The Canadian Lacrosse League playoffs kick off on Friday night when the 4th ranked Brampton Inferno host the 5th ranked Durham TurfDogs at the Powerade Centre. This quarter final matchup will mark the fourth time these teams have met with the visiting team winning all three regular season games (one of the games was in Cobourg but the Inferno were technically the home team). Brampton won the season series but that’s all out the window now as we move into the post season.
The last time these teams met was on March 16th in a game that Brampton led the entire way; it was actually 7-1 at one point in the first half. Durham started to make their come back in the second half but it was too late and Brampton went on to win that game 12-7. Pat Saunders has had Durham’s number all season. The Inferno power forward has accumulated 12 goals and 4 assists versus the TurfDogs including 7 goals in the Cobourg game.
Goaltending will play a huge role on Friday but the addition of Kevin Croswell should give Durham the advantage. Croswell was acquired three weeks after being let go by the Philadelphia Wings prior to the National Lacrosse League’s trade deadline. He has dressed in two games thus far for the TurfDogs but Friday will be the first time he’s faced the Inferno. Croswell is a huge asset to this team and it’s safe to say that he could be the difference maker in this game.
In their previous meetings the team that scored first won every game so if history repeats itself the opening goal will be huge. Both teams are looking to get back in the win column after being defeated by the Iroquois Ironmen last weekend. On Friday the Inferno were defeated by the Ironmen 14-13 in an overtime thriller while the TurfDogs were beaten the next day by a score of 13-9. Despite the losses both teams looked good in those games and it should be a battle when these two rivals meet in the quarter finals.
The winner of this game will advance to the CLax final four which is set to take place on April 20th at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena in Hagersville Ontario. They will play either the Niagara Lock Monsters or the Toronto Shooting Stars who each received byes to the next that semi final round. Their opponent will not be determined until after Sunday’s quarter final matchup between the Iroquois Ironmen and the Ohsweken Demons. Friday’s game will be broadcast live at 8pm on The Lacrosse Radio Network and the link can be found on the home page of In Lacrosse We Trust.
