National Champs Down Brooklin In Overtime

June 26, 2019

By Sam Laskaris

The Brooklin Lacrosse Club came within a few seconds of pulling off a huge upset.

But despite holding its own against the two-time defending Mann Cup champions, the Peterborough Lakers, the Brooklin squad is still seeking its first victory of the 2019 Major Series Lacrosse campaign.

That’s because the visiting Lakers downed Brooklin 12-9 in overtime in a game on Wednesday, which was held at Whitby’s Iroquois Park Sports Centre. The loss was a heartbreaking one for Brooklin for a couple of reasons. For starters, it was enjoying an 8-3 lead well into the second period.

But the Lakers managed to send the contest into overtime by scoring with just five seconds remaining in the third period. That late marker deadlocked the score at 9-9 following regulation play.

For a brief second it appeared Brooklin would win its first game in nine starts this season. Brooklin netminder Zach Higgins made a save with 10 seconds left but as he scooped up the ball teammate Nick Chaykowsky checked a Peterborough player into the crease. Possession then turned over to the Lakers and they capitalized as Peterborough’s assistant captain Shawn Evans beat Higgins with a shot with just those five seconds remaining on the clock. 

“I think it was a bit of a cheeky call at that point in the game,” said Connor Kearnan, who netted a pair of goals for Brooklin.Though he felt his side continued its strong play even when it took a five-goal lead, Kearnan felt it was more of a case of the talent-rich Lakers getting themselves back into the contest. “We just let them get on a roll,” he said. “You can’t let a team like that do that.”

Brooklin had perhaps its best period of the season in the opening 20 minutes. It managed to score the first four goals before Peterborough scored its only marker of the first. “We came out flying and took advantage of our shots,” Kearnan said.  With the victory, the Lakers improved their mark to 7-2.

Kearnan added his squad is not getting deflated even though it is still winless. “The effort is there and we’re making plays,” he reasoned. Brooklin was unable to score when it mattered most on Wednesday. The Lakers scored the only three goals in the 10-minute overtime. Jake Gilmour and Dawson Theede also scored twice each for Brooklin. Single markers were provided by Travis Getz, Jake Fox and Liam Osborne.

Prior to the game there was a ceremony honoring members of the Brooklin squad that captured the Mann Cup 50 years ago, in 1969. Ten members of that championship club attended the match.

There was also a moment of silence for Larry (Wamper) Power, an Oshawa native who passed away on Sunday. Power was considered one of lacrosse’s biggest fans and he was also known for his extensive work researching the sport’s history and compiling stats for numerous leagues.

Brooklin is now off until next Wednesday (July 3) when it hosts the Brampton Excelsiors. The opening faceoff for this contest is scheduled for 8 p.m.