Week 5 of Canadian Lacrosse League (CLax) action featured three games, as the unbeaten Oshweken Demons clinched first place in the standings while the Barrie Blizzard earned their first win of the season.
Ohsweken – 13
Niagara – 8
The Ohsweken Demons (6-0) won their first of two Week 5 match-ups, defeating the Niagara Lock Monsters (4-2) 13-8 Friday night.
A high scoring opening quarter saw Andrew Potter and Wayne VanEvery showcase the scoring prowess that has both among the league-leaders in goals, netting two each as the Demons entered the second quarter leading 5-4.
After Chris Attwood extended the Demons lead to 6-4, Corey Fowler would answer for Niagara to bring the deficit within one. Two late quarter tallies gave the Demons an 8-5 lead at the half, with Joe Maracle and Attwood finding the back of the net within 20 seconds of each other.
Niagara would claw their way back into the game in the third quarter, with back-to-back goals from Bryan Neufeld cutting the Ohsweken lead to 9-8.
Wayne VanEvery’s third and fourth goals of the game would highlight a four-goal fourth quarter Demons rout that went unanswered by the Lock Monsters.
Chris Attwood led the Demons in the win with seven points (4 G, 3 A), while Wayne VanEvery finished with five points (4 G, 1 A).
For the Lock Monsters, Corey Fowler and Andrew Potter each had two goals and four assists for six points in a losing effort.
Ohsweken – 13
Durham – 10
Ohsweken upheld their undefeated season Saturday with a 13-10 road win over the Durham Turfdogs (1-5).
After Demons sniper Wayne VanEvery opened the scoring, Oshweken controlled play early establishing a 4-0 lead.
The Demons defense would hold the Turfdogs scoreless until early in the second quarter, when a trio of consecutive goals from Travis Bland, Derek Hopcroft, and Mark Farthing would quickly cut the Ohsweken lead to one. After the teams exchanged goals, VanEvery’s second of the game with just under a minute left in the second frame would give the Demons a 6-5 advantage heading into halftime.
Durham would tie the game at six less than 10 seconds into the second half, when Jordan Robertson converted his first of the night. VanEvery and Hopcroft would carry their respective squads in the third quarter, as each would tally a pair of markers in the frame. Late goals by Torrey VanEvery and Travis Hill would regain the upper hand for Ohsweken, leaving Durham trailing 10-8 with one quarter to play.
John St. John and Brad Levick would tie the game for the Turfdogs in the fourth; however, the Demons would once again answer the call in the form of a three goal run to close out the game and secure the 13-10 victory.
Wayne VanEvery led the Demons in the win with five goals and one assist for six points. VanEvery’s 26 goals in just five games leads all CLax scorers. Chris Attwood (2 G, 4 A) continued to display his offensive talent with a six point night. The two-time Creators’ Cup champion leads Oshweken offensively with 44 points (21 G, 23 A) in six appearances.
Alex Kedoh-Hill (1 G, 3 A) had four points, including the game-winning goal for the Demons. Roger Vyse, who returns to Ohsweken after a recent release by the Philadelphia Wings, had two points (1 G, 1 A) to finish with four points on the weekend.
Derek Hopcroft (4 G, 3 A) was impressive for Durham in the loss. The Brooklin Redmen veteran nearly equaled his season point totals of eight heading into the game, bringing his current stats to 15 points (10 G, 5 A). Other Turfdogs to put forth stellar performances include captain Mark Farthing, Brad Levick, and Jordan Robertson, who each recorded one goal and one assist each.
Ohsweken and Durham will battle again in Week 6 action, when the Turfdogs travel to the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena Saturday, March 8 at 8 pm.
Barrie – 13
SouthWest – 12
The Barrie Blizzard (1-4) earned their first win of the 2014 season, defeating the SouthWest Cyclops (2-3) 13-12 in overtime.
SouthWest jumped out to an early lead in what would be a back-and-forth affair, with a pair of goals from Shane Scott (2 G, 1 A) giving the Cyclops a 3-1 lead after the first quarter.
The recently acquired Travis Gibbons helped lead a second quarter dominated by Barrie. After burying his first goal of the game, Gibbons would assist on all but one of Barrie’s five tallies in the frame and give the Blizzard a 6-5 lead at the half.
The second half of play saw the squads exchange goals several times, which was concluded by a Cyclops comeback to send the game to overtime after trailing 12-9 with under eight minutes to play.
Gibbons would cap off an outstanding 11-point (4 G, 7 A) night, scoring his fourth goal of the game in overtime to give Barrie their first notch in the victory column.
Former Durham Turfdogs General Manager Jonas Derks continues to impress in his return to professional lacrosse, notching a hat-trick for Barrie. Geoff McNulty had four points (1 G, 3 A) for the Blizzard, while Rochester Knighthawks prospect Wenster Green mirrored these numbers in his second appearance with Barrie.
Kim Squire (2 G, 2 A) and Ryan Campbell (2 G, 2 A) led the Cyclops offensively with four points in the loss, while rookie Patrick McCrory finished with three points (1 G, 2 A). Mike Burke (3 A) was held without a goal for the first time this season.
SouthWest will host the Niagara Lock Monsters Friday, March 7 at 8 pm., while Barrie will be inactive until a March 15 match-up with the Oshweken Demons.
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