Coach, GM call out Athletics
The St. Catharines WMKL Athletics dropped a 9-8 decision to the Whitby Warriors Wednesday night and now find themselves with exactly one win halfway through the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League 20-game regular season.
Both head coach Steve Toll and general manager Jeff Chcoski have been patient with the team, which was expected to be in the mix for at least a top four spot, but following Wednesday’s game both Toll and Chcoski called out the A’s for their poor play with blunt assessments of their effort to date.
“Our goaltender to start games has been absolutely awful,” Toll said calmly. “We’ve been down 3-0, 5-1 every game. They don’t come ready to play. We’re not getting the saves when we need them. Our goaltending has not been good.”
Oliver Vanyo and Tye Wilson are solid netminders with good track records who were expected to be one of the top tandems in the league but the A’s have permitted a league leading 107 goals and have the worst goal differential (-24) as well.
“We’re behind every game, we’re chasing every single game. It feels like they’re ready, but we’re obviously not ready. Our goaltending is not helping us at all,” Chcoski added.
But as disappointing as that aspect of the team has been, the poor start cannot be blamed on only one facet of the game.
The A’s offence has been mediocre to this point, hitting double digits only three times.
“Zavy (Keaton Zavitz) and Steiner (Tye Steenhuis) have to score for us to win games. They have to be our best players and they have to suck it up and do whatever it takes,” Toll said.
Zavitz leads the team in scoring with 16 goals and 37 points in 10 games while Steenhuis is third with 15 points.
“You have to pay the price and get to the middle. We’re too perimeter and you’re not going to score on the outside on every shot in this league, you have to get inside and we don’t get inside,” Toll said.
The A’s were missing Christian LeFeuvre and Gavin Howard with injuries Wednesday.
“We scored four transitions goals and got two offensive goals, two from (junior B call up Jack) Parker and three from Zack (Toll). We’re getting goals from an 05 and an 06.
“They all have to look in the mirror after this one. That game was there for the taking, all day.”
Toll said there is only so much tinkering that can be done to try and shake the offence out of their doldrums.
“We got what we got and there’s nothing else we can do. Last year we won games with the same lineup up,” he said.
The A’s still have plenty of time to turn the ship around and at least qualify for the playoffs, but the post season is the furthest thing from Toll’s mind.
“I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about winning the second game before I’m worried about playoffs. We have some games where our defence is outstanding and our offence can’t score and our offence hasn’t been good all year.
“It’s tough.”
The A’s have been awarded the 2025 Minto Cup and previously went on record stating they expect to contend for the championship with the current roster.
Now, Chcoski feels changes may be necessary.
“I’ve been doing sports for 30 years — Falcons, minor hockey, Grimsby Peach Kings, Mimico and here — and I’ve never been so humbled in my entire life,” he said. “What I thought was going to happen is that we lost a couple of guys and we were going to be a year older, a year stronger and year smarter and I was wrong. I’m wrong.
“Changes will come and changes have to happen. I told them to look at the guy beside you and the other guy beside you. One of them is not going to be here next year because we’re not winning a national championship with these guys.”
STATS PACK
Warriors 8 A’s 7
WMKL Star of the Game: Whitby’s Gabriel Sorichetti with five points.
St. Catharines Athletics: Zackary Toll 3; Logan Fletcher 2; Jack Parker 2; Julian Race.
Whitby Warriors: Sorichett; Lucas Littlejohn 2; Owen Lee 2; Ryan Langille 2; Jack Oldman; Treysen Stewart.
Up next: The A’s host Six Nations Saturday at 7 p.m. The Junior B Athletics take on Wallaceburg at 4 p.m. Both games are at Canada Games Park. The A’s also host Oakville Monday and Peterborough Wednesday.
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