the Brooklin squad. Jack Boyden added a pair of goals for the hosts while Ryan McCrory, Trent Boyd and Corson Kealey also provided singles.

Brooklin is now off until next Wednesday, June 28, when it hosts the Brampton Excelsiors. The
opening faceoff for that tilt is set for 8 p.m.