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The Brooklin Lacrosse Club – 2022 Year in Review
The Brooklin Lacrosse Club (BLC) performed very well at the 2021 Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) Classic en route to a 7-1-0 record good for 14 points and first place overall. As a result, hopes for 2022 were high as General Manager Brad MacArthur was able to get a good look at his 2020 and 2021 draft picks in game situations.
The 2022 season was marred by off-the-floor issues which delayed its start, once the dust settled it was determined that a four-team league would play a 12-game regular season. Oakville took a one-year hiatus and Brampton and Owen Sound were forced to the sideline with direction to settle their differences with a return anticipated for 2023.
There would be a change behind the bench as MacArthur decided to focus his energy on role of GM while also taking on a head coaching position with the Florida Tech Panthers, an NCAA Division II men’s field lacrosse club based in Melbourne, FL. Taking the helm was Jason Crosbie assisted on offence by Gavin Prout and defence by Derek Suddons.
BLC opened the season on the road over the May long weekend in Six Nations. They came out with a 10-6 loss, some called it an exhibition game as the Ontario Lacrosse Association did not send referees, despite the fact this was an important day in the community for their annual Bread and Cheese Day, in the end the result stood. BLC played each team four times for a 12-game regular season; they defeated the Lakers twice and lost to them twice, they defeated Cobourg four times and against Six Nations they lost three times and tied once.
They ended the season with a record of six wins, five losses, one tie for 13 points only one point behind second place Peterborough
Their tally of 121 goals for was good for highest in the league and their 106 goals against was second only to Six Nations.
BLC did very well in receiving MSL Awards:
- The Gene Dopp Rookie of the Year Award presented by Signature Lacrosse went to Dyson Williams
- The Bucko MacDonald Leading Scorer Award presented by True Lacrosse also went to Dyson Williams as he tallied with 26 goals, 19 assists good for 45 points in 12 games that translated to a 3.8 points per game average
- The Terry Sanderson Coaching Staff Award presented by Training Division went to the trio of Crosbie, Prout and Suddons for their leadership behind the bench.
As a result of the final standings, BLC would meet the Peterborough Lakers in the opening round of the semi-finals. In their four regular season meetings neither team was able to win on the road. This pattern would continue into the playoffs, game one was a 12-8 win for the Lakers at the Peterborough Memorial Centre and followed by a 10-8 BLC win at home in game two (or was it?). It turns out that Prout was assessed a game misconduct in game one for abuse of official, BLC were not properly notified so he was on the bench for game two resulting in a Lakers appeal that was upheld and meant the win for Brooklin was reversed and the Lakers were now up 2-0. Brooklin won a thrilling game three to close the series gap but could not muster another win as Peterborough won games four and five to take the series.
BLC did make a concerted effort to question the legitimacy of two late additions to the Lakers line-up but were not successful in their protest. In conclusion, the 2022 season started with excitement and promise and on the back of off-floor decisions ended far too early and with bitter disappointment.
BLC would like to thank the dedication of their fans, community partners, sponsors, volunteers and off-floor officials. Efforts are underway to set the tone for the 2023 season and we encourage you to get involved with the club. Look for announcement on date, time and location for our Annual General Meeting towards the end of October.