VETERAN SIX NATIONS ROSTER EDGES PATCHED-UP BROOKLIN LINEUP

Members of the Brooklin Lacrosse Club didn’t pick up two points in the standings on Saturday night.

But those who suited up for the Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) squad earned considerably more points in the eyes of the team’s head coach Jason Crosbie.

A youthful Brooklin squad was edged 9-8 by the league-leading Six Nations Chiefs, who had a veteran-laden lineup in the match held at the Iroquois Park Sports Centre in Whitby.

“We had eight rookies and four Junior B callups for that game,” Crosbie said. “If my math is right, that’s 12 players that are brand new in this league versus a lineup of NLL all-stars and professional guys.”

With the win, the Chiefs improved their record to an impressive 7-1-1. Six Nations is now seven points ahead of the second-place Peterborough Lakers, who are sporting a 4-3-0 mark.

Brooklin continues to remain in third place in the four-club MSL and now has a 3-4-1 record.

Chris Boushy, who scored once and added a pair of assists for Brooklin, was pleased to see the fight his teammates put up against a talented and season opponent.

“If you think about it that way, against a veteran Six Nations team, it’s a good game,” Boushy said. “I thought we played really well even though there were a couple of lulls at times.”

Boushy came within a whisker of sending the game into overtime as his shot in the dying seconds of the match hit a goalpost and stayed out of the Chiefs’ net.

“I’m surprised that didn’t go in actually,” he said.

Boushy was also rather proud of the fact the Brooklin squad battled hard right until the final buzzer.

The Chiefs took a four-goal lead, 9-5, early in the third period. Brooklin, however, scored the only other three goals in the final 20 minutes of action to make it a one-goal game.

Boushy was among those offering encouraging words to his young Brooklin teammates.

“Mitch Wilde and a couple of other veterans on the team, we were just saying to the guys that we’re younger and keep your head into it,” he said. “They’re a scary team. They can be but if you just keep your eyes on the end goal, which is to win a game, then you kind of overlook all of that other stuff that kind of spooks you and freaks you out and throws you off your game. I think the young guys took to that and we did well.”

Crosbie also liked the never-say-quit attitude those on his squad displayed.

“The grinding mentality, we talked about it,” he said. “What this organization is steeped in is a lot of history and a lot of working-class people after the day in Brooklin and farming communities. And those people never quit. They’re grinding all the time. So, we keep running, we have to keep grinding them down. That’s what we’ve been doing the last little bit.”

Crosbie also praised members of the Clarington-based Green Gaels squad that joined the Brooklin roster for their first MSL game.

“We had a lot of guys away,” Crosbie said. “I want to give a shutout to the Junior B guys that came today and helped us fill the numbers.”

This listed included runners Quinn Hyland, Owen Taylor and Ryan Olan. Hyland earned an assist in the contest.

Also, Green Gaels’ goaltender Malcolm Vivian served as the backup for Nick Damude, who earned the starting assignment between the pipes for Brooklin.

Ryan Lanchbury and Ryan Barnable scored twice each for Brooklin. Besides Boushy, also scoring for the hosts were Wilde, Luke Pilcher and Dyson Williams.

Brooklin’s next game is this Wednesday (July 20) against the visiting Cobourg Kodiaks. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.