Up And Down Season Continues For Jr. "B" Bulldogs
Dump Akwesasne 5-3, Fall To Winless Gloucester 11-8 From Independent Free Press Wednesday May 21, 2003 GEORGETOWN -- It's turning into a Charles Dickens season for the Halton Hills Bulldogs. It has been the best of times, it has been the worst of times for the Jr. "B" lacrosse squad. In the latest chapter in the Tale of Two Teams, the Bulldogs delivered an inspired performance with a 5-3 win over the Akwesasne Lightning Saturday. However, they turned around and Scrooged themselves Sunday by falling 11-8 to Gloucester, a team that entered the weekend without a win. The split of the weekend road trip leaves the Bulldogs at 5-3, tied atop the Ontario Lacrosse Association's South East division with Mimico. The Bulldogs host Mimico Thursday night and who emerges with the division lead will depend largely on what team shows up. Bulldogs general manager Mike Hancock said Saturday's game rivaled last year's Founder's Cup for intensity, excitement and skill. But unlike the Founder's, where the Bulldogs suffered a couple of close loses, this time the 'Dogs triumphed. Trailing 3-2, Matt Walinga scored early in the third to even the score. Halton Hills then took advantage of a five-minute major to Akwesasne's Jason Thomas. Mike Dube's second of the game gave them the lead and B.J. Brown added another before the penalty expired. Goalie John Edwards turned in his best game as a Bulldog. The Lightning were averaging 12 goals per game going into the meeting with Halton Hills but Edwards held them to just three-- and most importantly, none in the final period as the Bulldogs protected their lead. "To work that hard, as hard as you can, and come through with the win, it was a different feeling for the guys who were in the Founder's last year," Hancock said. "In those games they gave everything they had against a quality team but didn't get the win. It had to be really satisfying for them but they've got to want to have that feeling every game." Just 16 hours later, the feeling was gone. The Gloucester Griffins, who had picked up their first win in nine tries the night before against Milton, scored three unanswered goals to down the 'Dogs 11-8. "The work ethic just wasn't there," Hancock said. "They've been reading their own clippings as one of the teams to beat. But some people have been calling us the all-hype team. Sunday they just didn't deliver." The Bulldogs were still in the game, trailing 6-5 heading into the final period. But they surrendered a goal just six seconds in. Despite twice answering Gloucester goals and having Richard Haan tie the game with just under four minutes to play, they let it slip away. Gloucester scored eight seconds after Haan's goal and added two more in the final minute. DOG BITES: After hosting Mimico Thursday (8 p.m., Alcott Arena), the Bulldogs will play in Oakville Friday and then host the 8-2 Nepean Knights Sunday (2 p.m., Alcott Arena)....Matt Walinga had two goals and two assists Sunday and Dube had his second straight two-goal game....Rookie Matt Lyons is second in team scoring with 21 points.

Iroquois Nationals Clinch 2nd-Place And Semi-Final Berth At WILC Iroquois 21, Team USA 14 Monday May 19, 2003 MISSISSAUGA –- The Iroquois Nationals clinched a berth in the World Indoor Lacrosse Championships (WILC) semi-finals Monday night with a 21-14 win over the United States of America at the Hershey Centre. The Iroquois Nationals (3-1), have 13 Six Nations residents playing for the squad in Cam Bomberry, Cory Bomberry, Tim Bomberry, Ryan Davis, Derek General, Bob Henry, Clay Squire-Hill, Duane Jacobs, Kyle Jamieson, Ken Montour, Tom Montour, Delby Powless and Kim Squire. Iroquois currently sit in second-place behind the undefeated Team Canada after 4 of the 5 games completed in the round-robin portion of the tournament. The round-robin portion of the tournament concludes Wednesday in Kitchener at the Memorial Auditorium with the semi-final games going Thursday also in Kitchener. The Bronze Medal game starts at 10 AM Saturday before the Gold Medal game which is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., Saturday at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton. A championship banquet is to be held at 7:30 later that night at the same venue. Team Iroquois’ Delby Powless was a late addition for the squad as his Rutgers University Scarlett Knights were eliminated from the NCAA Division I championships by Georgetown. The Rutgers loss is the Iroquois’ gain as Powless is among the WILC scoring leaders. Powless along with Rich Kilgour and Robert “Bear” Henry were added to the roster prior to the first game of the tournament against Scotland. The trio replace Mike Benedict, Mike Stevens and Mike Thompson who couldn’t make the 10-day commitment. The Iroquois led slowly built the lead and were ahead 4-1 after 15 minutes and 10-3 at the half. The Nationals extended their lead to 16-7 after 45 minutes. Delby Powless led the way against the Americans with a 10 (4G, 6A) point effort. Cory Bomberry had six goals for the Iroquios Nationals. Ken Montour played the entire match against USA. Six Nations’ Jake Henhawk shared the goaltending duties with Dwight Maetche for the Americans. Chris Panos of the New York Saints led the way for the U.S., scoring their first five goals of the game. Dan Marohl had a goal and six assists for the losing side. Australia won their first game of the tourney with a 13-12 victory over Czech Republic in the first game of day four while the Canadian made easy work of Scotland 25-5. In day three of the WILC, the Iroquois easily defeated Team Australia 24-7 Sunday afternoon at the Hershey Centre. Considering that the Aussies had only taken up playing the indoor version of the lacrosse just six months prior to the start of the tournament, they did a pretty good job of be competitive against the more experienced Nationals. Neal Powless had the hot hand with 8 (5G, 3A) points to lead the Iroquois Nations against Australia. Cory Bomberry also had 9 (1G, 8A) points. Australia played its strongest game of the tournament, staying with three goals until the Iroquois blew the game open with four goals in the last four minutes of the second quarter. Iroquois Nationals head coach, Darris Kilgour said, “We are playing better as the tournament goes on. We used today’s game as a learning process leading up to our games against the USA and hopefully Canada again in the Gold Medal game.” Canada routed Czech Republic 25-1 in other action from day 3 of WILC. Scotland upset the favoured USA 15-12 and put the USA in the position to face the strong Canadian squad in the first semi-final game Thursday in Kitchener. Scotland will likely face Iroquois Nationals in the other semi-final game unless the Scots lose to Australia in the round-robin finale and the Americans knock off Canada. Day 2 of the WILC saw Canada down Iroquois Nationals 15-13 Friday night at the Oshawa Civic Centre. It was perhaps a preview of the gold medal final Saturday at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton. Playing before a pack house of 3,823 fans, the Canadians took a 4-0 lead in the first four minutes of the contest. After which Nationals goalie, Derek General settled down a played spectacular to allow the Nationals to be tied 8-8 at half-time. Six Nations Chiefs head coach, Pat O’Toole played in goal for Canada during the first half and Anthony Cosmo was in goal for the second-half. Canada grabbed a 12-10 lead after 45 minutes thanks to some diligent work by Delby Powless to get the ball to Cory Bomberry who fired his shot past Cosmo with only two seconds left in the third quarter. Both teams scored three times each in the final quarter with Iroquois Nationals lifting General in favour of an extra-attacker, but Canada would hang on for the win. General finished the game with 40 saves on the night. The Iroquios’ not only lost to Canada, but it cost them a 31-goal scorer in the National Lacrosse League when Tony Henderson broke a bone in his foot and be forced to watch the rest of the WILC action from the sidelines. Cam Bomberry led the Nationals with 5 (1G, 4A) points while Delby Powless (3G, 1A), Cory Bomberry, Neal Powless and Duane Jacobs had 4 (2G, 2A) points apiece. J.D. Jones had a goal and an assist while Clay Squire-Hill scored once for the Iroquois Nationals. Canada was led by John Grant (3G, 4A) and John Tavares (2G, 5A) with 7 points each. Dan Stroup and Kaleb Toth also had hat-tricks for Canada while single goals were by Tracey Kelusky, Colin Doyle, Glenn Clark and Pat Coyle. Scotland defeated Czech Republic 15-3 in the first game of day 2 and the USA hammered Australia 22-4. Iroquois Nationals kicked off the tournament with a 19-12 victory over Scotland in the first game of the 2003 World Indoor Lacrosse Championships in Oshawa, Ontario last Thursday afternoon. The Scottish team is made up of mostly Canadian players that have Scotish ancestry. Delby Powless led the Nationals with 5 goals and 4 assists while Cory Bomberry added 7 (3G, 4A) points with Kim Squire netting 6 (1G, 5A) points, Neal Powless with 4 (2G, 2A). J.D Jones, Cam Bomberry and Tom Montour all had 2 goals and an assist while Tony Henderson and Al Jones contributed a maker and a pair of helpers. Kyle Kamieson had a pair of assists while Clay Squire-Hill and Tim Bomberry had one assist each. Albany Attack’s, Dan Teat led the Scots with 4 goals and 4 assists. The Americans opened the tournament with a 22-9 win over the Czech Republic in the 2nd game of the day at the Oshawa Civic Centre. Canada followed that game up with a 28-5 victory over Australia.

Arrows Drop Third In A Row Despite Playing A Penalty-Free Game Brampton 8, Six Nations 5 Monday May 19, 2003 OSHWEKEN -- Brampton Excelsiors shutout Six Nations Arrows in the first and third periods of their 8-5 win at the Gaylord Powless Arena before 400 Holiday Monday fans. The Arrows were without Tom Montour who is at the World Indoor Lacrosse Championships with the Iroquois Nationals. Brampton head coach, Jeremy Tallevi said, “It was strong game and it was good game of lacrosse tonight. For the fans and for myself to watch, it was a really good lacrosse game. The referees called a good game. They let the guys play. They let the boys decide the game and I don’t think there were any calls that they should have made.” The Excelsiors started Adam Rivers in goal while Grant Crawley started for Six Nations. Trailing 3-0 after the first 20 minutes, the Arrows responded with all their goals in the second period and be tied 5-5 head into the third. “We had a little bit of a defensive lapse in the second.” Coach Tallevi analyzed. “We pressured the ball a lot in the first and third and it really helped. In the second period, (Six Nations) was getting a half-step on us and they were able to get good shots off and they shoot well.” Dus Nanticoke led the Arrows with a pair of markers and a helper. Nanticoke said, “It was a tough loss. Tough break. The first period killed us. Our legs weren’t running to well in the first period. We picked our play up in the second period. But we couldn’t put things together in the third. It’s hard to say, we didn’t take any penalties.” Brampton’s Andy Secore ripped a shot from approximately 25’ in front of Crawley that beat him between the legs 3:42 into the final frame for the game-winner. Colin Holborough made it a two-goal lead 2:06 later and the Excelsiors used the 30-second clock to their advantage on most possession to run the time down. Brampton added another goal with 4:32 remaining to finish off the scoring. Afterwards, Nanticoke said, “(Brampton) came out in the third a lot more focused than us. They scored the first goal in the third and we couldn’t get through their defense.” There were only two minor penalties (Six Nations scored on one powerplay) called against the Excelsiors’ Scott Orr in the entire contest and marked the first time in Arrows history that were penalty-free. The Arrows were led by Dus Nanticoke with 3 (2G, 1A) points, Stew Monture (1G, 1A) and Rick Bomberry (2A) had a pair of points with singles by Mitch Nanticoke (1G), Joe Squire (1G), Jake Hill (1A) and goalie, Grant Crawley (1A). LAST TUESDAY NIGHT IN PETERBOROUGH Peterborough 15, Arrows 14 Tuesday May 13, 2003 PETERBOROUGH -– The Lakers got two goals in the final minute of regulation including the game-winner from Shawn Evans (5th of the game) with just 15 seconds remaining in regulation time to come a third period comeback to edge Six Nations Arrows 15-14 Tuesday night. The Arrow led 5-4 after 20 minutes but, the Lakers took a 9-8 lead into the third period. In the third frame, the Lakers got a goal from Dan Carey (3rd of the night) 2:09 in, but the Arrows’ Joe Squire narrowed the gap to one-goal 63 seconds later. Both teams were held scoreless until 9:09 remaining when Evans nailed his 4th of the night. Just 18 seconds later, Rayce Vyse started the Arrows on a three-goal spurt in a span of 74 seconds for a 12-11 lead. Peterborough tied the game 12-12 with 5:14 remaining only to have Six Nations’ Dus Nanticoke give Six Nations lead with 3:57 left. The Lakers’ Ryan Sharp tied the game again with 2:35 remaining, but the Arrows’ Stew Monture, fresh off his National Championship with Herkimer College in the NJCAA Division III, scored with two minutes left on the ticker. That set the stage for Brian Croswell to tie the score with 32 seconds left and Evans to net the game-winner with 15 showing on the clock. The Arrows were led by Tom Montour and his 7 (4G, 3A), Stew Monture had 6 (4G, 2A) points, Dus Nanticoke added 4 (1G, 3A), Joe Squire with 3 (2G, 1A), Mitch Nanticoke (1G, 1A), Rayce Vyse (1G, 1A), Jason Hill (1G, 1A) and Eli Hill (2A) with a pair each. A single assist was by Kellan Beyson.

Dutchies Offence Continues To Sputter Loss To Northmen Fourth In A Row Orangeville 8, Owen Sound 2 By Bill Walker: Sun Times Monday May 19, 2003 ORANGEVILLE —- The Owen Sound Van Dolders Home Team Flying Dutchmen won’t be shedding any tears about not having to play another game in Orangeville’s Tony Rose Memorial Sports Centre this season. After being outscored a combined 17-3 in two games this season, the Ontario Lacrosse Association Junior B Series squad is thankful to have seen the last of the poorly lighted facility. “I’ll admit it is dark but we can’t muster goals,” Dutchies coach Mark Kazarian said following Monday’s 8-2 loss to the Northmen. “We’re trying everything. We’re using their plays and they still don’t work. There’s lots of effort but there’s nothing generated offensively.” The poor lighting was a God-send for the handful of fans at the arena Monday. While it was hard to follow the ball, you also couldn’t get a clear picture of how poorly Owen Sound was playing. Not to say the Dutchies were bad, but general manager Brad Bowers stopped counting the unforced giveaways after he reached nine part way through the first period. “We had chances for breakaways and didn’t catch the ball and we had chances to start the offence up and didn’t catch the ball,” said Kazarian. “We just have to keep them focused as a group and keep trying to get a big effort out of them. There’s no quit in there (the Dutchies dressing room).” Adam Barfoot and Mat MacLeod scored for the Dutchies (2-5-0, third in the Mid-West Division). “We’re playing fairly good defence and we’re playing pretty good teams but we’re just not finding a way to put the ball in the net,” said Barfoot. “We need to get some confidence back. A lot of guys were running around and we looked a little nervous and a little scared and not confident in our stick skills. We need to concentrate on catching the ball and not get so worked up about getting a goal.” Matt Campbell, Lee Dickie and Leon Ferguson each scored twice while Mike Noble and Trevor Pietz added singles for the Northmen (6-1-0, second in the Mid-West) who played a smothering defensive system that only exacerbated the Dutchies’ offensive woes. “We work really hard on that and that’s the basis of things for us,” said Orangeville assistant coach Nigel Cook. “It’s been our bread and butter and it will start everything for us. We take a lot of pride in it.” Goalie Ryan Casemore started for the Dutchies but lasted just one period. Brock Jackson came on in relief and looked steady in two periods of work. Orangeville goalie Scott Paterson earned his second win against Owen Sound in five days. The loss is the fourth straight. The Dutchies also dropped an 8-5 decision to Niagara-on-the-Lake Saturday. Once again it was a case of shaky goaltending and a slow start as Owen Sound trailed 5-1 at one point Saturday. “The guys are tired but there are no excuses,” said Kazarian. “It’s a game we should have won but again we got down because of goaltending. We battled back and outworked them in the third but they got a couple because of our exhaustion.” Garrett Bettridge, Tyler Gibbons, Matt Davenport, Nick Quaid and Brad Slater scored for Owen Sound. Taylor Watts had four goals for Niagara (4-6-0, third in South West) while Matt Tattrie chipped in with a pair. Devon Santor and Kevin Floris added singles for the visitors. Jackson got the start in goal for Owen Sound Saturday, lasting only one period before getting the hook in favour of Casemore. Niagara goalie Ryan Fowler went the distance for the win. The Dutchies are next in action Thursday when the Elora Mohawks visit. Game time at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre is 8:30 p.m.

Late Goal Sinks Kings St.Catharines 11, Orillia 6 By Mike Derezycky: Packet & Times Sunday May 18, 2003 ORILLIA -- All the pieces seem to be in place for the Rama Hammond Transportation Kings. Except for victories. The Kings fell 11-6 to the visiting St.Catharines Athletics Sunday night at the Rama MASK, dropping their Ontario Lacrosse Association Junior A record to 2-5 on the season. St.Catharines led 8-4 going into the third period but the Kings chipped away with a pair of goals to cut the gap to 8-6. The Athletics, last year’s Minto Cup finalists, scored three quick goals late in the third to pull away. “(St. Catharines) scored three goals within four minutes and all the goals were 1-on-0,” Kings co-coach Bob Holder said from his home Monday night. “There were two fast breaks and another where we kind of fell asleep.” Jeff McLaughlin had a three-goal night for Rama while Chad Thompson, Mike McLeod and Dan Claffey each scored once. Holder credited the team’s defensive play and the goaltending of Jeff Hooper, who took over from Ryan Monaghan midway through the second, for allowing the Kings a chance at pulling off an upset. “The kids have got to feel good about what they are doing,” Holder said. “We had 12 guys in the lineup who are playing in their first of Junior A and two others who have never played Junior A before. That’s 13 of 18 runners who haven’t played Junior A.” The next step for the Kings is trying to win some of these close games and also win on the road. Rama is 0-4 on the road this season and has lost two of its five games by one goal. The Kings will play the Tomahawks Wednesday night in Mississauga. Rama won its season opener 13-7 over Mississauga (1-2-1) and holds a one-point advantage over the Tomahawks in the standings. KINGS THINGS ... After the Kings travel to Mississauga Wednesday night they will host Whitby Sunday at the MASK at 7 p.m. ... Luke Wiles has returned to the University of Delaware to complete his field lacrosse scholarship. Wiles is expected to return to the Kings by the end of the month. ... Rama has scored 48 goals in seven games (an average of 6.9 goals per game) and has allowed 60 (8.6 goals per game).

Rebels Suffer First Loss To Niagara Recover To Defeat Sarnia Six Nations 10, Sarnia 8 Saturday May 17, 2003 SARNIA –- Six Nations Red Rebels were licking their wounds from being beaten by a less talented, Niagara Thunder Hawks 7-5 Friday night at the Gaylord Powless Arena and recovered to defeat the Far West Division leading, Sarnia Pacers 10-8 at the Sarnia Arena Saturday night. The Red Rebels hammered London 22-6 last Wednesday night at the Blue Devils home rink. Red Rebels head coach, Mike Montour said, “We were humbled to say the least. I expected the Rebels to come out good and to play against the referees. It was about what I expected. A close game and a big win for us.” “The guys showed a lot of heart.” Coach Montour continued. “We played discipline. We knew Sarnia was a bully team. That’s how they win. They push the other teams around and that is how they win.” Mike Willis started in goal for Six Nations while Matt Somes started for the Sarnia. In the second, Sarnia would dominate the shot clock 20-10 only to be tied 5-5 after 40 minutes of play. The Red Rebels, Darren Jaeckle was given a 5-minute major for checking from behind late in the second and Six Nations started the third a man-down. The visitors would be the ones to score first, only 24 seconds into the third as Sid Smith fought a Pacer checker and fired a low shot past Sarnia goalie, Somes. But the Pacers would let the shorthanded goal hold them back and responded 33 seconds later with the first of a pair (36 seconds later) of powerplay goals on the same major penalty for a 7-6 Sarnia lead. The lead would be short lived as Red Rebels MVP of the game, Mike Montour Jr. would score 72 seconds after the go-ahead with the most acrobatic goal of the game as Montour was get checked from behind by a Pacer defender, he was to spin himself in mid-air and get the shot past Somes to tie the game 7-7. Six Nations took the lead for good at 7:47 of third as captain, Dion Jonathan scored a powerplay marker and Craig Point got in behind the Pacers defense 20 seconds later to give the Red Rebels a two-goal cushion. Midget-aged, Cody Jamieson set up both goals for Six Nations and it didn’t go un-noticed by Coach Montour. “Cody (Jamieson) got some powerplay time tonight.” Coach Montour said, “Late in the game, he was given the ball. We trust Cody totally. He has the wheels, great speed, a great shot, a great stick. His speed created the game-winning goal for Craig (Point). Cody is in his last year of Midget-age and is the next superstar at Six Nations. Cody has a lot of heart, determination, toughness and not afraid of anyone out on the floor. He is the complete package.” Sarnia would not give up and 63 seconds later, Brian Quinn got shot past Six Nations goalie, Willis but the referee delayed in signaling a goal to make it a 9-8 game. Then fight of the night as Red Rebels, Chandon Hill took on one of the Pacers tough-guys in Kris Tasker with a 5:36 left in regulation time. “What can you say about Chandon (Hill),” Coach Montour queried. “Chandon beat up their tough guy (Tasker) and I think that was the turning point. We scored right after that and you could see the Sarnia bench sag.” The Red Rebels’ Murray Porter said, “The turning point in the game was when Chandon Hill fight. They were trying to push us around and Chandon stood up to him and Jim (Henhawk) scored a nice goal right after the fight. After that Sarnia was done.” Only 11 seconds after the fight, Jim Henhawk scooped up his own rebound and beat Somes for a 10-8 Six Nations lead. Both teams were given a powerplay each in the final 5 minutes but Six Nations used the 30-second clock on every possession to kill clock and win their 9th game of the season. Sarnia had 35 minutes of the 67 that were called by the referees. The Red Rebels were led by Cody Jamieson with 4 (1G, 3A) points, Mike Montour Jr. (2G), Jim Henhawk (1G, 1A), Craig Point (1G, 1A), Matt Myke (1G, 1A) and Clayton Staats had two points each with singles by Josh Jamieson (1G), Sid Smith (1G), Murray Porter (1A), Ben Powless (1A), Huey Johnson (1A), Chandon Hill (1A) and goalie, Mike Willis (1A). Six Nations (9-1) is at Welland (2-7) Friday at 8 PM FRIDAY NIGHT AT THE GAYLORD POWLESS ARENA Niagara 7, Six Nations 5 Friday May 16, 2003 OSHWEKEN -– Niagara Thunder Hawks upset the previously undefeated Six Nations Red Rebels 7-5 at the GPA before a shocked home crowd. Rebels tough-guy, Murray Porter said, “I really don’t have a comment on (Friday’s game against Niagara). It was a terrible performance.” Ryan Fowler started in goal for Niagara and Ryan McNaughton got the start for Six Nations. The Thunder Hawks utilized the NLL coaching experience of Marty Cooper and Ron Roy to play another patient game and got timely powerplay goal in the third to hand Six Nations their first taste of defeat. The two teams were tied 2 after the first 20 minutes, but Six Nations would grab a 5-4 after 40 minutes of play. Niagara got the equalizer 1:58 into the third and netted the game-winner with 6:18 remaining in regulation time on a powerplay from Morgan Montour with Six Nations’ Cody Jacobs in the box for roughing. The Thunder Hawks got an empty-net goal from Jay Thorimbert with 18 seconds left to seal their upset victory. Six Nations was led by Ben Powless with 4 helpers, Red Rebels game MVP, Craig Point (2G) and Dean Hill (2G) had a pair with singles by Cody Jamieson (1G), Cody Jacobs (1A), Clayton Staats (1A) and goalie, McNaughton (1A). Don McIlroy was the game MVP for Niagara for his 3 (1G, 2A) point performance. LAST WEDNESDAY IN LONDON Six Nations 22, London 6 Wednesday May 14, 2003 LONDON -– Six Nations Red Rebels won their 8th game of the season with a 22-6 thrashing of the London Blue Devils Wednesday night. Mike Willis got the start in goal for Six Nations while Louis Laporte started in goal for London. Six Nations jumped out to a 10-3 lead after 20 minutes but only managed to outscore the Blue Devils 3-2 in the second. Six Nations would score five powerplay goals while London managed one on Willis. London earned 26 minutes of the 42 minutes in penalties handed out during the contest. Six Nations was led by Dean Hill with 6 goals, Cody Jacobs (3G, 2A), Cody Jamieson (2G, 3A) and Ben Powless (5A) had 5 points each. Chandon Hill (3G, 1A) and Huey Johnson (1G, 3A) with 4 each. Keegan Hill (1G, 2A) and Clayton Staats (1G, 2A) had 3 points apiece, Mike Montour Jr. (2G), Jared Cayuga (2G), Woody Seneca (1G, 1A), Matt Myke (2A) and Sid Smith (2A) all had a pair. Singles helpers were by Josh Jamieson, Jim Henhawk and Dion Jonathan.

Resetarits Walks Over Wallaceburg Welland 15, Wallaceburg 8 By BERND FRANKE: Welland Tribune Saturday May 17, 2003 WELLAND -- The State University of New York at Albany left no doubt that Frank Resetarits can play Canada’s national summer game when it awarded the 18-year-old forward from Hamburg, N.Y., a field lacrosse scholarship. On Saturday night the visiting Wallaceburg Red Devils had no doubts when they left the Welland Arena that Resetarits is also very adept — not to mention, accurate — when he plays lacrosse indoors. He netted five goals and added two assists to lead the Welland Warlords to a 15-8 victory in Ontario Lacrosse Association Junior "B" action. The offensive outburst against Wallaceburg gives Resetarits 14 goals in the past three games as well as the team’s lead in scoring with 17 goals. However, he refused to take credit for the scoring barrage, deflecting praise for his eagle-eye shooting of late to his linemates. “My teammates are finding me and giving me good passes,” the Grade 12 student at Hamburg High School, south of Buffalo, said. The win was Welland’s second in a row and improves the Warlords’ record in league play to 3-6 heading into Friday night’s home game against the Six Nations Rebels. The struggling Red Devils drop to 1-7 with the loss. The victory, scored before about 100 fans, also was Welland’s second since snapping a five-game losing streak. To Resetarits, the wins, not the losses, are a better indication of the talent on the Warlords. “We have the talent to play against anybody in the league, but we have to put it all together,” suggested Resetarits, who is in his third season with the Warlords. “It’s tough to play when not everybody shows up.” Resetarits is one player who has shown up since Welland was awarded a Junior "B" lacrosse franchise in 2001. While the drive north from Hamburg is 45 minutes, not counting delays at the border, trips to Welland for games and practices are worth it as far as he is concerned. “There’s no junior (box) lacrosse in Buffalo, only minor lacrosse,” he said. “It’s worth it to play at this level.” Resetarits wasn’t the only standout in a Welland lineup that went for six-for-six on the power play and, for good measure, scored a short-handed goal against Wallaceburg, a rebuilding squad that lost six veterans to expansion teams in London, Ont., and Windsor. Justin Hill paced the Warlords in points with two goals and eight assists while Andrew Maciag ended a season-long scoring drought with a hat trick. Paul Wright and Cody Keating, with two goals each, and Josh Strafford rounded out the Welland scoring. Chris Haggerty and Lyle Jacobs led Wallaceburg in scoring with three goals each. Brad Pollock and Chad Murphy also scored for the Red Devils who connected on only one of three power-play attempts. Welland head coach Mark Lewis was pleased by his team’s “solid effort” but said the “real test” will come Friday night when Six Nations comes into town. “That’s when we really will find out where we are.” The Rebels, one of the top Junior "B" teams in Ontario, have already beaten Welland twice this season. They opened the season at home by doubling the Warlords 18-9 and, in another home game, dominated Welland 22-5.

Proud Night For Iroquois, Despite Loss Team Canada 15, Iroquois Nationals 13 By MIKE KOREEN: TORONTO SUN Saturday May 17, 2003 OSHWEKEN -- Residents of the Six Nations Reserve, near Brantford, will be talking proud this morning. The same optimistic chatter will take place in Onondaga, N.Y., and the Akwesasne Territory. Box lacrosse is king in the Iroquois communities and last night their team gave favoured Canada a scare at the inaugural world indoor lacrosse championship. In a possible championship game preview, Canada pulled away in the third quarter and beat the Iroquois Nationals 15-13 before a sellout crowd of 3,823 at the Oshawa Civic Auditorium. "We've got nothing to hang our heads about," said Iroquois goaltender Derek General, who had a spectacular 44-save performance. "Canada is supposed to win this thing and we gave it a good shot." With the United States short-handed because many of its top players are committed to a professional field lacrosse league, it would very surprising if Canada (2-0) and Iroquois (1-1) do not meet again in the championship game next Saturday at Copps Coliseum. That would be a dream scenario for tournament organizers as thousands of fans from Six Nations likely would help make the trek to Hamilton. "For us native boys to win this, it would be awesome," Iroquois forward Cory Bomberry said. "The celebration would be great. Even if somebody wins at the peewee or junior-A level, it's always a big pleasure." Tied 8-8 at halftime, the Canucks took control with a three-goal run that made it 12-9 in the third quarter. That really was the only weak stretch for General, who stopped three breakaway opportunities by Steve Toll. "I think anybody who watched the game would say (General) stood on his head," Canadian coach Les Bartley said. "We out-looseballed them, we out-transitioned them, we had more power play opportunities than them. We pretty much outplayed them in every facet of the game, but it didn't really show on the scoreboard." For the Iroquois team, a championship would be extra sweet. A sign reading "Lacrosse is our game," was held high by an Iroquois fan Thursday. "When I was a kid going to school, I held my books in one hand and a lacrosse stick in the other," Iroquois general manager Rusty Doxtdator said. "The stick is pretty much an extension of these guys' arms and hands." Neal Powless led Iroquois with three goals. John Grant paced Canada with three goals and five assists. The tournament shifts to the Hershey Centre for games tomorrow and Monday. Canada faces the Czech Republic (0-2) tomorrow night at 7:30.

Buzz Split With Mimico Oakville 8, Mimico 7 Mimico 8, Oakville 7 By Neil Becker: Oakville Beaver Friday May 16, 2003 OAKVILLE -- The Oakville Buzz needed a sweep of last week's home and home series with the Mimico Mountaineers to draw even with them in the bid for the last playoff spot in their provincial Junior "B" league. Instead, the Buzz who are in their third year and hoping to qualify for their first post-season appearance, had to settle for a hard fought split in the mini-series, both by identical 8-7 scores. Oakville won in Mimico Thursday night, led by a hat-trick by Stephan LeBlanc, but couldn't hold on to a one-goal lead with 10 minutes remaining Friday night at Maplegrove Arena. It left the Buzz two points behind Mimico. "Both teams are very equal," said Buzz coach Derek Forbes. "Our goaltending was excellent, and they might be two points ahead right now, but I'm very confident about our playoff chances." The Buzz were on their way to a sweep Friday night, but couldn't hold on to a 6-4 third-period lead, allowing four straight Mimico goals. "We had this game," said the Buzz's Stephan LeBlanc. "We should have won this game for sure but we didn't." One positive for the Buzz is that they got some balanced scoring through their lineup. Jeff Brownlee had the only multi-goal game with a pair while single markers were added by Joel Leveille, Stephan LeBlanc, Mike Hardy, Bryan Johnson and Chris Warren. Jason Le Gree was strong in net for the Buzz. "The saves definitely gave us an extra boost out on the floor," said coach Forbes. "I would have been much happier winning both games, but we are really starting to come together as a team." The Oakville Buzz will continue their playoff drive at home this Friday, 8 p.m., at Maplegrove Arena against Halton Hills.

Beaches Wash Up Jr. Excels Toronto 10, Brampton 8 By AnonLaxWriter Friday May 16, 2003 BRAMPTON -- If this game had been played last year, you would no doubt hear every lacrosse fan talking about just how much of a blow out it would be. One year later a much-improved Brampton Excelsior squad would challenge the overpowering and somewhat sound defensive squad from the beaches of Toronto in the classic memorial barn in Brampton. Brampton coming off a 12-12 tie in which they held an 8-0 lead to a somewhat equal Mississauga Tomahawk team came out flying in this one. With 16 minutes left the Beaches Ashton McLean took a penalty and Brampton cashed in large. Francis Dostie got the ball from Secore at the top of the power play and buried it past John McLellan. Toronto came storming back with posts all over the place, and a total of three in the first period. These came all before Kevin Ross came around a pick at the top of the Brampton zone defence and beat Ryan Blair between the wickets to tie at 1. With about 12 minutes left it looked like Ryan Shaw would goat Sean Orr into a scrap. Orr declined and with a disgruntled look on both faces, they went to the box for coincidental minor penalties. Brampton took this personally as they went out at 9:30 of the first and Mike Carnegie busted to the net and with a flick of the stick hit the bottom right corner on McLellan who looked to be guessing. Four minutes later, with Beaches Jonathan Durno in the box on a hooking call, the Excelsior power play struck again. Andy Secore, a Hamilton native, let a shot hang from the top of the power to put Brampton up by 2. It was as though the under dog Excels were going to trounce all over a cocky Toronto team. Matt Holman, just back from school, would have none of it. He got his team back into the game with 4 minutes left in the first. Sent in by Kyle Wailes he faked three times high and on the fourth decided to go up and over Blair and slam the ball down into the unattended Brampton cage. Moments later, a seemingly obvious make-up call by referee Roger Nurse resulted in a Beach power play, and let me tell you did they ever cashin. Toronto’s power took it too Brampton’s kill squad like President Bush to Saddam. Matty Holman picked up on the third rebound from Blair and put it home with authority. The momentum shift, and Toronto experience started to show. With just under two minutes left in the first, and Brampton losing their composure, Tim Chisholm took a shot, and with some luck hit the bottom right corner to make it 4-3 Toronto at the end of 1 period. To start the second period Toronto maintained a hardworking defence as well as a good Offence. They came out and forced Excels tender Blair to make a big save just 2 minutes in. Thirty seconds later, yet again Toronto would find their luck dismal as a blistering shot from Garett Kikot would ring the iron. However, this period was all Toronto anyways, the Beach boys of the T-dot would go on a 4-0 run to start the second. First Garett Kikot simply hit the left side on a breakaway, then with 13 minutes exactly remaining in the second Holman notched his hat trick with a bouncer to the right side of a shakey Ryan Blair. Again, with about 10 minutes remaining referee Johnston tried to bring the game back to a contest by calling another make-up call putting Adam Robertson in the box for slashing. Toronto played as though they had the power play, not the other way around. Bobby McBride used his wheels, and deposited a beauty end-to-end goal, again, over the former Founders Cup champion Ryan Blair, officially a shorthanded marker with 9 minutes remaining. With about 6 minutes to go. The refs made a call finally, in Toronto’s favour sending Mike Carnegie to the b-o-x for holding. Wailes set up the Beach power play, calmly threw the ball around the top a few times before receiving it back for Holman and absolutely blowing it by Blair on the left side. Momentum heavily favouring Toronto at this point, and Toronto holding an 8-3 lead, the Beaches again got into penalty trouble. The Excels worked some nice plays and managed to beat McLennan. Jeff Soulliere took credit for the goal, assisted by Brandon Smith and Excels Captain; “number 4, Sean Orr.” With goals disallowed to both teams, the period ended at 8-4 Toronto. In the third, the Excelsiors looked to be refreshed somewhat. However, that did not fit into the plans of Toronto’s Tim Chisholm. About 5 minutes into the third, Chisholm came across the top of the Excelsior D and blaster a shot top cheese on the right side. Toronto would strike again with 12:43 remaining. Garett Kikot let a low bouncer go that managed to find twine. It looked like game over. You know the boys from Brampton wouldn’t accept that lightly. Excels Captain Sean Orr showed his work ethic, similar to the previous years captain Sandy Chapman, and stole the ball from Durno. He then ran in and sealed the deal on a lovely solo effort. Again, on the power play, with a gorgeous no look pass from Buffalo Bandits up and comer Francis Dostie to Jeff Soulliere, the burgundy beasts took one step closer to victory. This would make it 10-6 with about 10 minutes left on the game clock. Francis Dostie found mesh again, bottom left with 7 minutes left. Time was taking its toll. With exactly 2:37 remaining in the game, Andy Secore showed an exemplar work ethic, made himself a one man wrecking crew and was finally rewarded with a goal. A rocket underhand shot beat a stellar Beaches goalie in John McLennan. I guess the game can be described as “too little, too late”, a saying that a hardworking Brampton squad hear all too much. I credit Brampton’s power play with a great night as well as Beaches John McLellan, who turned away almost all rubber thrown his way from the second period on. I discredit the Brampton team for falling asleep in key points of the game. In the end this could cost them a Minto cup. (Not saying they have what it takes yet to be at a Minto, but maybe soon??) And also Jordan Hernandez, who was non-existent. Is he hurt or something? Overall, an exciting game. PLAYER OF THE GAME (My Opinion): Toronto: John Mclellan Brampton: Andy Secore SCORING SUMMARY Toronto: Chisholm 2,1, McLean 0,2, Smithson 0,1, Quinn 0,1, Holman 3,2, Kikot2,1, Robertson 0,1, Dominelli 0,1, McBride 1,1, Rohmer 0,2, Ross 1,0, Wailes 1,3. Brampton: Orr 1,2, S.Carnegie 0,1, Soulliere 2,1, M.Carnegie 1,0, Forget 0,1, Secore2,1, Smith 0,1, Holborough 0,4, Dostie 2,2, Lincoln 0,1

Mohawk Stars Getting Closer But Still Drop 5th In A Row Arthur 11, Six Nations 9 Thursday May 15, 2003 ARTHUR –- Arthur Aces held off a third period comeback by the Mohawk Stars Thursday night at the Arthur and Area Community Centre for an 11-9 win in OLA Sr B action. Mark McManus started in goal for the Aces while Taseh Nanticoke started in goal for the Stars. The game was delayed approximately 15 minutes as the Mohawk Stars arrived late to the arena and received an automatic delay of game penalty at the start. The Aces used that opportunity to open the scoring 26 seconds into the match. But the Stars would strike back twice (the only lead for the Stars in the game) before Arthur would beat Nanticoke again at the 12:00 mark. Arthur would add another 39 seconds later and again with less than 5 minutes for a 4-2 lead after one period of play. The Aces outshot the Stars 17-13 in the first 20 minutes segment. The Stars battled back in the second to be tied 6-6 midway through the game but the Aces scored a couple more goals before 40 minutes were completed. Arthur continued their scoring run in the third and expanded their lead to 11-6. Dwayne Porter single-handedly brought the Stars back to within striking distance with a natural hat-trick in the final frame, but it would not be enough as the Aces would use the 30-second clock to their advantage and run out the game clock. The Stars will be hoping to get their first win of the season Thursday night when they host the Burlington Chiefs at the Brantford Civic Centre. Porter finished the night with a career high 5 goals. Nick Skye, Chad Hill, Rodney Redeye and Chad Squire scored the Stars goals.

Offence Missing In Jr "B" Matchup Northmen edge Dutchmen 3-2 By Bill Walker: Sun Times Thursday May 15, 2003 OWEN SOUND -- Apparently the folks at the Canadian Lacrosse Association forgot to send out a memo explaining that their new rule changes are supposed to create more offence. How else can you explain a 3-2 game that included one team being shut out for two of three periods? Maybe the explanation lies in the fact that the two offending teams were the offensively challenged Owen Sound Van Dolder’s Home Team Flying Dutchmen and the Orangeville Northmen. “They’re doing everything we’ve asked of them, but that little white ball is still not going in the net for us,” said Dutchies coach Mark Kazarian after the Ontario Lacrosse Association Junior B series loss. “We shut them out for two periods and didn’t win. That’s unheard of.” The CLA implemented new rules for the 2003 season limiting checking in hopes of generating more offence. But the Dutchies are averaging 6.4 goals per game this year, which is identical to what they did last season. The Northmen are scoring even less under the new system, averaging 7.0 GPG this year as opposed to 8.7 last season. To make matters worse, the two squads have lowered their goals-against-averages. Owen Sound’s dropped from 8.5 to 7.4 this season. Orangeville’s has gone from 6.3 to a miniscule 3.6 in 2003. “We all realize that if we’re going to win games, we have to cut the goals down,” said Dutchies defender Kevin McCrae. “If we can keep the goals down, we’ll be in more games and that gives our offence a chance.” Mike MacLeod scored twice to once again led the offence for the Dutchies (2-3-0, third in Mid-West Division). But even that’s not encouraging for Owen Sound as the sophomore has scored 13 of the team’s 32 goals this season. That’s 40.6 per cent of the team’s goal output. “We’ve had other guys score for us too but having Mike is a big plus for us,” said Kazarian. “The guys are working hard and they’re playing just how we practice. We just have to find a way to negotiate the ball into the net. I don’t know where it’s going to come from but it has to happen.” The Northmen got all their goals in the second period with Matt Campbell, Trevor Pietz and Jeremy Rydall scoring on Dutchies goalie Ryan Casemore. “We don’t have a ton of scoring so we have to battle for everything we get,” said Northmen coach John Chandler. “We’re the kind of team that has to work hard every night. We’re not going to blow anybody out.” Scott Paterson made 28 saves as Orangeville improved to 4-1-0 and second in the Mid-West while Casemore stopped 34 shots. The Dutchies are next in action Saturday when Niagara-on-the-Lake visits. Game time at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre is 8 p.m.