Redmen Show Grit in Tough Loss
On a night when the Redmen honoured the 30th anniversary of the 1987 Mann Cup winning team, the current edition of the team showed grit and heart in a hotly contested battle against the Peterborough Lakers which ended in a 12-11 win for the Lakers.
The Redmen went on an eight goal unanswered run between 11:56 of the first frame, when they were already in a 4-0 hole, to 8:16 of the second frame to stun the league leading Lakers. Former Redmen Kyle Buchanan stopped the bleeding for his team with a goal at 9:26 of the middle frame to make it 8-5 for the Redmen at the mid-point of the contest. The Lakers scored two more that period to make it 8-7 and that was the score in the dying seconds. The Redmen got possession, took a time-out and left starting goalie Mike Poulin on the bench for an extra-attacker, the strategy paid off as Mitch McMichael scored at 19:59 to extend the Redmen lead to 9-7 after two periods.
The Redmen were hoping to benefit from that last second goal which caught fans, who were trying to get a jump on the line at the concession stands, by surprise. However, Buchanan just thirty seconds in, followed by goals from junior call-up Jake Fox and Curtis Dickson gave the Lakers the lead back at 10-9 with half a period remaining. The teams traded goals but Dickson's second of the night with 1:56 on the clock was the difference as the Lakers prevailed 12-11. Veteran goalies Mike Poulin and Matt Vinc were both solid in net, although fans wondered if Vinc may get the hook after the eight goal run. Coaches Day and Hasen decided to stay the course and the decision paid off.
Officials Ian Garrison and Andrew Ecclestone assessed each team three minors and the Lakers were perfect on the power play while the Redmen were two for three.
The Redmen (6-8-2) will travel to the Brampton Memorial Arena Thursday night to take on the Excelsiors who sit at (2-11-1). They finish the regular season July 26 as the Oakville Rock are in town on a night when the Redmen honour the memory of a fallen teammate with the annual Scott McMichael Minor Lacrosse Night.
Scorers for the Redmen were Austin Shanks with three, two each for Ryan MacSpadyen, Mitch McMichael and Curtis Knight with singles to Brodie Tutton and Ryan Keenan.