A’s sink Lakers for third straight win
What a difference a week can make.
The St. Catharines WMKL Athletics hit the halfway point of the season last week with an unsightly 1-9 mark which caused head coach Steve Toll and general manager Jeff Chcoski go public to BPSN with their displeasure.
The turnaround since has been quick and noticeable.
The A’s topped the Peterborough Lakers 8-6 Wednesday night at Canada Games Park for their third win in a row to improve to 4-9.
But that is only part of the good news.
The Ontario Junior Lacrosse League announced this week they have ruled the Toronto Beaches will forfeit their first eight games of the season due to roster violations. The A’s will be awarded two wins for the two losses they had versus Toronto, bumping their record to 6-7 with a chance to get back to .500 Saturday.
All of that adds up to a much more self-assured team.
“The way the boys are playing now, it’s confidence,” Toll said. “It’s accountability. The boys and being accountable in the room to each other. Obviously I want them to be accountable to the coaching staff, but I also want them to be able to look at each other in the eye and say, ‘I played my heart out for you.’ ”
The A’s goaltending, which had been an issue earlier this season, has also improved. Tye Wilson got the start Wednesday and kicked out 39 shots for the win.
“The last three games our goaltending has been outstanding,” Toll said. “The defence has been playing great too but show me a good goalie and I’ll show you a good coach.”
The A’s fell behind 2-0 and 3-1 to the Lakers, but quickly recovered.
“The good thing was we weren’t down five or six like we have been,” Toll said.
Toll also singled out Issac Prantera and Julian Race for their offensive contributions.
“It’s the little things but Prantera steps up and gets a goal. He’s not out there to score, he’s out there to work hard and set picks. Racer gets a big goal and worked his tail off all night.”
But Toll’s biggest pat on the back was saved for defenceman Mitch Armstrong.
“The difference was Armstrong was outstanding,” Toll said. “They just talk and communicate so well. They let everyone know to do their job. When Armstrong does his job and doesn’t worry about doing other people’s jobs, he’s the best defender in this league by country mile. It’s a very nice thing to have.”
Armstrong was quick to give credit to his teammates.
“I don’t think that can be fully on me,” he said. “I have a great D group in there. I’m a leader so I talk when I can and I lead them when I can but it all comes down to we’re a group back there and no game is going to be won by just me. We’re a group and I have to give it to the guys in the room.”
Armstrong said the defencemen have each other’s back at all times.
“You can’t really take a shift off. That might be the shift when they put one in the back of the net. Surround yourself with positivity. Even if I have a bad shift I know the guys on the bench are going to pick me up. I can always count on them when I need it.”
Armstrong said the feeling after the last few games has been like night and day compared to earlier in the season.
“Definitely a relief,” he said. “The job’s not done yet, it’s just getting started.
“We all trust each other in there. We know we can do anything if we put our minds to it. I trust very single guy in the room.”
STATS PACK
A’s 8 Lakers 6
WMKL Player of the Game: A’s goaltender Tye Wilson with 39 saves.
St. Catharines Athletics: Keaton Zavitz 3; Tye Steenhuis 2; Julian Race, Colin French, Issac Prantera.
Peterborough Lakers: Michael Blaymiers 3; Daniel Clark 2; Nicholas Rode.
Up next: The A’s are home to Kitchener-Waterloo 7 p.m. at Bill Burgoyne Arena. The game will be preceded by the Junior B Athletics versus Wallaceburg at 2 p.m. in Game 2 of their playoff series. At 4:30 p.m. the Junior Athletics will hold their Alumni Game.
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