Pictures Worth A 1,000 Words (or more)

Here’s a selection of some recent photo albums from various events I’ve attended:

Baseball/Softball:
2009 Notre Dame Baseball
http://public.fotki.com/jdisher/2009-notre-dame-baseball

2009 Welland Minor Baseball Regular Season – House League
http://public.fotki.com/jdisher/welland-baseball

2009 Welland Minor Baseball Hit-A-Thon
http://public.fotki.com/jdisher/wmba-hit-a-thon

2009 Welland Mosquito Mustangs
http://public.fotki.com/jdisher/2009-mosquito-mustangs

2009 Welland Vesuvius Canada Peewee Mustangs
http://public.fotki.com/jdisher/2009-peewee-mustangs

Softball – Men’s Slow-pitch:
2009 Young Gunz
http://public.fotki.com/jdisher/2009-young-gunz

Ball Hockey:

Ball Hockey International – Spring Session, Welland:
http://public.fotki.com/jdisher/bhi-spring-2009

Lacrosse:
2009 Ontario Lacrosse Assocation Jr. B Season
http://public.fotki.com/jdisher/2009-welland-warlords

2009 Welland Joe’s Valumart Tyke Raiders
http://public.fotki.com/jdisher/welland-tyke-raiders

2009 Welland Equipment Rentals Novice Raiders
http://public.fotki.com/jdisher/2009-novice-raiders/

2009 Welland Prospects Sportswear Peewee Raiders
http://public.fotki.com/jdisher/welland-peewee-raiders

2009 Welland Ontario Power Generation Bantam Raiders
http://public.fotki.com/jdisher/welland-bantam-raiders/

2009 Welland Four Paws Pet Resort Midget Raiders
http://public.fotki.com/jdisher/welland-midget-raiders/

Meaningless Games?

I sometimes hear parents at games talking about things they would rather be doing instead of watching their kids play these “meaningless” games. I have no children, and I don’t even have a whole lot that I can to contribute to the sports I watch, yet I couldn’t imagine myself being anywhere else…even when the scores are lopsided or the games mean very little in the standings. To me, there is no such thing as a meaningless game.

Wins or losses aren’t even that important to me personally, but seeing kids (and adults, for that matter) playing something that they enjoy (and which they usually are quite good at) is something that I’m proud to support.

In the end, it’s not the scores, the championships or the statistics that make these games meaningful. Instead it’s all the time spent with friends and family (whether playing or simply spectating) and, sharing a series of collective experiences together, win, lose or tie. That’s what make every game meaningful to me.

Our Time To Act Is Now

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/ourgame/story/2009/01/20/orillia-rink-closure.html

This story should sound the alarm bells to communities like mine who have aging facilities and a city council who thinks we are fine with our existing facilities.

This week one of our city councilors introduced a motion to have our manager of Parks, Recreation & Leisure Services cease and desist his study into a private-public partnership on a three-pad arena that is very much needed in our town. The current facilities simply do not offer us the amount of ice time needed to meet the current demand for our programs. Many Rep Teams are forced to go out of town to practice several times per week, and other groups like Women’s (girl’s) hockey and sledge hockey do not run any programs here simply because there is no ice time available, and not because there is not a demand for these types of leagues.

One of the unions who represents our city’s outside workers recently forced the issue by holding a three day strike and making our city council agree in writing to hire union staff at any new facility before they returned to work.

Our city is in the process of replacing old water and sewer infrastructure and does not have the money to build new facilities on its own, with other projects like the expansion of our seniors’ centre and a new soccer complex being also considered. Our taxes are already some of the highest in the region, and unemployment seems to have hit us harder than other cities, due to the loss of many of our higher-paying manufacturing jobs.

Everyone realizes the tough economic times we are in, however, living with the status quo is no longer an option. It’s to the point that we cannot even throw money at the existing facilities in the hope that it will keep them running. We may be able to salvage some additional years from our Main Arena, with an investment of millions of dollars, however our Youth Arena will surely need to be closed in only a few years’ time, as our city council is fully aware (only two years ago our council approved emergency repairs to the roof of the Youth Arena in order to try to buy another ten years of service from it).

Our time to act is now. I encourage my city council to do the right thing and approve our Arena Feasibility Study Steering Committee’s recommendations to proceed with the study of a new three-pad facility so that we do not end up in the position which Orillia is now facing.

Another Milestone

Tonight marked another milestone for me, my debut as Head Coach, albeit in a very brief relief appearance…

When the Minor Atom A team that I manage had their game canceled tonight due to a strike by our city workers, I decided to head out-of-town to watch the Major Bantam A team whose home games I regularly announce. On the way to the game I found out that the other five coaches on staff were unable to make the game and I would be needed to fill in as the Trainer. As luck would have it I did have to venture out onto the ice during the game, but the player was miraculously cured by the time that I made it across the ice to him.

In the last few minutes of the game, our top defenceman, our team Captain, our Head Coach and our backup goalie were all kicked out of the game. Since we started the game short-staffed as it was, with only four defencemen and eight forwards, I didn’t have too many choices on who to put out when we faced a 6-on-3 situation during the final minute of play while we held on to a one-goal lead. Thankfully, our undefeated season remains intact, so maybe I’ll get asked to coach again in a pinch.

I never know what I’m going to do when I show up at an arena these days. I could be behind the bench as a Trainer, Manager or Asst. Coach, I could be timekeeping, or I could be behind the glass somewhere taking pictures of all the action, or I might even be in the press box announcing and playing music. One thing is certain, I’m there willing to help out in any way that I can and I’m never just there just watching the game…

The Snapshots That Count

You might think if I mentioned the phrase “snapshots that count” within the context of hockey that I would be talking about some great goals quickly struck from inside the slot area that won a particular team a championship. However, what I am referring to is something completely different.

Last season I had the pleasure of accompanying the Minor Peewee AAA Tigers on a day trip to the Grey-Bruce area that concluded their regular season . Yesterday, I had the chance to travel with them again on the bus, now that they are a year older and competing as Major Peewee AAAs to check in how the players and team have changed in the eight months since, as they made their first of two trips to that area this season. There are several new faces on the team this year, both in terms of players and members of the coaching staff, but one thing remains the same…FUN is stressed above all.

As a result of all the hours of hard work put into on-ice and off-ice training, skill development of the players both individually and collectively has greatly increased. I believe the reason some teams fail to achieve as much success as they could is that they forget to make things fun and therefore some kids don’t buy fully into the program. Great teams expect 100% effort 100% of the time when your on the ice, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t times when you can let your guard down off the ice and just enjoy each other’s company. Bus trips and tournaments are perfect opportunities during the season to reinforce this concept, although many parents often choose to not accompany the kids and miss out on this benefit for themselves.

Last season I had the chance to announce several of this team’s games, and while my schedule and responsibilities have changed this season where I cannot do that as regularly, I still wanted to demonstrate to these players that watching their development and keeping abreast of their progress is no less important to me now. Making a point of spending time with them yesterday, despite my cahotic schedule, hopefully shows them just how much I care to see them become the best that they can be.

I don’t judge a team’s success by their overall record or stats. With my many years of experience watching the sport I know that there are games we should win and there will be others that we should by all rights lose, and many in between that could go either way. By instilling confidence in these kids, and taking the pressure off them by stressing the importance of fun above all, I believe all kids can always have winning seasons year after year regardless of how their team does in the standings. Instead of counting wins, I look at the attitudes of the players as a barometer of their success. If they are a confident and happy group they will play far better than if they are stressed out and under the gun to meet a higher set of expectations in terms of tournament victories or end-of-the-season championships (whether from themselves, their parents or the coaches). They face enough pressures at school and at home that we do not need to add to that at the rink. The best coaches realize this and find ways to motivate that go beyond looking at individual or team stats. The idea seems to fly against reason, but when you de-emphasize stats (but not effort!) you often find that the team surprises you and performs even better than anyone thought they could.

Yesterday, the team recorded their first win in Grey-Bruce in several seasons, which is already an accomplishment of which they should be proud, no matter how the rest of their year goes. That being said, I will do everything I can to make sure that I’m available should they need me to announce a lengthy playoff run in the spring and I will try to be available for the second trip up to Grey-Bruce later in the season as well. Continue making your city proud of you boys…good luck the rest of the way.

Finally, speaking of snapshots that count… as my eyes have deteriorated lately I have focused less on writing about the games and more on taking photos during them. Here are some pictures from yesterday’s games in Chesley that show the kids doing what they do best…having fun and playing hockey (Note: This year’s Minor Peewee AAA team played in a game right before the Major Peewee AAA game and we arrived in time for me to catch a period of play and take some pictures from that game as well, which ended in a 3-3 tie):

Snapshots That Count: Another Bus Trip To Grey-Bruce
Go Tigers Go!

Around The Rinks

While I haven’t been doing much writing on the games, I’ve still been around to catch plenty of great hockey action lately, announcing when I can.

Here are some albums from recent games I’ve attended:

Sunday October 19

Saturday October 18

Thursday October 16

Ranting, Not Raving

Even though I call this blog Rink Rat Rants, I very rarely “rant” on here about anything.  After last night’s debacle, however, I feel a few things need to be said, so please excuse me just this one time.  I should be good for the rest of the season after this one

Port Colborne Pirates vs. Welland Jr. Canadians (8/24 Exhibition)

Those who believe that the third week of August is too early to begin playing hockey will clearly point to last night’s exhibition contest between the Port Colborne Pirates and the Welland Jr. B Canadians for proof of their argument.

Fans expecting to see even mildly entertaining hockey Sunday night were left clearly disappointed by this uneven contest, an 8-0 Pirates victory.  I’m not sure whether to blame one side more than the other, or both sides equally, but one thing is certain – there was absolutely no entertainment value to last night’s contest, even if you happened to be a fan of the Port Colborne Pirates.

Besides the fans who were asked to shell out $5 each, I think the only others I feel sorry for were Welland’s two goaltenders, Ryan Dundas and Mike Choiniere, who were provided with virtually no support throughout the evening, either on defence or offence.  Not that I blame the Welland players, many of whom I know are decent young players, but they simply were not given any chance to succeed with how things were handled last night.

Clearly better communication should have occurred between these two teams beforehand in order to provide a level of competition that was somewhat enjoyable for the paying customers.  To play a game where the teams were so unevenly matched in skill level and size only risks injury to the younger players and is completely irresponsible.  It should have been agreed prior to the game whether veterans would be played, so that both teams could try to put squads on the ice of equal calibre and then be able to take something away from this game.  As it was, I don’t believe you can properly evaluate any players using last night’s action.  Thumbs down to both sides for not using their heads on this one, and for the home side only only thinking of the extra gate revenue that could be earned.  A decent crowd once again came out expecting to be given some value for their money, and unlike last week, were not provided with a decent on-ice product.  The way things transpired, the players (and fans) would likely have been further ahead if this ice time would have simply been used as a practice instead.

I’m not sure what, if anything can be taken away from either team after playing this contest, which has me wondering why play this game at all?  Port Colborne dressed several veterans last night, however, the average fan would not have realized this as no lineup for the Pirates was provided at the game (except for when goals were announced over the public address system, which can often not be heard clearly depending on your position inside the arena). Last night’s uneven result only serves to scare away potential Welland fans from returning to future games this season, as they will mistakenly believe that the team this season will not be very competitive, if they simply pre-judge based on last night’s action.

More enlightened fans, of course, will realize that this was not even a true exhbition game since the training camps have not even started, and will wait before making any judgements on the fates of either club seen last night.

Welland plays a pair of split-squad games on Wednesday, with half the team traveling to Thorold for a 7:30pm start, while the other half ventures to the Leisureplex in Fort Erie for an 8pm opening whistle.  Thursday the Jr. Canadians return home to host the St. Catharines Falcons at 7:30pm, and then Fort Erie will visit the Rose City at 7:30pm on Friday evening for a rematch.

Last night’s winner of the 50/50 draw, from Port Colborne, took home a cash prize of $235, so perhaps one person last night did return happy afterall.

Welland’s lineup from last night was as follows:

Starting Goaltender: #30 Ryan Dundas, 3GA

Relief Goaltender: #31 Mike Choiniere

2 John Langel

3 Brandon Cassar

4 Robert Wormald

5 Emmett Beedom

6 Nick Aiello

7 Patrick Koudys

8 Adam Mataya

9 Jared Molnar

10 Brett Lustri

11 Anthony DeLisio

12 Justin Lafontaine

13 Joe Sacco

14 Nate Duliban

15 Jamie Dionne

16 Ethan Ranalli

17 Josh Nero

18 Jordan Daradick

19 Colton Ambrosio

Port Colborne did not fax their lineup to the Jr. Canadians in time to be printed out for the fans in attendance, and it therefore unavailable here.

Game-action photos here:

8/24 Port Colborne Pirates vs. Welland Jr. B Canadians (Exhibition)

Championship Day

While my schedule prevented me from following any of these leagues on a regular basis over the course of the entire summer I did manage to attend the Championship Days of the Welland Minor Baseball Assn., Ball Hockey International and the Welland Soccer Club yesterday. During the past few weeks I have been able to attend several games from all three organizations and I can’t stress enough the great job that all the volunteers and staff do to ensure every player has a great time. To all the coaches, game officials and league administrators, congratulations on a job very well done and thank you for all your hard work. As every parent can likely attest, the smiles on these kids’ faces make all the hard work and time spent during the season well worth it.

Pictures from Welland Minor Baseball’s Championship Day (Peewee House League Division):
Championship Day at Welland Minor Baseball, Peewee House League Division

Pictures from the Championship Days at Ball Hockey International and the Welland Soccer Club:
Championship Day at BHI and the Welland Soccer Club

Mustangs Corral Bobcats For A Playoff Win

The Welland Vesuvius Canada Mustangs defeated the Beamsville Bobcats to keep their playoff hopes alive Thursday night in Niagara District Peewee baseball action.

August 21 – Beamsville Bobcats vs. Welland Vesuvius Canada Mustangs

Playoff Action Around Town…

Here’s some mid-week playoff action from BHI Welland and the Welland Soccer Club…

Wednesday August 20 Night Action at BHI Welland

Wednesday August 20 Under The Lights At The Welland Soccer Club

Wherever there’s a rink…

Here’s some pictures from the Minor Bantam AAA tryouts in Welland…

2008-09 Welland Minor Bantam AAA Tryouts

and from Teen Division at Ball Hockey International in Welland…

Sunday: Sunday Afternoon Teen Division Action at BHI Welland

Tuesday: Teen Division Playoff Action at BHI Welland

8/16 Another Afternoon at BHI Welland

A beautiful, sunny Saturday afternoon made for a perfect day at BHI Welland.  Once again I was on hand to catch some of the action in the 10-12 and 13-15 Boys Divisions.

Another Afternoon At BHI Welland

More BHI Welland Action…

This past week has once again left me with plenty of time to catch up on other sports action around the city.  Unfortunately, the weather has won out during most of the week, however, I was able to catch another game at BHI Welland on Thursday evening in the 13-15 Boy’s Division.

August 14 – Merrittville (Green) vs. Chambers & Wickens (White), BHI Welland Boys 13-15 Division

Covering the Field…

With the lacrosse season completed (for my team, anyway) and hockey not yet quite underway, I’ve had the pleasure of attending several other sports recently, among them soccer, baseball and ball hockey.  Here are some pictures from each.

8/2 Welland Soccer League 14u Boy’s Action, Welland Soccer Club

8/2/08 Welland Soccer League

8/8 Welland Minor Baseball Peewee HL All-Star Game, Memorial Park Diamond #2

Peewee All-Star Game

8/9 Welland Soccer League 14u Boy’s Action, Welland Soccer Club

8/9/08 Welland Soccer League

8/9 An Afternoon at Ball Hockey International, BHI Welland Rinks

An Afternoon at BHI Welland

8/6 Westerkirk Royals vs. Niagara Falls Falcons

Here are game action photos from Wednesday’s game.

August 6 – Westerkirk Royals vs. NF Falcons

8/3 Westerkirk Royals vs. Niagara Falls 14u Falcons

Sunday morning found me in Cheektowaga catching one of the consolation games of the New Era Cap Classic between the Westerkirk Royals and Niagara Falls Falcons.  These same two teams compete on Wednesday evening at Oakes Park in playoff action.

Here are some game action photos from Sunday’s early morning contest:

August 3 – Westerkirk Royals vs. NF Falcons

For full tournament results, please visit:

New Era Classic Results

7/31 Pelham Panthers vs. Welland Mustangs (NDBA Peewee)

Pelham Greg Miller Restoration Panthers vs. Welland Vesuvius Canada Mustangs

Thursday night once again found me at Memorial Park’s Diamond #2 watching the Welland Vesuvius Canada Mustangs as they came from behind in the last inning to defeat the visiting Pelham Greg Miller Restoration Panthers in Niagara District Baseball Association Peewee Division action.  Game photos can be viewed here:

Pelham Panthers vs. Welland Mustangs

Niagara Falls Falcons vs. Welland Mustangs (NDBA Peewee Baseball)

Here are some photos from a July 29, 2008 Niagara District Baseball Association Peewee game featuring the Niagara Falls Buckner’s Source for Sports Falcons and the Welland Vesuvius Canada Mustangs.

NF Falcons vs. Welland Mustangs

OLA Bantam Provincial Qualifying Weekend #1 Results

Halton Hills Bulldogs vs. Harpwood’s Trophies Raiders (6/11 1:10pm)

The referees may not have done the Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Raiders any favours, but the scoreboard did as the end result could have been far worse than the 8-2 defeat. While the long drive to Whitby is not an easy one on anyone, Welland clearly came out less prepared to play, and was scored upon only 18 seconds in by #9 Scott Laughton, on assists from #66 Brandon Clelland and #22 Adam MacKinnon.

Welland replied at 4:29 of the first, on #36 Kevin Millejours’ tally that was set up by #11 Wade Kenny, but they still did not appear to be playing anything resembling their recent level of quality play.  Laughton took advantage of their uninspired defensive effort by netting his second of the day at 10:49 from #5 Bryson Nicolucci and #44 Jacob Hand.

Another slow start in the second period allowed Hand to put the visitors up by two at 0:59 of the middle stanza on a re-direct from Laughton, but the Raiders recovered briefly when #19 Sebastien Beaudoin made good on a Millejours pass to cut the Bulldogs lead to 3-2.  It was all downhill from there, however, as the Raiders struggled on offense and could not keep out of the sin bin.  While it appeared that the officials at times could have called Halton Hills for similar infractions, the penalties they assessed against Welland all seemed to be deserved.  Welland ended with three times the penalty minutes, with 18 PIM to Halton’s 6.

Halton lit up the Raiders during the remaining minutes, with #88 Michael Nicolucci, #6 Jamie Batten, #77 Kyle Moore, #55 Derek Thomas and Laughton all scoring, with Laughton completing his hat-trick.  Hand, Michael Nicolucci, Bryson Nicolucci, #4 Kurtis Oldham, Patten, and Laughton all assisted on the latter goals.  Despite the number of goals scored, Halton only held an 18-10 shot advantage overall.

Boxscore:

HAL  2-4-2= 8

WEL  1-1-0= 2

The Raiders will look to re-group this evening when they face the Six Nations Warriors, a team they have played very well against this season, despite having lost all three previous Zone 9 match-ups this year.

Photos from this game can be found here: Halton Hills Bulldogs vs. Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Raiders

(A free MySpace Account may be required to view album).

In the morning’s earlier Bantam games, Brampton prevailed over Peterborough 6-4, Whitby dominated Mimico 9-3 and St. Catharines could not hold on against Guelph, dropping a 7-5 decision.

Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Raiders vs. Six Nations Rebels (7/11 7pm)

The WellandHarpwood’s Trophies Raiders gave everything they had on the floor tonight but came up just short, falling 7-5 on late goals by Six Nations.

Photos of this game can be viewed at: Six Nations Warriors vs. Welland Harpwood’s Trophies

(A free MySpace Account may be required to view album).

Boxscore:

WEL 2-2-1= 5

SIX  3-1-3= 7

In other Bantam action this afternoon, Peterborough toppled London 7-0, Whitby tripled Orangeville 9-3 and Akwesasne overpowered Kitchener-Waterloo 6-2.

Akwesasne Storm vs. Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Raiders (7/12 11:20am)

The perennial powerhouse Akwesasne Storm subdued the plucky Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Raiders on Saturday morning in a 10-4 walk-away victory.

Please visit the following site to view game action photos:
Akwesasne Storm vs. Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Raiders

(A free MySpace account may be required to view album.)

WEL  2-0-2=   4

AKW  4-4-2= 10

Welland

Harpwood’s Trophies Raiders vs. London Blue Devils (7/12 5:10pm)

The Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Raiders’ hard work was finally rewarded with a 5-3 victory over London Saturday afternoon.

Pictures from this game can be viewed at: London Blue Devils vs. Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Raiders

(A free MySpace account may be required to view album.)

Boxscore:

LON  1-2-0= 3

WEL  0-3-2= 5

Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Raiders vs. St. Catharines Rosie & Sheehan Athletics (7/13 11:20am)

The Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Raiders, led by their twin towers of power, dominated their regional rivals early on in this one, staking themselves to a three-goal first period lead on markers from #19 Sebastien Beaudoin and a pair by his brother #90 Nicholas Beaudoin.  Nicholas would also net the eventual game-winning goal in the second period, completing his second hat-trick of the season.  #17 Michael Simpson set up two of the goals, and #91 Anthony DiFruscia also contributed a secondary helper in the impressive victory.

True to form the St. Catharines Rosie & Sheehan Athletics refused to lay down in this one, storming back with a goal in the second stanza by #10 Hunter Garlent, and tallies in the third by #20 Jacob Dion and Garlent.  Assisting on the A’s strikes were #18 Spencer Coates, #21 Charlie Sheehan, #14 Chris Hutton and Dion.

Welland held a 21-18 advantage on shots-on-goal during the 45-minute contest.  Both goalies, #1 Eric Fannell and #29 Graeme McCullough stood tall between the pipes for their respective teams.  Each team is loaded with offensive talent, however, on this day the goalies seemed to have the upper hand, making one great save after another to give the crowd plenty of moments to cheer throughout the game.

Boxscore:

WEL  3-1-0= 4

STC  0-1-2= 3

Kitchener-Waterloo Braves vs. Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Raiders (7/13 5:10pm)

The Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Raiders were unable to regain their focus after defeating the St. Catharines A’s in the morning session, losing 5-2 to the Kitchener-Waterloo Braves in their last contest of the opening Qualifying weekend.

While the Raiders took an early two goal lead in the first period on goals by #16 Ryan “Bubba” Dakin and #19 Sebastien Beaudoin, they did not at any point appear to be in control of this game.  Their poor collective effort on offence and defence eventually tripped them up as the Braves stormed back to upset the Raiders 5-2.

Scoring for the Braves were #15 Chris Cloutier, #14 Chris Walser, #2 Patrick McKelvie, #7 Spencer Lee, and #18 Cristian Wyman.  Lee’s goal appeared to be the back-breaker for the Raiders, as he took advantage of a mishandling of the ball by Welland netminder #30 Kyle Patterson to score into the open net.

Welland sits at 2-4 after the opening weekend and has an uphill climb if they hope to crack the Top 6 and earn a trip to the Finals in Guelph during the August 15-17 weekend.  Based on their efforts against Six Nations and St. Catharines the team clearly has the ability to play with the best, but it depends on which team takes to the floor.  The team that took to the floor against Halton Hills and Kitchener-Waterloo this past weekend clearly did not resemble anything close to the team that has been so competitive all season.

Boxscore:

K-W  0-3-2= 5

WEL  2-0-0= 0

Raiders Deadlock With The A’s (7/2)

St. Catharines #1 Sheehan & Rosie Athletics vs. Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Raiders

Forty-five minutes of play solved nothing as these two evenly-matched teams played to a 4-4 draw on Wednesday night in Welland.   The Athletics came back from two goals down in the final frame to pull even with their Hwy. 406 rivals.

#8 Corey Antongiovanni paced the visitors with two goals while #10 Hunter Garlent produced two points for the A’s with a goal and an assist, and #15 Adam Bellamy registered a two-point evening with a pair of helpers.  #55 Charlie Sheehan notched the other St. Catharines marker, and #14 Chris Hutton and #20 Jacob Dion each picked up lone assists in the contest.

The Raiders’ #15 Brooker Muir and #19 Sebastien Beaudoin each responded with a goal and two assists to marshall the bulk of their team’s offence for the home side.  #93 Damien Alfieri sparked the team by scoring the game’s opening goal, and #36 Kevin Millejours netted the team’s last marker in the second period.

Shots on goal slightly favoured Welland 38-37 overall, despite a 20-12 third period barrage by the Athletics that fully tested #29 Graeme McCullough.  Not to take anything away from his counterpart, #1 Eric Fannell, who played solidly at the other end as well, but McCullough was clearly the pivotal factor in Welland walking away with a point in this contest as the team in front of him simply wore down in the game’s late stages due to fatigue.

It’s always a pleasure watching these two teams battle it out on the floor and fans will get the opportunity once again to see these two teams fight it out at Provincials in Whitby during the upcoming weekend.  First however, the Raiders must face the stiff challenge of the Six Nations #1 Warriors on Monday and then travel to the Garden City to square off against the St. Catharines #2 Athletics on Tuesday.

Boxscore

STC  1-1-2= 4

WEL  1-3-0= 4

Six Nations Again Have Raiders’ Number (6/30)

Six Nations #1 Warriors vs. Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Raiders

vs.

A solid defensive effort and stand-out goaltending from #30 Kyle Patterson allowed the Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Raiders to make a good showing against the visiting Six Nations #1 Warriors, although they fell by a 5-2 final to them in the end.

The Raiders, who fielded eleven runners to the Warriors’ fifteen simply were too exhausted in the final stanza to mount much of a comeback.  The last period saw the Warriors control much of the play and, as a result Patterson, was extremely busy between the pipes, coming up with one great save after another to keep things close.

A tremendous bright spot for the Raiders, in addition to their excellent defensive play that saw them cut the Warriors down from seven and nine goals in their previous two meetings, to only five in this game was the fact that this was their first penalty-free contest of the season.  Their hard-nosed style of play often leads to an accumulation of penalty minutes each game, however, on this night a great show of discipline kept them out of the sin bin.

#90 Nicholas Beaudoin and #36 Kevin Millejours each registered a goal for the hosts, with #19 Sebastien Beaudoin, #93 Damien Alfieri and #98 Zach Olsson picking up assists on the night.

The Warriors found offensive spark from #15 Adam Bomberry who notched a pair to go along with singles from #55 Kyle Sault, #18 Jacob Bomberry and #88 Joe Maracle.  Tallying helpers were #66 Josh Johnson with two and #15 Adam Bomberry and #99 Tim VanLoon with one each.

These two teams meet again in Welland in one week’s time on July 7 at 9pm, but first the Raiders will host the St. Catharines #1 Athletics on Wednesday in another tough Zone 9 battle.

Boxscore

SNW  2-2-1= 5

WEL   1-0-1=2

OLA Jr. B Western Quarterfinals, Elora vs. Welland

Elora Mohawks vs. Welland Vesuvius Warlords

vs.

Game One – Elora

The Welland Vesuvius Warlords fell just short in their quest to steal the opening game of the series on Saturday night, losing 11-8 (EN) to the Mohawks in Elora.

Welland fell behind early by allowing two goals less than thirty seconds apart in the opening three minutes before storming back to equalize the game just over eight minutes in.  Elora jumped ahead with another pair of goals but once again the Warlords answered with two to tie the game at four after twenty minutes.

The second stanza would be the Warlords’ undoing as they struggled to secure loose balls and looked to be fighting the ball mightily, unable to catch passes they would normally make look routine.  Throw in a couple defensive lapses where Mohawks were able to walk around set picks for open looks on Welland’s #39 Connor Danko and you have an explanation for the middle frame that saw the Mohawks take a 9-5 lead into the second intermission.

Welland refused to give in, however, and clawed back to within two goals.  A pair of disallowed goals would have evened the score, however, Elora escaped with the victory by adding an insurance empty-netter in the waning moments.

#35 Brennor Jacobs came into the game mid-way to relieve #39 Connor Danko and played phenomenally for the Warlords, allowing a lone goal.  The Mohawks also saw action from both their goalies in the game, pulling their starter #30 Tom Watkins after four goals allowed, just as Welland had done with Danko.

Powering the Warlords’ offensive charge was #14 Josh Eldridge with a hat-trick performance to go along with a single assist.  #23 Tyler Warren chipped in a pair before being ejected in the second period, and #11 James McCready, #18 Tyler Tanguay and #27 Kevin Floris each deposited singles.  Grabbing assists on the night were Floris, #5 Ira Sowden, #10 Andrew Tober each with two; and Danko, Eldridge, McCready and Warren with one each.

Recording two each for Elora were #22 Kyle Goss and #19 Jarrett Denny, with singles going to #14 Brady Heseltine, #11 Jesse Booker, #23 Mark England, #8 Mark Pfohl, #18 Mark Love, #7 Derek Landoni, #20 Blaine Syme.  Providing helpers on the night were #44 Matt Quinton with three, Pfohl, and #1 Dan Weadick with two each and singles from England, Love, #24 Matt Driscoll and #21 Kenny Coulson.

The winner of the 50/50 draw took home $148.

It should be noted that both coaching staffs were disappointed to see game officials that they each had taken issue with earlier in the season, being chosen to officiate their first playoff game.  In my view, other than the two disputed non-goals, the refereeing was not overly controversial during the game. However, the OLA should make better decisions in the future when naming its officials to games.  The recent history between these particular officials and the respective teams should have been considered and other officials called in to do the game to avoid the likelihood of controversy.

Boxscore:

WEL  4-1-3= 8
ELO  4-5-2= 11

Game Two – Welland

After proving in the opening game that they could indeed go toe-to-toe with the heavily-favoured Mohawks, the Warlords returned home intent on evening the series, however, the officials had other plans.

In one of the poorest officiated games I have seen in recent memory, the referees (the one in particular) clearly influenced the outcome of the game more than the players on the floor.  Welland was assessed an astounding 88 minutes in infractions, with Elora converting on 6-of-18 power-play chances.  Conversely, Welland netted one power-play goal on five chances.

Elora may well be the superior team in this series, however, most fans would like to see them prove it without any help from the officials.  One particular dubious call in the third period resulted in a seven-minute Mohawks power-play, which not only killed Welland’s momentum but inflicted more damage on the scoresheet towards the end of the penalty time as well.

Despite the frequent and lengthy delays at both the penalty box and players’ benches, fans were treated to an exciting game when the players were actually allowed to play.  As they did in the first game, Elora once again struck first with the game’s first two goals, the first while short-handed just over four minutes after the initial draw.  The second, a power-play marker came at six-and-a-half minutes in.

Welland found their footing mid-period and replied with a goal at 11:51 from #11 James McCready on passes from #89 Jordy Daradick and #27 Kevin Floris.

Elora kept pressing and scored twice more, one with the man-advantage to pull ahead 4-1 before Welland countered with Eldridge’s first of the night, from #13 Jason Pundyk and #39 Connor Danko.  The Mohawks then put another two by Danko by period’s end for a 6-2 lead heading into the break.

The visitors struck once more to make it 7-2 seven minutes into the middle stanza before the Warlords mounted their comeback attempt.  Successive goals by McCready, #5 Ira Sowden, and Eldridge found the home side down only by two at 7-5 with four-and-a-half minutes remaining in the second.  An unassisted Mohawk goal from #2 Ryan Morrison a minute later was countered by a late power-play goal from Eldridge with twenty-six second left before intermission.  After forty minutes the Warlords had the momentum, down only 8-6.

The Mohawks converted two power-plays to begin the third period, pulling ahead 10-6 before McCready and Daradick replied making it 10-8 with eleven minutes to play.  In the remaining minutes, Elora would tally three unanswered goals, twice with the man-advantage, as the Warlords simply could not battle both the Mohawks and the officials.

The bulk of the Mohawks offence came from the stick of #44 Matt Quinton who amassed three goals and two assists in the 13-8 win.  Recording a pair each were #2 Ryan Morrison, #8 Mark Pfohl and #14 Brady Heseltine.  Adding singles to round out the scoresheet were #12 Evan Holdway, #17 Brady Landoni, #18 Mark Love and #9 Justin Gibson.  Setting up the goals were #22 Kyle Goss and #11 Jesse Booker with three assists apiece, Quinton as noted with two, and singles from Heseltine, #19 Jarrett Denny, Gibson and #3 Jordan Denny.

The Warlords were led offensively by Eldridge and McCready with hat-tricks apiece.  Daradick and Sowden would support the team through lone goals as well.  Assisting on two strikes each were #27 Kevin Floris and #13 Jason Pundyk with #39 Connor Danko, #35 Brennor Jacobs, #15 Walter Lumsden #10 Andrew Tober and Daradick each picking up single assists.

Tonight’s winner of the 50/50 took home $197, while other lucky fans took home t-shirts, Merrittville Speedway VIP passes, and vouchers to the Express Cafe, the Heaping Spoonful and the Blue Star Restaurant thanks to the continued generous support of those sponsors through our lucky program promotion.

Welland returns to the Elora Community Centre on Wednesday night at 8pm fighting to stay alive in the series and trying to force a Game 4 that would take place in Welland on Friday at 7:30pm, if necessary.

Boxscore:

ELO  6-2-5= 13

WEL  2-4-2= 8

Game Three – Elora

The Welland Vesuvius Warlords’ remarkable turnaround season came to an end last evening with a 16-4 loss at the hands of the Elora Mohawks.  More details on this game will be posted later in the day as they become available.

Raiders Continue Winning Ways (6/23)

Six Nations #3 Warriors vs. Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Bantam #1 Raiders

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Lacrosse seemed to be the furthest thing on the mind of some players during Monday night’s game between Six Nations #3 and the Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Raiders.  Tension was apparent in the very early stages of the game and escalated until the point where #11 Philup Henry of Six Nations and #16 Ryan “Bubba” Dakin squared off in a pre-meditated fight during the second period.

One of the things I look forward to each week is announcing the starting lineups, playing in-game music, and relaying goal and penalty information over the arena’s public address system for several games each week, including at the Jr. B level. Monday’s game was so unsportsmanlike from both teams at times that I nearly left the arena mid-way through the game out of frustration from what I was seeing.  I gutted it out until game’s end only out of respect to the many fans in attendance, and not because certain players deserved the privilege of hearing their names being called.

Not all was negative in this game as two players from each team stood out with notable performances.  Six Nations #61 James Garlow and #66 Matt Jamieson each recorded two-point nights for the visitors, with Jamieson netting a pair on Welland netminder #30 Kyle Patterson and Garlow contributing a goal and an assist.

Patterson was outstanding for the Raiders in net, stopping countless breakaways on the evening and posting two helpers to help his own cause.  #98 Zach Olsson continued his excellent play of late, finding the back of the Six Nations’ net twice.  Both of these Welland players received the Winning Attitude Player of the Week award for their tremendous play, both in Zone 9 as well as tournament action up in Orangeville this past weekend.

Welland, despite not playing anything near to what they are capable, were 9-4 victors on pairs of goals from #10 Jack Fitzgerald, #16 Ryan “Bubba” Dakin, #19 Sebastien Beaudoin, and Olsson.  #93 Damien Alfieri scored the other Raiders marker and posted two assists to go along with it.  #91 Anthony DiFruscia led all Raiders with four helpers on the evening, with Patterson adding a pair and #9 Ryan Kirchmayer, #15 Brooker Muir, Dakin and #6 Brandon Porga providing lone assists.

Replying for Six Nations were Jamieson with two goals and singles by Garlow and #9 Kurtis Martin.  Assisting on the night were #19 Les Skye, #29 Austin Hill, #5 Jake VanEvery and Garlow.

Both teams were assessed twenty-seven minutes in infractions, and each side capitalized once with the extra-attacker on the night.  Shots on goal favoured Welland by a 37-14 margin.

The Raiders, winners of seven consecutive league contests sit at 12-8 overall (and 8-4 in Zone 9 play), and are back in action on Monday evening at home versus the Six Nations #1 Warriors.  Game time is 9pm.

Boxscore

SNW 1-2-1 = 4

WEL 4-2-3 = 9

Hamilton Bengals vs. Welland Vesuvius Warlords (6/20)

Hamilton Bengals vs. Welland Vesuvius Warlords (OLA Jr. B Lacrosse)

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The Welland Vesuvius Warlords captured their first playoff berth since 2002 with a 6-2 victory over the visiting Hamilton Bengals on Friday evening.

Few would have thought this would have been possible as the team came into this year with a winless streak that stretched over the past two seasons, but thanks to excellent goaltending, a suffocating defence and timely offence, long-time fans like Harry Wannifreid – to whom this season was dedicated – were finally rewarded.

The Bengals opened the scoring with a goal from #4 Ryan Dilks that was set up by #94 Dustin Ellis at 4:23, but the Warlords quickly responded when #27 Kevin Floris deposited his sixth of the year past #39 Matt Oddi, from #89 Jordy Daradick and #23 Tyler Warren, at 4:44.

#14 Josh Eldridge would record his twentieth of the season at 6:59 to put the Warlords ahead, on passes from #8 Mackenzie Abbott and #9 Steve McIlwrath, and the Warlords would not look back from that point as the pulled out to a comfortable 4-1 lead after twenty minutes of play.  Warren would score the third Warlord’s goal of the evening, his eleventh of 2008, from Eldridge and Floris at 16:43 on the power-play.  Eldridge would then put in his second of the night and twenty-first of the year, from Warren and Floris while the Warlords still enjoyed the man-advantage.

The second period saw the Warlords strike again with the extra-attacker as Daradick would net his twentieth of the season as well, from Eldridge and Warren to stake the club to a commanding 5-1 lead at 7:49 of the second stanza.

Hamilton would capitalize with the additional runner as well, when #13 Zack Hill found the mesh behind #39 Connor Danko after re-directing passes from #22 Kyle Aquin and Dilks.  Welland would put an exclamation point on the game and season when #9 Steve McIlwrath tallied his eleventh goal of the year with thirteen seconds left to play in the game, by converting on Danko’s fifteenth assist of the season.

While not overly tested thanks to the stifling defence in front of him, Danko made the big saves when he needed to, something we have been accustomed to seeing him do all year long.  Danko would be the first to praise his tremendous defensive corps in front of him, who are led by captain #13 Jason Pundyk.  The crew on the back-end of the floor has quietly toiled away every game and does not often get the attention that it deserves.  One player who stood out this evening was #43 Kris Lavoie, who broke through for several great scoring attempts this evening.  Lavoie, and others like #32 Thomas O’Malley, #11 Johnny Storm, #12 Alex Cavasin and #33 Jeff Borgatti haven’t recorded many points this season, but they are an undeniable part of the team’s success by having shut down the opposition’s top players game in and game out.

Tonight’s Player of the Game for Welland was #27 Kevin Floris, with a goal and two assists.  Kevin has been a tremendous asset to the team since being signed last month, and he will definitely be one of those counted on if the Warlords are to make a strong showing in the playoffs.  Player of the Game for Hamilton was their captain #4 Ryan Dilks, who factored into both of their goals this evening.

Finally, recognition must be given to Jesse Cracknell and his excellent coaching staff for their tremendous work with the players.  While his impact was not immediately felt in the standings last season, when he came on board mid-way through the year as an Assistant, there is little doubt that the players even then began to emulate his exceptional work ethic and fierce competitiveness.  There has been a lot of respect and pride brought back to the organization this season because of the great example he has personified.  I wish to extend my congratulations to the entire team management and coaching staff for a job well done.

Not only was the team a winner on the floor tonight, but several fans walked home winners as well.  Sharon Eldridge of Welland went home $208 richer thanks to the 50/50 proceeds she pocketed.  Another lucky fan was rewarded with an autographed NLL All-Star jersey that has been on display all season-long, and yet more fans took home prizes thanks to the lucky program promotion and the generous support of sponsors like the Express Cafe, Merrittville Speedway, the Heaping Spoonful and the Blue Star Restaurant.

The Warlords would like to thank all their loyal fans for their attendance this season as well as acknowledge the tremendous help received from their great game-night sponsors, like the Welland Forge, who presented tonight’s regular-season finale.  A big thank you is further extended to all the wonderful Sponsor-A-Stick families who have been printed in each night’s program.  Without these great assists, this successful season would not be possible.

The Warlords remind their fans to check the local newspapers as well as http://www.warlordlax.com for full playoff details as soon as they become available.

Boxscore:

HAM  1-0-1 = 2

WEL    4-1-1= 6

Raiders Overtake Warriors In The Third (6/17)

Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Bantam #1 Raiders vs. Six Nations #2 Warriors

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The Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Bantam #1 Raiders might have been short on bodies last night, but there was no shortage of heart or grittiness as they battled back to overcome the Six Nations #2 Warriors last night at Gaylord Powless Arena in a 7-6 thrilling finish.

Faced with a number of absences due to vacation, injury and suspension, the Raiders dressed only eight runners and a goalie last night but still managed to pull out the victory against a formidable, and nearly-full, Warriors roster.

It did not look good for the visitors early on, however, as the Warriors pulled out to a 2-0 early advantage on goals by #10 Mitchell Green, only thirty-nine seconds in, and #16 Lyle Hill at 4:45.  #44 George Atkins would set up the game-opening marker with Green picking up an assist on the second.  Welland’s #91 Anthony DiFruscia would reply with his first of two on the night for Welland, scoring on the powerplay from #93 Damien Alfieri and #10 Jack Fitzgerald, at 9:23 of the first, to cut the Warriors’ lead in half.

The Warriors would come right back at 11:26 when #9 Brad Hill beat Welland netminder #30 Kyle Patterson, on helpers from Green and #55 Stephen Wilson.  #15 Brooker Muir would offer a counter-punch for the Raiders, bulging the twine behind Nations’ backstop #99 Ladd Garlow, from DiFruscia and #36 Kevin Millejours with just under two minutes to play in the opening stanza.  Garlow would later stymie Millejours on a breakaway, robbing him of a near-certain goal with a great stop.

Six Nations would restore a two goal cushion in the second with a tally from Atkins, on re-directs from Hill and Green.  #93 Damien Alfieri would shave the hosts’ lead to a single goal about half a minute later, as Welland trailed 4-3 heading into the final fifteen minutes of action.

True to form this season, the Raiders grew ever stronger as the game progressed, despite being exhausted from the short rest periods in between shifts.  Both teams managed nine shots in the opening period, but Welland started to assert themselves more in the second, taking the period with a 11-2 shot-differential.  The third period saw the Raiders outshoot the Warriors 12-5, for an overall advantage of 32-16.  Goaltending a both ends of the floor was terrific as both goalies made several outstanding stops to give their teams a chance to win the game.

With more shots, came more goals as the Raiders outscored Six Nations four-to-two in the third period, with Welland assuming the lead three times in the final fifteen minutes only to have the Warriors tie it up twice.  Atkins scored a second time for Six Nations from Wilson, and #66 Eric Thomas also notched an unassisted marker in the period, but it was not enough to keep pace with the Raiders who filled the opposition net with two more goals from #15 Brooker Muir, completing his hat-trick, and one more from DiFruscia who had two goals and two assists on the night.

Welland improves to 8-3 in Zone 9 action with the victory, and 11-4 overall, and now prepares to compete in Orangeville’s Barry Burman Invitational this weekend.  The Raiders will have little time to rest in the coming days, as once the tournament wraps up on Sunday they return home to face Six Nations #1 on Monday evening and hit the road to battle the Burlington #1 Chiefs on Tuesday night, having games on five consecutive nights.

Boxscore

WEL 2-1-4 = 7

SNW 3-1-2 = 6

Welland Vesuvius Warlords vs. Elora Mohawks (6/15)

Welland Vesuvius Warlords vs. Elora Mohawks (OLA Jr. B Lacrosse)

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The struggles continue for the Welland Vesuvius Warlords as they limped home from Elora after a 9-3 defeat at the hands of the Mohawks on Sunday night.  It was the fourth consecutive loss for the Warlords, who are still trying to secure a playoff spot.

Elora took ahold of the game in the first period with a power-play marker from Ryan Morrision to open the scoring, and then goals by #20 Blaine Syme and Justin Gibson, to take a 3-0 advantage.  #89 Jordy Daradick replied for Welland before period’s end, with his eighteenth of the year, from #5 Ira Sowden and #32 James McCready.

Brody Heseltine, Kyle Goss and Mark Love continued to find success against Warlords’ starter #39 Connor Danko in the middle stanza before #15 Walter Lumsden recorded his first of the season in response for the visitors.  Syme would net his second of the evening and Brady Landoni and Jesse Booker would also find the mesh before the second intermission.

The only goal of the final period came from the stick of Daradick, on a set-up from #27 Kevin Floris and Sowden, for his nineteenth of 2008.

Welland’s powerplay short-circuited, going 0-for-8, while Elora did not fare much better at 1-for-7, although they also recorded a short-handed strike thanks to Syme, who received player of the game honours for his team.  Daradick received the corresponding honour for Welland for his contribution of a pair of goals on the night.

Welland looks to close out the regular season with a win against Hamilton at home on Friday night.  The Warlords have been the Bengals twice previously this season, both by scores of 3-2.  Friday’s game night is sponsored by the Welland Forge and the action gets underway at 7:30pm.

Boxscore:

WEL  1-1-1 = 3

ELO  3-6-0 = 9

Raiders Pull Away From A’s (6/16)

St. Catharines #2 Athletics vs. Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Bantam #1 Raiders

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One of the unfortunate aspects of being an announcer is that occasionally you run into games where it is all about the whistles.  You get so focused on trying to keep up with the goals and penalties that the game itself flies by and all you can recall afterward are the number of stoppages in play, and not much about the gameplay itself.  Last night was one of those games for me, so I will just report the facts as written on the gamesheet and not try to characterize as much of the action as I normally would.

The Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Bantam #1 Raiders dispatched of the St. Catharines Athletics by a score of 12-2 last night.  A short-staffed Raiders squad was buoyed by the excellent play of three affliated Peewee players, #6 Brandon Porga, #32 Zach Main and #77 Jordan DeMars.

#19 Sebastien Beaudoin, #15 Brooker Muir and #36 Kevin Millejours each recorded a pair of goals for Welland, with #44 Bryce Brochu, #93 Damien Alfieri, #91 Anthony DiFruscia, #90 Nicholas Beaudoin, #10 Jack Fitzgerald, #15 Brooker Muir, and #9 Ryan Kirchmayer pocketing singles.  Tallying assists on the evening for the Raiders were #17 Michael Simpson, #91 Anthony DiFruscia and #93 Damien Alfieri with two apiece, and #98 Zach Olsson, Fitzgerald, Porga, Brochu and Muir with lone helpers.

Welland’s initial run of seven goals to start the game was interrupted by #15 Josh Kozielski, who beat #29 Graeme McCullough with an unassisted marker at 11:42 of the second stanza to break up his shutout bid.  St. Catharines’s #53 Nick Cowlow would also find his way onto the scoresheet by netting an unassisted strike at 9:30 of the third period.  While Athletics’ netminder #1 Adam Edgar was kept busy facing a steady barrage of shots all evening, McCullough faced only six shots in the Welland crease.  St. Catharines picked up 26 minutes in penalties to Welland’s 20, with the majority of these coming in a late-game fight, which #55 Jake Stuart of St. Catharines instigated against Welland’s #19 Sebastien Beaudoin.  Both players received minors for unsportsmanslike conduct and 10-minute misconducts for their actions, even though several punches were through by each during a fairly-even and spirited fight.

Welland continues a busy week by heading to the Gaylord Powless Arena Tuesday night to square-off with the Six Nations #1 Warriors before competing in the Barry Burman Memorial tournament this weekend in Orangeville.

Boxscore

STC  0-1-1= 2

WEL  4-3-5= 12

Raiders Grab Bengals By The Tail (6/11)

Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Bantam #1 Raiders vs. Hamilton #1 Bengals (Zone 9 Lacrosse)

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After coming out flat in the opening half of the game the Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Bantam #1 Raiders found themselves trailing the Hamilton #1 Bengals on Wednesday night by three goals after the first nineteen minutes of action, but managed to claw their way back into the contest in the latter half and overtake the hosts with only 0:50 left to play in a remarkable finish to a very exciting and competitive game.

The Bengals were missing five players who were quite effective against the Raiders in their previous meeting, which was played the week before in Welland, ending in a 7-4 Raiders victory. This made the task at hand much more difficult for goaltender #33 Marc Gaudet, as the Hamilton offence struggled without their captain #11 Daniel Williams to provide leadership like he had in the previous game.  Gaudet once again put up a good fight against the tenacious Raiders, but strong performances by several Raiders including #19 Sebastien Beaudoin, #90 Nicholas Beaudoin and #98 Zach Olsson resulted in a come-from-behind 4-3 win.

The determined charge of the Welland club during much of the final two frames made up for the initial struggles that saw them largely unprepared to make a stand against the Bengals, who used their size and strength advantage quite effectively in the early stages.  #84 Ryan Coulter was a force in the early going, knocking around several bodies, which resulted in him picking up a goal and an assist.  #7 Jake Bain did likewise and #25 Darnell Nurse also tallied for Hamilton on the night.

Once Welland came to life they completely dominated the remaining minutes.  While Welland managed only three shots on goal to Hamilton’s 8 in the first period, the second saw them out-shoot Hamilton 12-6, and during the third they held a 10-3 advantage, for an overall edge of 22-17.

#10 Jack Fitzgerald put the Raiders on the board at 7:38 of the middle set, scoring his ninth of the season from #16 Ryan “Bubba” Dakin and #91 Anthony DiFruscia.  Olsson would find the opposition’s mesh for the fourth time this year, on a feed from #19 Sebastien Beaudoin at 3:49 of the final period.  Beaudoin would then follow up with a valiant effort in the waning moments, recording a pair of goals to give him nine in 2008, and leading his team to victory.  Beaudoin tied the game with and unassisted marker with three minutes remaining and then scored the game-winner from #11 Wade Kenny with only fifty seconds remaining, capping off a great comeback.

While #30 Kyle Patterson did not face a large number of shots, he was solid making big saves when he was called upon.  The second Bengals goal resulted when the Welland defender slipped on the play, leaving a wide-open Nurse at the right side of the crease for the easy throw-in, and the third goal was the result of a great shot over a defender’s shoulder that Patterson likely did not even see.  Patterson made one miscue when his clearing attempt was picked off by Bain near mid-floor with less than four minutes remaining, but thankfully Beaudoin was back in his own end and made an outstanding defensive play to thwart the scoring opportunity.

The win improves Welland’s record to 6-3 in Zone 9 play, and 9-4 overall.

Welland faces two more tough challenges in the upcoming week with a home contest against St. Catharines #1 Athletics on Monday followed by a re-match with the Six Nations Warriors at Gaylord Powless Arena on Tuesday.  The team then travels to Orangeville to compete in the Barry Burman Memorial over the weekend, where they will face Kitchener-Waterloo, Orangeville, Six Nations and Guelph.

Six Nations Rebels vs. Welland Vesuvius Warlords (6/12)

Six Nations Rebels vs. Welland Vesuvius Warlords (OLA Jr. B)

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Fans who did not recognize either team Thursday evening could be forgiven, as the Six Nations Rebels arrived clearly strengthened in comparison to their previous meetings with the Warlords this season, having added several Jr. A-calibre players in their lineup, whereas the Welland Vesuvius Warlords were hampered by an injury-depleted roster.  What resulted could most kindly be described as a mismatch.

The Warlords, who until recent times, have impressed nearly everyone with their competitiveness, simply lacked the discipline (particularly the forwards) and work ethic (nearly everyone) tonight which have allowed them to be successful against all comers this year.  While there were a few exceptions to this rule, such as the play of #21 Brad McConnery on defence, and #89 Jordy Daradick and #27 Kevin Floris offensively, the Warlords as a whole did not appear at any point in the game to be prepared to take on the Rebels tonight.

The Rebels did not waste any time showing why they are an undefeated 17-0, as #97 Jesse Sault struck only fifty-six seconds into the game to stake the visitors to the early lead.  #89 Jordy Daradick would score his first of two on the night to tie the game just over five minutes in, however, the rest of the game went by virtually uncontested.  Daradick’s second goal of the night, his seventeenth of the year, would pull the team within two with just under five minutes to play in the opening period, but the final outcome of this game was never in much doubt.

Welland’s power-play suffered in the absence of catalyst #18 Tyler Tanguay, going 0-for-10.  The team expects to be without the services of Tanguay for the rest of the season, unless they manage to have an extended playoff run.

Captain of the Rebels #82 Stu Hill marshaled his team to victory, picking up Player of the Game laurels on the strength of a two goal, four assist performance.  Daradick received the corresponding honour for the Warlords on the basis of his output of a pair of goals for the home side.

#20 Torrey VanEvery recorded four goals tonight for the visitors and also picked up four assists, amassing an impressive eight points.  Others marking up the gamesheet for the Rebels were #99 Cody Johnson with a pair and #66 Alex “Kedoh” Hill, #10 Kraig Maracle, #48 Chancy Johnson and #9 Andy Jamieson each with singles.  Contributing assists during the contest were  #66 Hill with three, #99 Johnson and #21 Jordan Johnson with two apiece and #7 Jeremy Johns, #10 Kraig Maracle, #12 Russell Longboat, #18 Randy E. Johnson, #19 Ryley Johnson and #89 Randy Johnson with lone helpers.

#27 Kevin Floris would respond with a short-handed marker for Welland, while #8 Mackenzie Abbott would set up two strikes and #5 Ira Sowden one.  Six Nations found much success with the extra-attacker Thursday evening, converting 6-of-13 chances.

The Warlords were assessed 43 minutes of infractions to the Rebels 37.  #9 Andy Jamieson and #15 Walter Lumsden went toe-to-toe in the game’s only true fight during the first period, however, the nastiness continued throughout the game with several Rebels players taking liberties with their wooden sticks seemingly at will with the Warlords offering little in the way of resistance or retaliatory actions in kind.  Backup netminder, #35 Brennor Jacobs made an appearance in relief of the seemingly weary #39 Connor Danko and was deliberately run without any reaction from the Warlords on the floor or bench.

The Warlords, winless in their last three, hope to regain some positive traction against Elora in their final regular season road contest on Sunday evening before returning to the Rose City to play their final regular season home contest versus the Hamilton Bengals on June 20 at 7:30pm, a night which is sponsored by the Welland Forge.

Tonight’s 50/50 winner took home a cash prize of $175, while other lucky fans were awarded prizes such as VIP passes to Merrittville Speedway, vouchers to the Heaping Spoonful, the Express Cafe, and the next Warlords home game, as well as a T-shirt thanks to the generous support of our loyal sponsors the Heaping Spoonful, Herc’s Muscle Shop, Merrittville Speedway and the Express Cafe.

Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Raiders vs. Burlington Chiefs (6/10)

Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Raiders vs. Burlington Chiefs

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An opportunistic Burlington Chiefs squad exploited the normally stingy penalty-killing units of the Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Raiders on Tuesday evening, nearly escaping with the win on a 4-of-6 power-play bonanza.  In the end, however, Welland’s reliable goaltending and defence held during the game’s late stages, and the Raiders escaped with a 7-5 road victory.

#11 Wade Kenny continued his strong play of late by netting an unassisted breakaway marker at 7:48 of the first to stake the visitors to the 1-0 lead, which they held for the remainder of the opening period.  #18 Marcus Elvin would respond on the power-play for the home side at 1:30 of the middle stanza, deflecting passes from #4 Bryce Jurk and #19 Ryan Callaghan past Welland starter #29 Graeme McCullough to knot the game at one.  #17 Michael Simpson would catapult the Raiders back into the lead with a goal from #91 Anthony DiFruscia and Kenny at the 6:19 mark.  The see-saw battle continued as Burlington again pulled even on #11 Keyan McQueen’s goal at 8:12, which was set up by Callaghan and Jurk.  The hosts would then assume the lead on Callaghan’s marker with the man advantage, with an assist from McQueen just over ten minutes into the middle frame.  The Raiders would net the equalizer with just over a minute left to play before the intermission, when DiFruscia made no mistake after a great feed from #19 Sebastien Beaudoin sent him in alone on #1 Thomas McHugh.

Elvin scored his second of the evening for the Chiefs only twenty-four seconds into the third, rifling a shot past McCullough after he found himself in all alone.  Not to be outdone, #90 Nicholas Beaudoin showed he too can make the most of a 1-on-0 situation by converting a breakaway chance at 2:53.  #98 Zach Olsson took advantage of Burlington sniper Callaghan’s double-minor by netting the eventual game-winner on the power-play, from Beaudoin and Beaudoin, as the Raiders finally assumed a lead they would not relinquish.  The Chiefs did not surrender easily, closing within one on Jurk’s tally from Callaghan and McQueen at 10:55.

Noted for their great sharp-shooting ability, the best of the Chiefs looked to pick the corners on McCullough, but he would do such a fantastic job of covering his angles that it gave them nothing to shoot at and the majority of their aerial assaults would miss the net by mere inches.  The best chance the Chiefs had to tie in the waning moments came when #10 Nick Nesbitt had a wide open cage to shoot at, but in his rush to get the shot off, his attempt ended up going askew.  Seconds after vacating the net in favour of the extra-attacker the Chiefs surrendered an empty-net goal when #44 Bryce Brochu sealed the game for the Raiders by streaking in after a helper from Kenny sent him on his way to close out the scoring in this wild 7-5 contest.

Goaltending that was second-to-none at both ends provided a challenge for the snipers on both squads this evening and made this a very entertaining game to watch.  The defence held up fairly well for both teams at even-strength, as special teams had the biggest impact on the scoresheet tonight.  Burlington was a potent 4-for-6 as mentioned previously, while Welland struck only once in four tries with the man-advantage.  Shots on goal favoured Welland 19-11.

Game night photos can be viewed here:

June 6 – Burlington Chiefs vs. Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Raiders

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The Raiders will be back in action Wednesday evening in Hamilton as they face another very worthy competitor, the Bengals, starting at 7pm.  In their previous meeting this season, held in Welland, the Raiders pulled out a 7-4 victory in a very evenly-matched battle, and one would expect more of the same this time around.  Welland now stands at 5-3 in Zone 9 competition this season, and 8-4 overall.

John McCauley Memorial Tournament, Brampton June 6-8

John McCauley Memorial Tournament – Brampton, June 6-8, 2008

6/6 7:00pm

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Penalty minutes kill Raiders’ momentum, any chance of winning game

The Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Bantam #1 Raiders stumbled out of the gate in their tournament opener versus Mimico on Friday, but more than made up for this with some outstanding play the rest of the way to capture the Gold Medal against the Mountaineers in their rematch on Sunday afternoon.

Friday’s disappointing start was due in large part to an uninspired effort during the first fifteen minutes of play, which saw Welland scored on within the first thirty seconds, and four more times during the opening set.

While Welland performed better during the next two frames, they constantly gave back momentum to the Mountaineers through an endless parade of penalties, earning 28 minutes overall to Mimico’s 2.

A bright spot in the preliminary contest was the dominant performance of #11 Wade Kenny. Kenny, who has for several years distinguished himself as one of Zone 9’s best players as a member of the Fort Erie Hawks, steamrolled his way through the opposition, laying waste to any bodies that dared get in his path.  Wade would pick up two assists, but it was his physical play and hustle throughout the game that one couldn’t help by notice.

#98 Zach Olsson, #15 Brooker Muir, #19 Sebastien Beaudoin, #16 Ryan “Bubba” Dakin and #36 Kevin Millejours would each collect single tallies on the night, with Millejours, Kenny (2), #90 Nicholas Beaudoin, #17 Michael Simpson and #29 Graeme McCullough assisting on the goals.

Leading the charge for Mimico was #14 Seamus Shanahan, who had three goals and three assists for six points.  #15 Scott Foster notched a pair of goals for the Mountaineers as well, and single tallies were recorded by #7 Eric Morenz, #8 Justin DeMarchi, #3 Landon Fletcher, #12 Nicholas Paul and #9 John Anastasakis.  Dishing out helpers were Shanahan with three, Paul and Anastasakis with two each, and #11 Benjamin Luymes, #18 Christian Mazzanti, #17 Dalton Barnes McColeman, #44 Matthew Lee, DeMarchi and Fletcher with one each.

The Raiders were edged in shots 20-18 despite playing short-handed for the majority of the forty-five minutes of play. Welland ceded four goals on eleven Mimico power-plays, while only receiving one man-advantage situation themselves, which they were not able to convert.

6/7 9:00am

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Welcome Back, Jack!

Little fireball #10 Jack Fitzgerald returned to the Raiders lineup from injury and immediately re-ignited the Welland offence, scoring three in his return to action.  Despite his small stature, Jack gives big performances every time he hits the playing surface and Saturday’s games were no exception.   Fitzgerald also tossed in an assist in the morning session, a 9-4 Raiders conquest of Oakville.  #36 Kevin Millejours provided another large chunk of the visitors’ offensive surge, contributing a goal and two assists, while #91 Anthony DiFruscia dropped in a pair and #90 Nicholas Beaudoin put up  a goal and three helpers to subdue the Hawks.  Marking up the scoresheet further were #19 Sebastien Beaudoin, #16 Ryan “Bubba” Dakin with goals, and #98 Zach Olsson, #44 Bryce Brochu, #93 Damien Alfieri, #11 Wade Kenny, and Dakin with lone assists.

The Raiders outshot the Hawks 20-14 overall, going 0-for-4 on the power-play, but also negating both penalties they were assessed during the contest.

6/7 4:00pm

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Return of Bryce is nice

In the Raiders’ second game of the day, it was #44 Bryce Brochu’s turn to shine, as he tossed in two goals and an assist to help the Raiders defeat the Halton Hills #2 Bulldogs by a 5-2 score to advance to Sunday’s Gold Medal Game versus the Mimico Mountaineers.  Brochu had missed the Raiders’ previous two contests during the week, and his return to the lineup on Saturday had an immediate positive effect.

#29 Graeme McCullough backstopped the team to victory from there with a fine performance between the pipes, blocking 17 of 21 shots.  McCullough was only solved on the day by #17 R. Cicchetti, #7 J. McBride, #16 D. Stevens and #1 K. Kristensen-Inviovia, with #10 J. Laidlaw and #6 M. Van Dijk providing assists.

The foundation of the Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Raiders’ success this season has been the combined team effort on defence, which was on display again Saturday when they smothered Halton #2, picking up a 5-2 win to advance to the Gold Medal game on Sunday versus Mimico.  Pair that with stellar goaltending and a motley crew of goal-scorers, as it’s easy to see why this team has closely battled even the very toughest teams it has faced so far this season.

If not for the fantastic netminding of Halton’s #1 Drew Coleman, the outcome could have easily be slanted more in the favour of the Raiders, who often had the misfortune of their shots hitting the crossbar or goalpost when they did manage to elude the grasp of Coleman.

Welland struck quickly with #15 Brooker Muir finding daylight only 12 seconds into the game and giving his team the 1-0 early advantage.  #10 Jack Fitzgerald combined with #16 Ryan “Bubba” Dakin and #44 Bryce Brochu to double the Raiders lead, before Brochu netted an unassisted power-play goal making it 3-0.  #91 Anthony DiFruscia tallied to put Welland up 4-0, on an assist from #17 Michael Simpson before Halton took advantage of a 3-on-1 breakout and responded with one of their own from #33 Sebastian Beckett, on a set-up from #22 Kirk Riedstra and #1 Coleman.  Before the end of the second period, Halton would strike again, with #8 Liam Clare putting home an unaided power-play tally.

Brochu would collect his second of the game during the third to provide the Raiders with some added insurance, on passes from Dakin and #90 Nicholas Beaudoin, and Welland went into lockdown mode from there, allowing only five shots in the final fifteen minutes.  Welland outshot Halton 27-21 overall.  Halton struggled converting only once on seven man-advantage opportunities, while Welland went 2-for-4 with the extra-attacker.

6/8 1:15pm

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Raiders chip away at Mountaineers, results in avalanche of goals

After Friday’s disappointing effort in the opener, the Raiders were determined to prove to Mimico that the previous result was just an aberration.  Stymied early by the efforts of Mimico crease-keeper #1 Kenton Iannizi, the Raiders continued to fire away and eventually they were rewarded with a number of goals in the latter half of the game.

Welland’s #44 Bryce Brochu converted a #11 Wade Kenny pass into a short-handed marker to open the game’s scoring at 5:15 of the first before the Mountaineers replied at 7:55 with #8 Justin DeMarchi beating #30 Kyle Patterson while in all alone.

The Mountaineers would jump out to a lead when #3 Landon Fletcher parlayed a #17 Dalton Barnes feed into a 2-1 advantage, however, this would prove to be short-lived as the Raiders stormed back just over a minute later to tie the game on a #7 Jack Fitzgerald goal, assisted by #90 Nicholas Beaudoin.

Beaudoin would produce a powerplay marker to put his team in the forefront, on a pass from #16 Ryan “Bubba” Dakin, however Mimico would once again draw even with Welland on an unassisted strike from #13 Jeremy Hill, who streaked in and found paydirt on a breakaway chance.

Video footage from this game to be posted shortly…

That is as good as it would get for Mimico who then were shell-shocked as the Raiders offence kicked it into high gear, amassing seven unanswered goals by game’s end to run away with the John McCauley Memorial Bantam A/B Championship in convincing fashion.  In the period and a half that remained #15 Brooker Muir and Dakin would record a goal and an assist each, Brochu would inflict further damage picking up another two goals and an assist, Beaudoin would complete the hat-trick by firing home another two, and Fitzgerald would also score for the second time in the contest.  #30 Kyle Patterson, in addition to playing well in net for Welland, helped his own cause with an assist.  #98 Zach Olsson, #9 Ryan Kirchmayer, #17 Michael Simpson and Kenny also drew single helpers during this span to pace the Raiders.

Welland outshot Mimico 23-14 overall and was 2-for-6 with the extra-attacker.  The Raiders held Mimico scoreless during the four short-handed situations they faced.  #44 Bryce Brochu was named Tournament MVP based on his fine performance during the final two days of the competition.

Welland returns to Zone 9 action with two tough road contests this week.  Tuesday evening they travel to Burlington to faceoff against the Chiefs in a 9pm tilt, and the following night they square-off against the Bengals in the Steel City starting at 7pm.

Welland Vesuvius Warlords vs. Orangeville Northmen (6/7)

Welland Vesuvius Warlords vs. Orangeville Northmen (OLA Jr. B Lacrosse)

The Welland Vesuvius Warlords were buried by an opening period six-goal onslaught from which they were unable to fully recover, losing to the Orangeville Northmen in an 11-6 final on Saturday evening.  Early penalty trouble caused the Warlords to fall behind 7-1 duing the first period, as the Northmen were able to convert on three early man-advantage situations.  Seven different Orangeville players deposited balls behind starter, #39 Connor Danko, as Matt Noble, Adam Hawkins, Andrew Stoner, Frank Collins, Steven Rodgers, Deron Dempster and Clark Deceer each tallied for the hosts. David Martin (3), Jake Thompson, John VanDerClessey, Stoner and Aaron McNutt picked up the assists on the goals.  #23 Tyler Warren recorded the only goal of the period for the Warlords, responding on the power-play from #27 Kevin Floris.

The second period began with #8 Mack Abbott converting a #89 Jordy Daradick pass into the Orangeville cage for his sixth of the season.  After Bill Hostrawser became the eighth different Orangeville scorer at the mid-point of the period, Warren sunk his second of the game and tenth of the year, from #14 Josh Eldridge and Daradick just over a minute later during a Warlords’ man advantage.

Hawkins struck again with the extra man for his second of the evening, from Collins and Thompson with just under four minutes to play before the second intermission, and Orangeville closed out the period with a pair of goals from Rodgers, completing his hat-trick.  Dave Morton and Hostrawser produced the helpers on his third goal, which gave Orangeville a commanding 11-3 lead with twenty minutes of play remaining.

At the start of the final frame, #35 Brennor Jacobs came in to relieve workhorse Danko, who played his 1000th minute of the season on Saturday.  Jacobs slammed the door the rest of the way, which seemed to spark the team as they found some offensive touch with power-play markers from Eldridge, Floris and Abbott.  For Eldridge it was his 19th of 2008 from Abbott; Floris’ fourth from Eldridge and Warren; and Abbott’s seventh from Floris and Daradick.  Once again, the Warlords felt the ire of the officials and fell into penalty trouble during the latter half of the final period, however, this time it only resulted in killing their own comeback momentum and did not result in further offence from the Northmen.

Floris was award Player of the Game honours for Welland, who were displeased that the game was delayed by 75 minutes due to a late official, the second time this season that an away game has had a lengthy delay at the onset.

The team, now 9-8, looks ahead to Thursday night at home where they hope to move closer towards clinching a playoff berth by defeating the visiting Six Nations Rebels, on a game night which is sponsored by Neu-Form Custom Metal Fabricators.  Game time is 7:30pm.

Gamesheet:  Not Yet Posted

Warlords Website:  http://www.warlordlax.com

Northmen Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orangeville_Northmen_Jr._B

Welland Vesuvius Warlords vs. St. Catharines Spartans (6/5)

Welland Vesuvius Warlords vs. St. Catharines Spartans (OLA Jr. B Lacrosse)

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Riding a four-game winning streak, the Welland Vesuvius Warlords had to be fairly confident walking into the Merritton Arena Thursday night to play the St. Catharines Spartans, a team they have beaten quite handily twice previously this season.  Unfortunately for the Warlords, last night’s 8-2 loss only proves that no opponent can be underestimated in this league on any given night.

By all accounts, the Spartans appeared to be the superior team throughout last evening, although it took them until the second period to break the game open, thanks in large part to the goaltending of Welland’s #39 Connor Danko.  Danko dazzled early, thwarting the Spartans #9 Shayne Adams on a two-on-none chance. but Adams would later solve Danko to open the scoring for the home side.

After #5 Ira Sowden scored from #23 Tyler Warren and #9 Steve McIlwrath early in the second stanza to tie the game, but it was all St. Catharines for the remainder of the period, who went on a five-goal unabated goal-scoring run.  #5 Greg Norris, #21 Kyle Winterbottom (2), Adams, and #77 Chris Attwood would each find the mesh in the middle frame, with assists being garnered by #16 Corey Green, #13 Dane Hansen, Adams (3), #18 Rudy Stawarek (2), #15 Sean Frankland and #8 Dillon Hendsbee.  Welland would finally staunch the bleeding with a late tally from #32 James McCready, on a set-up from #43 Kris Lavoie, but the damage had already been done.

Tempers flared in the third period with these 406-Highway rivals, and the Spartans took advantage by closing out the game with two more goals.  Attwood added on to his game-winning goal by depositing his second of the contest from Frankland and Adams at even-strength. #93 Vinny Covello would follow up with the team’s third power-play marker of the evening, on an assist from Hendsbee just after the mid-point of the final frame to produce the 8-2 final outcome.

The Warlords, now at 9-7 on the year, will attempt to turn things around and get one step closer to clinching a playoff berth when they take on the Orangeville Northmen on the road this Saturday.

Gamesheet:  http://www.zsisports.com/boxscore.php?ScheduleID=886

Warlords Website:  http://www.warlordlax.com

Spartans Website:  http://www.hometeamsonline.com/teams/?u=SPARTANJRBLACROSSE&s=lacrosse&t=c

Bengals Take Their Stripes, Raiders Earn Theirs

Hamilton #1 Bengals vs. Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Bantam #1 Raiders (Zone 9 Lacrosse)

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Down to only 11 runners and one goalie due to injuries and absences, the Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Raiders were looking for some leadership as the always-challenging Hamilton #1 Bengals came to town Wednesday evening in Zone 9 lacrosse action at the Welland Main Arena.  As he has done each game this season, team captain #16 Ryan “Bubba” Dakin once again demonstrated that he is capable of leading the team both on and off the floor as the Raiders picked up their second straight victory of the week, this time by a 7-4 score, improving their record to 4-3-0 on the year.

Dakin recorded a hat-trick for the second time this week, having already completed the feat against the Fort Erie Hawks on Monday night.  Tonight he scored the game-winning goal, completing the natural hat-trick in the process, to go along with a lone assist, which earned him the Winning Attitude Player of the Week honours. He chose as his prize a $50 Gift Card to the Pen Centre, which he was presented with in the dressing room after the game.

He was not alone in giving a top-notch performance, however, as all of his teammates followed his example giving a high level effort throughout the lineup, in what is perhaps this team’s most complete effort to date.  #91 Anthony DiFruscia maintained his consistency, picking up a goal and two assists, while #90 Nicholas Beaudoin also tallied three points with the same offensive output.  #17 Michael Simpson grabbed two assists with another hard-charging effort, and #15 Brooker Muir did likewise, proving that toughness comes in all sizes. #9 Ryan Kirchmayer once again looked outstanding with his off-ball work and was rewarded with an assist.  #36 Kevin Millejours recorded his fifth goal of the season and #19 Sebastien Beaudoin also found the mesh for the Raiders scoring his fourth of 2008.

#29 Graeme McCullough not only played spectacularly between the pipes for the Green and Gold, but helped his own cause by setting up the Raiders sixth goal.

The Bengals took their stripes early on in this one, trailing by three goals after one period of play.  Hamilton recovered in the second to narrow the host’s lead to 5-2 after thirty minutes.  #3 Brandon Ames would re-direct a feed from #25 Darnell Nurse to get the visitors on the board at 5:33 of the middle stanza.  Captain #11 Daniel Williams would follow up with his first of two with just under five minutes left before the break to close within three.

Hamilton would keep pace with the Raiders during the final two frames of the contest, with each side recording a pair of goals in each of the second and third periods, but they could not overcome the strong start the Welland squad had this evening.  #84 Ryan Coulter would notch an unassisted marker just over five minutes into the third and Williams would deposit his second of the night past McCullough with under two minutes left to play to make things interesting.  The Raiders, however, would beat Bengals netminder #33 Marc Gaudet with thirty seconds remaining to seal the victory.

Welland’s special teams would once again perform quite well, going 1-for-3 with the man-advantage while netting a short-handed tally as well.  Unfortunately, they also allowed a power-play goal and short-handed marker from the visitors as the Bengals were 1-for-5 with the extra-attacker.  Welland fell into penalty trouble particularly in the third when they were assessed a four-minute double-minor immediately followed by a two-minute additional minor.  To their credit, they worked tirelessly to kill off the infractions without allowing a goal during the six-minute span, but ceded the late period goal while killing off a subsequent minor to blemish their otherwise great special teams performance.

The Raiders outshot the Bengals by a thin 24-21 margin overall.  Welland now prepares to compete in this weekend’s John McCauley Memorial Tournament in Brampton where they will face Mimico, Oakville and Halton #2.

Tonight’s Boxscore:

Ham 0-2-2=4

Wel   3-2-2=7

Raiders Ground Hawks (6/2)

Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Bantam #1 Raiders vs. Fort Erie Hawks (Zone 9 Lacrosse)

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Breaking off a three-game losing skid, the Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Bantam #1 Raiders shot down the Fort Erie Hawks 11-0 in Crystal-Ridge last night.  Leading the charge for the visitors was #90 Nicholas Beaudoin with a goal and four assists, with brother Sebastien right behind with a goal and three helpers on the night.  #44 Bryce Brochu notched his first two goals of the season, and #16 Ryan “Bubba” Dakin also netted a pair of goals to go along with his two assists.  #91 Anthony DiFruscia contributed a goal and an assist, with the remaining single tallies coming from the sticks of #36 Kevin Millejours, #11 Wade Kenny and #15 Brooker Muir.  #17 Michael Simpson played another strong game, providing nice feeds to set up two goals, while #98 Zach Olsson, #98 Damien Alfieri, Kenny and Muir each set up one strike apiece.

#29 Graeme McCullough picked up his second whitewash of the season, needing only to stop three shots.  His counterpart, #1 Raven Martin, played tremendously in goal for the Hawks, making several great stops throughout the contest, but was simply overmatched by a large volume of fantastic scoring chances the Raiders were able to produce. The Raiders scored on their only powerplay opportunity of the contest, while holding the Hawks scoreless during two short-handed situations.  Welland outshot Fort Erie by a 23-3 margin.

Welland looks to carry forward some of this momentum into Wednesday evening’s home game versus the Hamilton Bengals.  The Raiders, who are currently struggling with some key players injured or away, will be competing in the John McCauley Memorial Tournament this upcoming weekend in Brampton.

Pictures and video highlights to follow.

Pictures can be found here:  (A free MySpace Account may be required to view.)

http://tinyurl.com/5pneyx

Tonight’s Boxscore:

Wel 3-5-3=11

Ft. E 0-0-0=0

Welland Vesuvius Warlords vs. London Blue Devils (5/31)

Welland Vesuvius Warlords vs. London Blue Devils (OLA Jr. B Lacrosse)

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A five-goal third period assault allowed the Welland Vesuvius Warlords to pull away to a 9-4 victory over the London Blue Devils on Saturday night in the Forest City.

Hat-tricks by #9 Steve McIlwrath and #10 Andrew Tober provided the bulk of the offence the Warlords needed to improve to 9-6 on the season.  #23 Tyler Warren and #14 Josh Eldridge each recorded three points on the evening, with Warren providing three helpers, and Eldridge with two goals and an assist, respectively.

Also recording multi-point nights with two points apiece were #89 Jordy Daradick with a goal and an assist, and #27 Kevin Floris, #5 Ira Sowden, #7 Matt Zaruk, and #8 Mackenzie Abbott with two helpers each.  Contributing one helper each in the win were Warlords #39 Connor Danko, #17 Trevor Hall and #33 Jeff Borgatti.

A combined eighteen minutes in penalties did not provide much opportunity for either side’s special teams to work, however, each team managed a power-play marker on the night, with London going 1-for-3 and Welland 1-for-4 with the extra-attacker.

London’s #5 Matt Cassidy, who factored into three of four of his team’s goals, was named their Player of the Game, while Andrew Tober was given the honour for the Warlords.  The Warlords are back in action on Thursday in Merritton versus the St. Catharines Spartans.

Gamesheet:  http://www.zsisports.com/boxscore.php?ScheduleID=864

Warlords Website:  http://www.warlordlax.com

Blue Devils Website: http://www.bluedevilslacrosse.com

Sarnia Pacers vs. Welland Vesuvius Warlords (5/30)

Sarnia Pacers vs. Welland Vesuvius Warlords (OLA Jr. B Lacrosse)

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The Sarnia Pacers couldn’t keep pace with the Welland Vesuvius Warlords tonight, despite a final period rally that saw them pull out a 6-4 respectable outcome after being largely dominated during the first two periods.

#27 Kevin Floris recorded his second of the season for the Warlords, since signing with the team two weeks ago, from #23 Tyler Warren and #14 Josh Eldridge, while the Warlords enjoyed an early powerplay only 2:42 into the game.  A parade of trips to the penalty box from both sides during the remainder of the opening stanza saw the home side walk off the floor with a 1-0 advantage at the break.

During the first intermission, the Warlords were pleased to have the Welland Buckner’s Source for Sports Tyke Raiders on hand, who played an inter-squad scrimmage to entertain the large crowd in attendance at tonight’s game.

When the Warlords returned to the floor they proceeded once again to easily handle the Pacers, building up a 4-0 lead by period’s end on two goals from #17 Trevor Hall and one from #89 Jordy Daradick.  #23 Tyler Warren, #77 Dustin Gatt, and #12 Alex Cavasin, who returned to the lineup tonight after recovering from an injury that has left him sidelined for the past couple of weeks, each picked up assists on the goals.

Welland’s offence was not done for the night, however, as #9 Steve McIlwrath would score on a long-bomb from #39 Connor Danko, and Floris recorded his second of the evening, from #8 Mackenzie Abbot and #5 Ira Sowden to build up an insurmountable 6-0 cushion.

To their credit the Pacers did not concede defeat so quickly and ended the game strongly by picking up four unanswered tallies.  #9 T.J. Mara would score twice, picking up Player of the Game honours for his team, and teammate #19 Riley Thompson would also contribute multiple-points with a goal and an assist.  Rounding out the scoring for the visiting Pacers were #17 Josh Bujaki and #16 Riley Thompson, with Thompson, #7 Jesse Thompson and #21 Chris Theoret assisting.  Tonight’s player of the game for Welland was #23 Tyler Warren, who had two assists.

Tonight’s 50/50 winner took home a cash prize of $165, while other lucky fans took home prizes supplied by loyal sponsors the Blue Star Restaurant, Merrittville Speedway, the Heaping Spoonful and Herc’s Muscle Shop.  The Warlords like also wish to acknowledge the generous support of PenFinancial Credit Union, tonight’s game night sponsor.  The Warlords, who are now 8-6 on the year, play their next two games on the road, tomorrow night in London versus the Blue Devils, and Thursday evening in Merritton against the St. Catharines Spartans, before returning home to face the Six Nations Rebels  June 12 at 7:30pm in a night sponsored by Neu-form Custom Metal Fabricators.

Gamesheet:  http://www.zsisports.com/boxscore.php?ScheduleID=861

Pacers Website: http://www.sarniajrbpacers.org/

Warlords Website:  http://www.warlordlax.com

Six Nations’ Bomberry Too Much For Raiders

Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Bantam #1 Raiders vs. Six Nations #1 Warriors (Zone 9 Lacrosse)

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The Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Bantam #1 Raiders deserved a better fate than the 9-3 loss they received tonight at the hands of #18 Jacob Bomberry and the Six Nations #1 Warriors.

The Raiders effectively shut-down Bomberry and company for over two periods, before a late rash of penalties caused the scoreboard to spike in favour of the hosts.

#90 Nicholas Beaudoin fired up the visitors by scoring a breakaway goal on Nations’ netminder #29 Quinton Martin at 2:45 of the opening period, being hit with a great long distance feed from #44 Bryce Brochu as he was exiting the penalty box.  Six Nations would equalize the score at one, at 4:19, on a goal from #12 Brendan Bomberry that was assisted by #44 Jason Martin and #18 Jacob Bomberry.  Jacob Bomberry would then put his team ahead with an unassisted marker at 6:44.  Welland’s #16 Ryan “Bubba” Dakin would tie the game going into the break, finding the mesh with only four seconds left in the opening frame, with #15 Brooker Muir picking up the assist on the play.

The second stanza saw no scoring from either side.  The visiting Raiders were able to contain the powerful offence of the Warriors while generating some great scoring opportunities of their own with fast-breaks by #10 Jack Fitzgerald, #93 Damien Alfieri and #11 Wade Kenny among others.  A disputable crease-violation call on #16 Ryan “Bubba” Dakin’s apparent goal, robbed the away side from assuming the lead and carrying further momentum.

The third period saw the Raiders fall by the wayside due to fatigue as well as a succession of late penalties.  #88 Joe Maracle strung together a hat-trick, and #18 Jacob Bomberry recorded a seven-point evening, racking up a pair of goals to go along with his five assists.  Other Six Nations scorers were #14, the captain, Spencer Hill, #77 JR Atkins, and #7 Warren Miller.  Providing helpers on the evening for the Chiefs were #44 Jason Martin with three, and #99 Tim Vanloon and #4 Luke Chatelain each with single dish-offs.

#29 Graeme McCullough kept his teammates competitive throughout the contest with a fantastic performance between the pipes, and the late goal-surge was more a result of the team being short-handed in front of him, as the Warriors converted four times on nine man-up situations.

#11 Wade Kenny would bulge the twine with an unassisted goal in the third period with just over six minutes to play, making it 5-3, but the Warriors replied with four unanswered tallies after that point to put the game out of reach.

Welland slips below .500 at 2-3-0 on the season with tonight’s defeat, but will hope to even their record against the Fort Erie Hawks a week from tonight during their next scheduled league game.

Photos of tonight’s game can be viewed here:

http://tinyurl.com/5vpjua  (Free MySpace Account required)

Tonight’s Boxscore:

Wel 2-0-1=3

6NW 2-0-7-9

Welland Vesuvius Warlords vs. Hamilton Bengals (5/25)

Welland Vesuvius Warlords vs. Hamilton Bengals (OLA Jr. B Lacrosse)

vs. 

The Welland Vesuvius Warlords bungled against the Bengals Sunday night but still managed to come back to the Rose City with the two points in hand, thanks to a game-saving performance by #39 Connor Danko during the third period.

It looked like a lock for the visitors early on as the Warlords completely shut down the Bengals for the first forty minutes of action.

#18 Tyler Tanguay scored his fourteenth only twenty-three seconds into the contest, from #5 Ira Sowden and #89 Jordy Daradick, to put the Warlords up 1-0.  Daradick then followed up with his thirteenth of 2008, from #13 Jason Pundyk and Danko, at 1:58 of the second as the Warlords continued their early dominance. #23 Tyler Warren deposited his eighth, on the powerplay from Sowden and #27 Kevin Floris, to build up a 3-0 Welland advantage at 12:24 and it looked not only that Welland would pick up the win, but perhaps a shutout victory in the process.

In the final frame, however, it was all Hamilton.  The Bengals outshot the Warlords 17-9 in the final twenty minutes, and 43-32 overall.  A goal and an assist each from Zach Hill and Ryan Dilts drew the hosts within a lone goal, but that was all as Danko shut the door the rest of the way to preserve the win.  Kyle Aquin assisted with Dilts on Hamilton’s first tally, scored by Hill on the powerplay only twenty-two seconds into the third.  Dilts bettered Danko, from Hill and Aaron Buswell, at the 9:17 mark to lock in the 3-2 final outcome.

Neither team looked impressive with the extra-attacker during the contest, with each finding only limited success.  Hamilton was a meagre 1-for-8 whereas Welland fared even worse at 1-for-10.  Loose ball recovery was about even for both sides, with no Warlords entering double-digits in the category, and Hamilton narrowly edged Welland 50-47 overall.

Player of the game honours were awarded to #39 Connor Danko of Welland and #39 Matt Oddi of Hamilton.

Friday night the Warlords are back in action at home against the Sarnia Pacers in a 7:30 start, a game which is sponsored by PenFinancial Credit Union.  The following day the club travels to London for a matchup with the Blue Devils.

Gamesheet:  http://www.zsisports.com/boxscore.php?ScheduleID=852

Warlords Website: http://www.warlordlax.com

Bengals Website: http://www.bengalslacrosse.com

Photos from the game can be found here:  http://tinyurl.com/69deyd (Free MySpace Account required)

Niagara Thunderhawks vs. Welland Vesuvius Warlords (5/23)

Niagara Thunderhawks vs. Welland Vesuvius Warlords (OLA Jr. B Lacrosse)

vs.

In what was perhaps their best effort of the season, the Welland Vesuvius Warlords proved to everyone, and especially the Niagara Thunderhawks, that they are not a team to be taken lightly these days.  Just the night previous, the Warlords had the undefeated Six Nations Rebels on the ropes before a third period letdown let them back into the game.

Tonight, a team that had beaten them in two previous meetings this season came into the Welland Arena perhaps a little too overconfident and were in for a rude awakening as the Warlords never had their superiority questioned on this night, winning 10-6.

Welland struck early and often, building up a commanding 5-1 lead in the first before allowing a late-period power-play goal to go into the first intermission up by a 6-2 margin.  #23 Tyler Warren led things off with his seventh of the season on an assist from #8 Mackenzie Abbott only 1:19 into the game.  #27 Kevin Floris would immediately win over the home crowd in his first appearance at home in a Warlords uniform by converting an Abbott pass at 9:30 for a 2-0 lead.

Niagara’s #44 Dave Evert would get the visitors on the board at 10:13 with an unassisted tally, but the home side would reply thirty seconds later when #14 Josh Eldridge drained his 16th of the 2008 campaign on helpers from #18 Tyler Tanguay and Tyler Warren.  Tanguay would combine with Warren and Floris for the next Welland goal,his thirteenth, which came at 13:58.  Mack Abbott continued his strong game by notching his fifth of the season from #10 Andrew Tober with 4:57 left to play in the first.  #16 Jonathan Williams would respond for Niagara with only ten seconds remaining before the intermission, redirecting an #3 Elijah Printup pass for a power-play goal that make it 5-2.

The Thunderhawks’ #10 Bryn Jones pulled his team within two with an unassisted goal at 1:29 of the second before #8 Steve McIlwrath, with Floris and Tanguay assisting, scored his second of the night to make it 6-3 at 4:53.  #32 James McCready would inflict further damage by beating #00 Corey Henry with his first goal as a Warlord, from #5 Ira Sowden at 7:28.

Jonathan Williams would continue his strong performance, scoring his second of the evening from #27 Corey Fowler and Printup at 8:21 on the power-play.  Daradick would deposit his eleventh of the year from Floris on the powerplay at 11:42 of the middle stanza.  Welland would make it 9-4 on McIlwrath’s second, which was set up by goaltender #39 Connor Danko at the seventeen minute mark.  Printup would narrow the gap with a goal exactly one minute later on assists from Fowler and Williams.

The third period did not change the momentum with the teams trading lone goals, with Fowler scoring from #30 Jace Hill only 2:36 into the final frame and McCready netting his second of the night at 8:44 from #17 Trevor Hall and Tanguay to produce the 10-6 final.

Welland was 1-for-6 with the man-advantage with the Thunderhawks went 2-for-5 with the extra-attacker.  Players of the game, which was sponsored by Wormald, Masse, Keen, and Lopinski Chartered Accountants, were #3 Elijah Printup for the Thunderhawks with 1G, 2A and #27 Kevin Floris for the Warlords with 1G and 3A.

Tonight’s winner of the 50/50 draw, Ed Borgatti, took home $145 while other lucky fans took home prizes from the Heaping Spoonful, Merrittville Speedway, the Blue Star Restaurant, the Welland Warlords and Herc’s Muscle Shop via the lucky program promotion.

Welland is back in action Sunday evening on the road versus Hamilton before returning to face the Sarnia Pacers next Friday evening at 7:30pm in a game sponsored by PenFinancial Credit Union.

Gamesheet:  http://www.zsisports.com/boxscore.php?ScheduleID=844

Thunderhawks website: http//www.thunderhawks.ca

Warlords Website: http://www.warlordlax.com

Welland Vesuvius Warlords vs. Six Nations Rebels (5/22)

Welland Vesuvius Warlords vs. Six Nations Rebels (OLA Jr. B Lacrosse)

vs. 

An upset victory slipped away from the Welland Vesuvius Warlords’ grasp as they surrendered three unanswered third period goals to drop an 8-6 decision to the Six Nations Rebels on the road last night.

Despite the immediate impact of newly-signed #27 Kevin Floris, who led all Warlords with fourteen loose ball recoveries in addition to providing two assists, the Warlords were stung by a late comeback from the indomitable Rebels.

The Warlords didn’t waste any time last night proving that they can compete with any team in the league, including the as-yet-undefeated Rebels.  #18 Tyler Tanguay beat the Nations netminder with a short-handed tally, thanks to a #77 Dustin Gatt pass 5:57 after the opening draw.

Rebels’ sniper #7 Jeremy Johns replied with a power-play marker at 6:28 from #19 Torrey VanEvery to knot the game at one.  The Warlord’s #9 Steve McIllwrath would put the visitors ahead going into the intermission by converting on Floris’ first assist on the night for his fifth of the season.

#14 Josh Eldridge pocketed his fourteenth of the 2008 campaign on assists from Floris and #89 Jordy Daradick on the power-play at 3:49 of the second as Welland took a 3-1 advantage.  Six Nations would storm back with two goals within a minute and seven seconds, just after the mid-point of the middle stanza to draw into a short-lived tie.  #21 Jordan Johnson would make good on passes from #00 Cody VanEvery and #89 Randy Johnson at 10:31 and then #77 Stu Hill would follow up on a feed from Cody Johnson at 11:38.  Assistant captain #22 Hawenaedes Thomas would give the Rebels their first lead of the game at 17:16 of the second, on assists from #33 Mike Miller and #15 Clark Robinson.

The Warlords would not bow to the pressure and responded with a pair of goals to close out the period once again with the lead.  #23 Tyler Warren recorded his sixth of the year from #10 Andrew Tober and Tanguay with 1:51 remaining, before #8 Mack Abbott notched the go-ahead goal from Eldridge and Daradick with only one tick left on the clock to make it 6-5.

Stu Hill would strike for the second time from Jeremy Johns with 18:43 left on the scoreboard in the third to once again equalize the score, but #17 Trevor Hall and Abbott would find Eldridge would made no mistake in scoring his fifteenth of year to put the visitors up by a goal with 15:26 left to play.

Unfortunately, the Six Nations squad proved to be just too strong, putting up three unanswered goals to close out the game with the 8-6 victory.  Captain Stu Hill recorded his hat-trick on a helper from #11 Brent Longboat, and then #8 Ryley Johnson struck from #9 Andy Jamieson and #4 Marty Hill with eleven minutes remaining.  Jeremy Johns would close out the offense by parlaying a Torrey VanEvery pass into the mesh behind Welland backstop #39 Connor Danko at 11:34.

Players of the game were Danko for Welland who stopped 50-of-58 Rebel’s shots, and #7 Jeremy Johns who provided the hosts with a pair of goals as part of his three-point evening.  Welland managed 44 shots in the direction of the Six Nations net, however were outmatched in loose-ball recovery 75-52, despite the good work of Floris and others.

Welland was 1-for-3 with the man-advantage while Six Nations was 1-for-4 on the night with the extra attacker.

Welland (5-6-0) takes on the Niagara Thunderhawks (5-3-0) tonight at home starting at 7:30pm in a game presented by Wormald, Masse, Keen & Lopinski Chartered Accountants.

Gamesheet:  http://www.zsisports.com/boxscore.php?ScheduleID=843

Warlords Website:  http://www.warlordlax.com

Niagara Thunderhawks Soar Past Raiders (5/21)

Niagara Thunderhawks vs. Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Bantam #1 Raiders (Zone 9 Lacrosse)

vs. 

The Niagara Thunderhawks scored a major upset on Wednesday night by fighting back from a 3-1 second period deficit to record a 6-4 road victory over the Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Bantam #1 Raiders.

Niagara made the most of every opportunity, netting six goals on only 10 shots against Raiders netminder #29 Graeme McCullough.  The Raiders struggled all night to win draws, to corral loose balls and did not dominate the physical play like they are capable of doing.  Most of their 27 shots were taken from the perimeter, without the benefit of screens, which made a relatively easy night for #00 Steven Keefer who had a clear view of nearly everything fired at him.

Despite having just stepped off the floor from their own game moments earlier, affiliated players #6 Dylan Nunes and #7 David Falovo, who play for the Internet Access Worldwide Bantam #2 team, were two of the more impressive players in a Raiders’ uniform last night.  Falovo pocketed the home side’s third goal on helpers from #15 Brooker Muir and #10 Jack Fitzgerald.  Fitzgerald, for his part had another strong outing setting up two on the night.  #93 Damien Alfieri assumed a share of the team’s points lead by picking up an assist, as well as the Winning Attitude Player of the Week honours, having recorded at least a single point in each of the first four games – the only Raider to do so.

Captain #16 Ryan “Bubba” Dakin took matters into his own last in more ways than one last night, in an effort to spark his team.  He scored his second of the season, recording the Raiders second goal of the night, before having to defend himself against #9 Shawn Merza in a fight during the middle stanza.  Both players earned game ejections and will be forced to sit out during their next contests, which for Welland is next Monday in Hagersville against the Six Nations #1 powerhouse.

#9 Ryan Kirchmayer found the mesh at the back of the Thunderhawks net for his first tally of 2008, on assists from #93 Alfieri and #19 Sebastien Beaudoin. #11 Wade Kenny broke in a new stick by posting the Raiders only other goal of the evening, which ignited them on a run of three unanswered goals during the second period.

Niagara opened the scoring in the first, despite only firing two shots in the first that found the target, as #3 Zach Dubuc was the trigger-man on passes from #19 Cameron Luis and #00 Steven Keefer.  #21 James Stanelink would follow up almost four minutes into the middle frame, with an unassisted tally.  #5 Brad Thomas would pick up the hat-trick, being set up twice by #19 Cameron Luis (who had three assists on the night) and one-time by #11 Daniel Debon.  The remaining Thunderhawks tally was struck by #12 Luke Petrie who redirected a #6 Billy Saxton pass behind McCullough for the eventually game-winning goal.

Each team was assessed eleven minutes in penalties, with the bulk of these minutes being the result of infractions related to the second-period fisticuffs. Neither team were able to take advantage of their lone man-advantage situations of the evening.

The Raiders outshot the Thunderhawks during two of the three periods, with each team recording four shots on net during the second fifteen minutes of play.  Welland held the overall advantage by a 26-10 margin.  The hosts fared better than they have of late in face-off wins, winning four draws cleanly to only one outright win of the visitors, but it is still an area where they are inconsistent.  The Raiders only lost two possessions due to shot-clock expiry, but this is often the result of taking low-percentage shots too early after gaining possession, and not forcing their way into the house for quality scoring chances.  The visitors squandered four possessions as the result of the 30-second clock, thanks to a Raiders defence that can still be dominant when it chooses to be.

The Raiders, now 2-2-0, travel to Hagersville on Monday to battle the always-tough Six Nations Warriors squad in their only game of the upcoming week.

Tonight’s Boxscore:

Nia 1-2-3=6

Wel 0-3-1=4

A’s Outlast Raiders (5/20)

Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Raiders vs. St. Catharines Sheehan & Rosie #1 Athletics

(Zone 9 Lacrosse)

vs.

The Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Bantam #1 Raiders ceded two points to their Hwy-406 nemesis the St. Catharines Athletics, losing to them 10-5 on Tuesday evening, despite going toe-to-toe with them for the first thirty minutes of play.

The A’s came out strong from the opening draw, scoring twice during the opening three minutes, before Welland recovered to control much of the balance of the first period.  #4 Tyson Bell struck quickly, netting the game’s first goal at fifty-seven seconds by converting on helpers from #5 Brandon Kraemer and A’s netminder #1 Eric Fannell.  Fannell would earn an assist on the next home-side tally as well, when he and #14 Chris Hutton set up #15 Adam Bellamy at 2:36.

At this point the Raiders must have realized that they match up very well with the A’s as they then proceeded to turn the tables on the hosts and control the balance of play for the rest of the period, outshooting the Athletics 9-4 and notching three unanswered goals to assume a 3-2 lead heading into the break.  #15 Brooker Muir got the better of Fannell on two separate occasions, with #17 Michael Simpson recording the other visitor’s tally.  #93 Damien Alfieri assisted on both of Muir’s goals, with #16 Ryan “Bubba” Dakin and #44 Bryce Brochu also picking up helpers in the period.

Life for the Raiders was not easy during the second stanza, as they struggled to win the draws, had to kill off a pair of penalties and got pinned in their own end for extended periods thanks to several possession calls in succession that did not go in their favour, which impeded their access to regular line changes.  These extended shifts no doubt played a role in the series of third period miscues that allowed for easy St. Catharines goals as fatigue had set in, allowing the home side to pull away to the easy victory.

Welland can take some solace in the fact that their penalty-killing still remains a consistent bright spot, having not allowed a single power-play goal during its first two games, and burning off 3-of-4 short-handed situations tonight.  Welland’s power-play unit never had an opportunity to touch the floor this evening, as St. Catharines played a disciplined game which did not result in any penalties being assessed to them.

Despite all of the adverse conditions mentioned above, the Raiders still managed to come out of the second period tied 4-4 with the Athletics.  Goals by #7 Broderick Kelly and Bell were countered by the first of two on the night from #90 Nicholas Beaudoin.  Assist-getters for St. Catharines were Hutton and #55 Charlie Sheehan, while Welland backstop #30 Kyle Patterson produced the assist on the Raiders’ fourth goal.

Unfortunately, that is as good as the night would get for Patterson, who along with the rest of the team struggled mightily during the final fifteen minutes of play.  A defense that had been impenetrable earlier, now allowed easy looks at the side of the crease, which were easy tap-ins for the St. Catharines snipers.  Loose balls that had been earlier vacuumed up now lie in wait for A’s players to pick up and deposit into the Welland cage.  #9 Evan Scott would pick up a pair of third-period markers, with #10 Hunter Garlent, Hutton, #20 Jacob Dion and #11 Nigel Slade each being rewarded with single markers during the last stanza.  Assists in the period were collected by Garlent and Kelly with two apiece, and singles were added by #19 Brett Pace, Slade, Bell, and #3 Kyle Gianetto. Scoring a late goal for the Raiders was Nicholas Beaudoin from #11 Wade Kenny.

Total shots on goal favoured the Athletics by a 27-18 margin.  The A’s held a clear advantage in number of clear-cut draws won, winning 7 to Welland’s 2.  The Raiders only lost one possession to a shot-clock expiry whereas this happened to the A’s three times during the contest.

While it was not the result the Raiders were looking for, they will re-group knowing that the next time they meet the A’s this season, the result could be far different.  A lack of available practice time has evidently hurt the Raiders, who will not get by on heart alone against the top-tier teams in Zone 9.  It was a hard-fought, well-played game that simply got away from them tonight as they fall to 2-1-0 on the year, but they will look forward to a quick rebound at home tomorrow evening against the Niagara Thunderhawks starting at 9pm.

Tonight’s Boxscore:

Wel  3-1-1=5

Stc  2-2-6=10

Video Clip #1

http://www.veoh.com/videos/v12288817pGXHmcSD

Tonight’s Boxscore:

Wel 2-2-1=5

Stc 2-2-6=10

St. Catharines Spartans vs. Welland Vesuvius Warlords (5/16)

St. Catharines Spartans vs. Welland Vesuvius Warlords (OLA Jr. B Lacrosse)

vs.

A solid three-pronged attack allowed the Welland Vesuvius Warlords to overcome both their injuries and the St. Catharines Spartans last night, defeating them 10-7 in Ontario Lacrosse Association Jr. B Lacrosse action at the Welland Arena.

It all started with the offense, as the Warlords dominated the first period of play by running off five straight unanswered goals, exciting the home crowd and giving the injury-plagued team a much-needed boost of confidence.

#18 Tyler Tanguay didn’t waste any time igniting the Warlord’s newly-discovered offensive juggernaut, beating #33 Michael Cox only twenty-eight seconds after the opening draw.  #23 Tyler Warren would then notch his fifth of the season from #17 Trevor Hall and #14 Josh Eldridge at 7:03 before Eldridge tallied an unassisted marker at 7:40 to make it 3-0.

Tanguay would record his second of three on the night at 11:09 from #89 Jordy Daradick and Eldridge, and Eldridge would fire home his twelfth of 2008 as the Warlords went into the break with a commanding five-goal advantage.

After captain #13 Jason Pundyk recorded his first of the season from Tanguay and #39 Connor Danko 3:03 into the middle stanza, before the Warlords gave back some ground to the Spartans by surrendering three straight goals in the second.  A power-play marker from #15 Shawn Frankland, assisted by #20 Joel Matthews at 10:22, seemed to spark the Spartans to life.  Up to that point the visitors had not been able to mount any sort of challenge to the Warlords and it appeared that another runaway victory, like Sunday night’s rout in Merritton, was in order.

Thursday night was a much different story, however, as Welland was missing five key players and it started to show its effect in the second period.  #93 Vinny Covello buried home passes from #92 James Slade and Frankland at 12:36, and #8 Dillon Hensbee converted on assists from #16 Corey Green and #77 Chris Atwood to  beat Danko at 16:31 to close within three at 6-3 after forty minutes.

#5 Ira Sowden once again found his scoring touch to set the Warlords back in the right direction, thanks to passes from Eldridge and Tanguay at 3:03 of the final frame.  The Spartans would net another power-play tally from #9 Shayne Adams, before Sowden put home his second of the game at the half-way point of the period from Warren and Eldridge.

Eldridge, who had seven points on Thursday, finished off his hat-trick just over a half-minute later, with Pundyk and Tanguay assisting.  The Spartans then went on a tear, with Thomas, Atwood and Green solving Danko to close within two.  The Warlords dug down in the final minutes with some great defence and goaltending to preserve the win, and Tanguay put an exclamation mark on the night closing out the scoring in the final second by dropping his third of the night into the vacated Spartans goal.

Danko was once-again solid in the Warlords crease, stopping 47-of-54 shots, while the Warlords fired off 41 shots at Michael Cox, who recovered well after being shell-shocked in the opening period. Eldridge captured Player of the Game recognition for the home side with his seven-point performance, while #21 Kyle Winterbottom got the nod for the Spartans by picking up a goal and an assist last night.

While the Warlord’s power-play unit was unsuccessful in three attempts, the penalty-killing unit once again shone, picking up two short-handed markers.  St. Catharines capitalized on 2-of-5 situations with the extra attacker.

A good crowd attended last night’s game night, sponsored by Boltworks Industrial Fasteners.  One lucky fan from Welland took home the sizeable 50/50 proceeds, while others took home various prizes through the lucky program promotion, thanks to generous sponsors such as the Heaping Spoonful, Herc’s Muscle Shop, Merrittville Speedway and the Welland Warlords.

The Warlords now look ahead to squaring off in Six Nations on Thursday before returning home Friday night for their return visit from the Niagara Thunderhawks.  The Warlords hope to exact some revenge on the Thunderhawks for the two early-season losses at their hands. The game sponsored by Wormald, Masse, Keen and Lopinski Chartered Accountants, gets underway at 7:30pm.

Gamesheet: http://www.zsisports.com/boxscore.php?ScheduleID=830

Spartans Website: http://www.hometeamsonline.com/teams/?u=SPARTANJRBLACROSSE&s=lacrosse&t=c

Warlords Website: http://www.warlordlax.com

Raiders Hold On To Edge The Chiefs (5/14)

Burlington Chiefs vs. Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Bantam #1 Raiders

vs.

For nearly the entire first two periods, the Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Bantam #1 Raiders were clearly the better of the two teams on the floor.  However, the Chiefs refused to quit and pushed the Raiders to the limit in the final frame, losing by a narrow 5-4 margin.

In this home-opener for the Raiders, the hosts came out strong to open the game.  After an apparent goal from #15 Matt Sanche of the visitors was waved off for a crease violation at the 6:30 mark, #19 Sebastien Beaudoin converted a quick feed from #91 Anthony Difruscia at 7:12 to stake the home side to an early one-goal lead with a short-handed marker on #1 Thomas McHugh.  #36 Kevin Millejours would then put the Raiders up by two by re-directing a #93 Damien Alfieri pass at 9:44 for a 2-0 first period advantage.

Alfieri would find the back of the Chiefs net himself, tallying at 4:41 of the middle period to put his team up 3-0.  However, Burlington would strike back minutes later when #11 Keyan McQueen beat Welland netminder #29 Graeme McCullough at 8:35 to make it 3-1.

Undeterred, the Raiders resumed their attack, and it paid dividends when #15 Brooker Muir scored unassisted at 10:12 of the second stanza.  Millejours would add his second of the game, from Sebastien Beaudoin at 14:54 to go into the third period with a 5-1 lead.

The final 15 minutes saw a shift in momentum, with the Raiders no longer carrying the command of the game as they had earlier.  For the first two periods, the Raiders were able to frustrate the Chiefs and not surrender many open looks to them.  As a result, the Chiefs often fell victim to the shot clock, but not so in the last period.

Burlington would reply with three unanswered goals to close to within one of the Raiders.  #19 Ryan Callaghan would score at 5:07 and then set up #17 Gianni Bianchin at 8:27, before #18 Marcus Elvin deposited a Keyan McQueen pass behind McCullough to make things interesting in the closing minutes.

Burlington pulled their netminder in favour of the extra attacker, however, Welland was able to grab possession of the ball in the final thirty seconds and kill off the remaining time without surrendering a last-minute equalizing opportunity.

Penalty-killing prowess was a definite storyline in tonight’s action with the Raiders fending off fourteen minutes of infractions and not allowing a single goal during five power-play chances for the Chiefs, including a 2-man disadvantage for a full two minutes in the third period.  The Chiefs were assessed only one minor penalty, which the Raiders were unable to convert.

The Raiders lost five possessions due to shot-clock expiry, with the bulk of these coming late, whereas Burlington lost possession ten times throughout the contest, but most of these occurred during the opening two periods of play.

Welland outshot Burlington in every period and by a margin of 22-14 overall.  Burlington won the face-off battle 3-2 in outright draw wins.

Tonight’s Boxscore

Burl  0-1-3  4

Wel   2-3-0  5

Video highlights to follow.

Welland Bantam #1 Raiders Crush The Lincoln Crush

Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Bantam #1 Raiders vs. Lincoln Crush

vs.

The Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Raiders kicked off the season in fine form, crushing their hosts Lincoln in a very decisive 9-0 victory on Monday evening in Grimsby at the Peach King Centre.

A stellar performance by Lincoln’s #21 Tim Millar between the pipes was overshadowed by the game’s final outcome, which saw his team fall in defeat after being outshot 61-3.

While Raiders’ starting netminder #29 Graeme McCullough did not face any shots during his half-game of play, he contributed to the win by making several great outlet passes and picking up an assist in the process.  #30 Kyle Patterson made three saves in relief to earn the combined shutout, and set up a goal for the visitors as well.

Offensively, the Raiders spread the ball around very effectively and it was apparent on the scoresheet, with #10 Jack Fitzgerald netting a pair and #36 Kevin Millejours, #98 Zach Olsson, #91 Anthony Difruscia, #11 Wade Kenny, #19 Sebastien Beaudoin, #90 Nicholas Beaudoin and #16 Ryan “Bubba” Dakin firing home single tallies.  Difruscia dished off four times, for a noteworthy five-point performance, and Millejours, #9 Ryan Kirchmayer, McCullough, Patterson, #17 Michael Simpson, #44 Bryce Brochu, #93 Damien Alfieri and #15 Brooker Muir each provided lone helpers on the night.

While Simpson recorded only the one assist, his tenacity throughout the game lead to many more scoring opportunities that went unrewarded.  Millejours looked equally impressive, but with so many players giving equally praiseworthy efforts, it ended up as just a great night for the team as a whole.  #42 Adam Barron was held pointless despite making several nifty moves to generate some quality scoring chances that were thwarted by some top-notch Lincoln goaltending.

The Raiders controlled the face-off dot, winning seven draws cleanly and losing only two over the course of the 45-minute contest.  Welland successfully killed off their lone assessed penalty while going 1-for-1 with the man-advantage.  The Raiders lost possession of the ball for shot-clock violations six times, but much of that was due to hard shots that just missed their intended target by a narrow margin.

Overall, a very good, unselfish and discplined effort to begin the 2008 campaign, but the real test will come this Wednesday night when the Raiders return to the floor at home versus the Burlington Chiefs starting at 9:00pm.

First Goal of the Season:

done

Some good work along the boards by #9 Ryan Kirchmayer, fantastic outlet pass:

done

Raiders’ 2nd Goal:

done

Boxscore:

Wel 2-4-3=9

Linc  0-0-0=0

A’s remain at .500

Yesterday I had the pleasure to travel to Guelph to witness some great field lacrosse action for my very first time ever.  While I have followed box lacrosse locally for the past three seasons, this was my first chance to see field lacrosse action in person, with my only previous exposure to the sport being from television or the Internet.

Elements of the field lacrosse game were immediately more appealing to me than those of its box-counterpart, and I can say without reservation that I will be following this sport more closely from now on.  I can’t say that I became an instant-fan of the St. Catharines Athletics Bantam #1 team, who split their pair of games yesterday to remain at .500 with a 3-3 record on the year, but I can say that I became an instant-fan of the sport and will want to attend many more games in the future.

In all fairness, the reason I can’t immediately convert to St. Catharines A’s fandom has more to do with my allegience to my hometown Welland Tigers hockey and Welland Raiders box lacrosse teams than it does with their play yesterday.  St. Catharines played a dominant first half against Hamilton in the opening game before a resilliant Bengals club rallied in the second half to produce a closer result than the general flow of play warranted, ending up 10-6 in favour of the A’s.

The Athletics looked much less disciplined in their afternoon game, losing by three goals to the host Guelph Regals, in part because of penalty trouble.  Despite winning most of the races to the loose balls, the A’s struggled to maintain possession and were largely outworked in what I viewed as a disappointing upset.  While it was only my first look at either team, I was left with the impression that St. Catharines had more talent than their effort was displaying.

Now that I have had my first taste of field lacrosse, I cannot wait to return for a second look.  Hopefully my schedule will permit me to return next weekend to catch the action in Brampton…

Welland Vesuvius Warlords vs. St. Catharines Spartans (5/11)

Welland Vesvuvius Warlords vs. St. Catharines Spartans (OLA Jr. B Lacrosse)

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While the Welland Vesuvius Warlords have had struggles at times generating offence this season, Sunday night it was a different story as they unleased sixteen goals to defeat the St. Catharines Spartans for the first time in six seasons.

Scoring three on the power-play, three more while short-handed and ten goals at even-strength, Welland dominated in all facets of the game to cruise to a 16-6 victory and improve their record to 4-5-0. #14 Josh Eldridge was the most dangerous weapon in the Warlords’ arsenal Sunday evening, recording the hat-trick while setting up six others.  #5 Ira Sowden broke through for an eight-point performance, scoring once and dishing off on seven others.  #89 Jordy Daradick led all Warlords with five goals on Sunday, and #39 Connor Danko chipped in four helpers when he too wasn’t busy stopping 47 of the 53 shots on goal on the night to secure the win.  Danko was named Player of the Game for Welland, while #20 Joel Matthews earned the honours for the Spartans with his two-goal game.

#13 jason Pundyk, the team’s captain, and #18 Tyler Tanguay each set up three during the contest, with Tanguay also pulling the trigger on three during the 60 minutes. #10 Andrew Tober recorded points in his second straight game by posting two assists, while #17 Trevor Hall also had a multi-point night by scoring and assisting once each.  Also recording single helpers in the win were #23 Tyler Warren, #32 Thomas O’Malley, and #7 Matt Zaruk.

The Warlord return home to square off against St. Catharines in Thursday night’s rematch, sponsored by Boltworks Industrial Fasteners.  Game time is 7:30pm.

Gamesheet:  http://www.zsisports.com/boxscore.php?ScheduleID=826

Warlords Website: http://www.warlordlax.com

Spartans Website:  http://www.hometeamsonline.com/teams/default.asp?u=SPARTANJRBLACROSSE&sport=lacrosse&t=c&p=home&s=lacrosse

Welland Vesuvius Warlords vs. Windsor AKO Fratmen (5/10)

Welland Vesuvius Warlords vs. Windsor AKO Fratmen (OLA Jr. B Lacrosse)

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Coming off a decisive 8-3 victory at home on Friday evening, the Welland Vesuvius Warlords were certainly hoping for a better result than the 9-4 loss they were handed courtesy of the Windsor AKO Fratmen on Saturday night.  The loss drops the team’s record to 3-5.

Despite a 50-save performance by #39 Connor Danko, and a great effort in killing off 9-of-11 penalties assessed against them on the night, the Warlords simply could not pull out the much-needed win.

Windsor would net the game’s opening goal when Luke Brouillard redirected passes from Brett Hickey and Garrison Matte at 5:43 of the first.  Welland would reply initially with a short-handed marker from #14 Josh Eldridge, his seventh of the season, unassisted at 8:53 and then would pull ahead on #10 Andrew Tober’s first of the year, at 13:03, from #13 Jason Pundyk and #9 Steve McIllwrath.  This lead was short-lived, however, as Travis Boomer converted helpers from Grant Sokolowski and Brendan Stevenson to tie the game at two with 5:11 remaining in the opening stanza.

The second period saw Windsor score three more times unanswered, before Abbott fired home his third of 2008, assisted by #89 Jordy Daradick and Tober.  Matte, Boomer and Hickey tallied with Sokolowski, Brouillard, Cody Burchell and Todd Chapman each picking up assists.  Windsor’s Mike Rivait would score once more for the home side before the second intermission, beating Danko at 7:39 from Andrew Ryckman.

Daradick tried to rally his teammates with a quick goal in the opening minutes of the third from McIllwrath, but it was Windsor who would finish strong with three more lamp-lighters.  Burchell, Hickey and Ryckman each scored, while Adam Moore, Devon Humphries, Boomer, Ryckman, Matte and Hickey each chipped in assists.

Windsor outshot Welland in each period, and by an overall margin of 59-37.  The Fratmen also edged the Warlords in loose balls recovered by a difference of five, 69-64.  Both goaltenders were named the Player of the Game for their respective teams, and with the combined number of shots they faced, I don’t think many would argue that they were deserving on this night.

Welland returned to the Rose City, courtesy of the services of team sponsor Wills Charters, last evening so that they could prepare to face Spartan AC Sunday night in Merritton at 7pm.  Saturday’s eight hour bus ride no doubt gave them plenty of time to plot out a strategy on how to find success during their home-and-home series against their regional-rivals this week.  Spartan AC makes its trip to Welland on Thursday evening to battle the Warlords at 7:30pm, in a game sponsored by Boltworks Industrial Fasteners.

Gamesheet:  http://www.zsisports.com/boxscore.php?ScheduleID=823

Warlords Website:  http://www.warlordlax.com

AKO Fratmen Website:  http://www.akolacrosse.com/

The Winning Attitude Player of the Week Award

The Winning Attitude Player of the Week Award

New for the 2008 season, and exclusive to the Welland Harpwood’s Trophies Bantam #1 Raiders, this award will be given to the player who best demonstrates a hard work ethic and positive attitude during each week of the regular season, and who leads the team by example to strive for their personal best in the interest of promoting overall team success.  Whether in the dressing room, on the bench, or on the floor all positive contributions will be considered during the selection process.  To ensure that each player has an equal opportunity to win, it has been decided that a player may only receive the award once over the course of the season.

Week One

With half-a-dozen equally-deserving candidates, choosing this week’s recipient did not come easily.  Honourable mentions go out to #17 Michael Simpson, #93 Damien Alfieri, #36 Kevin Millejours, #44 Bryce Brochu and #9 Ryan Kirchmayer who all warranted close consideration for their strong play during our first two games of the season.

Congratulations goes out to #91 Anthony “Puddy” Difruscia, our Week 1 winner.  Puddy’s relentless attack on the ball and ball-carrier enabled him to gain possession of numerous loose balls, which he then parlayed into 1G and 6A in the two games this week.

Week Two

Our Week Two recipient, #93 Damien “Knuckles” Alfieri, has been a consistent performer, notching at least one point in every game so far this season.  His combination of speed and quick-thinking on the floor have been invaluable, and have elevated him to a tie for first in team scoring.  Other notable performances this week were delivered by #17 Michael Simpson, #10 Jack Fitzgerald, #9 Ryan Kirchmayer, #44 Bryce Brochu and #98 Zach Olsson.

Week Three

Week Three’s prize goes to #29 Graeme “Crackers” McCullough for stonewalling the potent offence of the Six Nations Warriors for two-and-a-half periods until late penalty trouble caused the score to tilt in favour of the Warriors.

Week Four

It remains true that one of the hardest responsibilities I have each week is picking just one player deserving of this award.  Every week it seems that nearly every player in uniform makes a strong case why they should be chosen ahead of all the others.  The fact that it is Week 4 and I am just now awarding team captain #16 Ryan “Bubba” Dakin with the honour speaks volumes about just how good our team is as a whole.  While Bubba’s consecutive hat-tricks this week might seem to have made this decision easy, I could name at least half-a-dozen more on the team who made equally significant contributions.  Keep up the great work and effort boys, it’s not going unnoticed!

The Week 5 winner will be chosen based on both the John McCauley Memorial Tournament in Brampton this weekend as well as our two out-of-town games next week, giving those who might be absent during some of those games to be given equal consideration for the award.  The announcement of the winner will be made at the conclusion of the Hamilton game next Wednesday evening.

Week 5

Competition for the award in Week 5 was so fierce that I am happy to announce that we have three winners this week!  This trio, while they have been tremendous each and every single week so far this season, elevated their games to a whole other level this past week, both during our tournament and league play, and they are equally deserving of the award this week.  Congratulations go out to #10 Jack Fitzgerald, #11 Wade Kenny, and #44 Bryce Brochu.

Each and every one of you can look at your tournament medallions with pride knowing that, to a man, your individual play made all the difference in our success.  Your hard work, positive attitudes and skilled plays made our goal of a tournament championship a reality for us.  Whether you were setting picks, scoring the goals, making the big saves, or getting back hard on defence to stop the opponents from scoring, your individual actions made all the difference.  When all sixteen of you play together as one, like you did on many occasions this week, we can make great things happen.  Let this tournament win by only the first of many this season.

Week 6

Our Week 6 Winner has been quietly putting up consistent numbers all season without drawing a lot of attention.  In fact, he was nearly left off the gamesheet twice this week, which would have been a mistake, since once he was listed on it, he did a fantastic job of filling it.  With three points in each of the two games this week, including a hat-trick, our Week 6 winner is #15 Brooker Muir.  Congratulations, Brooker!

Week 7

Despite not playing our best lacrosse as a team recently, the team continues to win thanks in large part to our Week 7 co-winners, #30 Kyle Patterson and #98 Zach Olsson.  Olsson has been on a tear offensively of late, putting in big performances in the Orangeville tournament as well as during our recent league games.  While not pegged as one of the teams’ offensive stars at the start of the season, his hard work has been rewarded with a consistent scoring ability that has been a key cog in the team’s overall success.  Patterson, who has received much less defensive help recently, was absolutely spectacular this week against Six Nations #3, stopping numerous breakaway chances and setting up the first two Raiders’ goals.

Week 8

Congratulations to the “twin towers of power”, #19 Sebastien Beaudoin and #90 Nicholas Beaudoin who are Week 8’s co-winners of the Winning Attitude Player of the Week Honours.  Known primarily for their offensive capabilities, what impressed me most this week is how they handled themselves during some very trying circumstances this week, battling through pain and keeping their composure when our opponents repeatedly tried to key on them during the games.  Add their tremendous knowledge of the game, their great locker-room presence and their proven playmaking abilities, and this selection becomes a very easy one to make.  Our best players need to step it up at this point in the season, and lately this duo has done that in a big way.  Congratulations, guys!

Week 9

Week 9 saw the remaining players on the team all be awarded based on their strong defensive play and great attitudes and work ethic throughout the season.  Despite playing with only a full roster for the first two games of the season, our Raiders have managed to hang in tough against opponents who often have rosters twice as large.  Winners this week include #9 Ryan Kirchmayer, who quietly shut down the opposition and make a difference offensively by opening up large holes in the defence when cutting through the middle, often forcing double-coverage.  To #17 Michael Simpson, who tremendous work ethic throughout the season was not rewarded enough with points on the scoresheet, but who always seemed to be creating great scoring chances with his effort alone.  To #36 Kevin Millejours, who not only had a frequent scoring touch, but also hustled back to help out on “D” better than most.  Lastly, to #42 Adam Barron, who despite missing most of the season due to injury, showed tremendous character by first gutting it out to finish the remainder of the game in which he was injured, then practicing the next day before finally succumbing to his injuries the following day after being evaluated by his doctor who diagnosed a fractured hand that had him miss six weeks of action.  On his return, he made an immediate impact by contributing an assist and making numerous attention-worthy defensive stands.

Looking back, this weekly award project has proven overwhelmingly successful and exceeded all my initial expectations for it.  When it began I fully expected that the only the nine best weekly performers would be honoured, and the rest would be left out.  This all changed starting in Week 6 when three players stepped up their games to such a level that I couldn’t help but make provision for them as well.  With each successive week, other players made that same level of improvement, also demanding to be recognized.  In the end, each player can be proud not only of winning their individual awards but also the part they have played in the team’s overall success.  If everyone can remain playing at this high level and continue to display the attitudes and tremendous work ethic that have gotten us to this point, we will be in for a very successful run at a Provincial Championship.