This past week of Canadian Lacrosse League action really showed the parity within the league. With the Barrie Blizzard upsetting the Ohsweken Demons and the Southwest Cyclops narrowly edging the Durham Turfdogs just 2 points separate 1st place from 4th. The Cyclops win, coupled with the Demons loss pushed the Cyclops into first place, while the Blizzard win coupled with the Turfdogs loss forced a tie between the two teams for third place. This upcoming week sees a battle for first place as the Southwest Cyclops host the Ohsweken Demons. The Cyclops will also be in action on Sunday when they travel to Niagara hoping to continue the Lockmonsters three game losing streak.
1. Southwest Cyclops (3-1)
Last Week: 14-12 Win over Durham
The Southwest Cyclops trailed the Durham Turfdogs 5-2 after one quarter of play this past Saturday, however they used a 5 goal second quarter to get back into the game. While Southwest would allow the Turfdogs to go on their own five goal run later on in the game, four straight goals late in the fourth quarter would allow the Cyclops to push a head and claim the victory. Southwest continues to show strength in all areas of the game, as the possess solid goaltending, a potent offense and a stingy defense. Offensive stars Mike Burke and Dan Keane both recorded 5 points in the win over Durham, while Miller Rushbridge, who is known for his defensive ability also shined offensively this past weekend potting 3 goals and adding 1 assist for 4 points. The Cyclops are getting offensive contributions from players they don’t rely on to produce at that end of the floor, and are getting sturdy defense from players know for their offensive ability. That coupled with the strong goaltending from Jay Preece in recent weeks and its no wonder the Cyclops currently sit in first place in the Canadian lacrosse league.
2. Ohsweken Demons (2-1)
Last Week: 9-7 Loss to Barrie
The last undefeated team in the Canadian Lacrosse league was defeated this past Friday, when the Demons dropped a hard fought 9-7 affair to the Barrie Blizzard. The Demons opened the game strong, jumping out to a 3-0 lead, however they allowed the Blizzard to go on a 4 goal run to close the 1st half of play with a 4-3 lead. Despite knotting the game at 4’s early on in the 2nd half, the Demons where unable to string together much offensive success, while the Blizzard where able to ride the momentum of back to back goals on two separate occasions. Ultimately the Demons would drop their first game of the season by a 9-7 score. Despite the loss there are positives to take, as Ohsweken’s defense continues to thrive, allowing just 9 goals in the loss. While Ohsweken has played one less game then 3 of the other 4 CLAX teams, they have only allowed a miniscule 27 goals in 3 games. Jake Henhawk was strong in goal again for the Demons, while the offense welcomed back 2 time Canadian Lacrosse league scoring champion Chris Attwood to the lineup. Veteran Roger Vyse led the Demons offensively this past week, potting 3 goals and 1 assist for 4 points in the loss.
3. Barrie Blizzard (2-2)
Last Week: 9-7 Win over Ohsweken
Coming off a tough loss to the Durham Turfdogs the previous week, the Barrie Blizzard head to Ohsweken on Friday night, in tough as they took on the previously undefeated Demons. With the possibility off leaving the ILA with a 1-3 record on their minds, the Barrie Blizzard showed extremely well in defeating the Demons by a score of 9-7. Angus Dineley picked up his 2nd win of the season, playing extremely sound in between the pipes for the Blizzards. In my opinion Angus Dineley is the top goaltender in the Canadian Lacrosse League at this point, and could very easily find himself on an active NLL roster should a team have one of their goaltenders go down. Mike Teeter continued his potent offensive season with the Blizzard this past weekend as he had points on 6 of 9 Barrie goals, picking up 3 goals and 3 assists in the victory. Brad Levick and Mike Mawdsley also continue their impressive offensive play for the Blizzard, who are beginning to get offensive contributions from throughout the lineup. AJ Masson made his season debut with the Blizzard, providing solid play at both ends of the floor and contributing 2 assists to the victory. Wes McDonald also made his season debut for the Blizzard as Barrie looked to add size to their backend for the matchup with the physical Ohsweken Demons. The Blizzard are off this coming week, with their next action coming on Saturday, February 21st against the Southwest Cyclops.
4. Durham Turfdogs (2-2)
Last Week: 14-12 Loss to Southwest
Durham drops to 2-2 on the season after a tough 14-12 loss to the Southwest Cyclops this past Saturday. While the Turfdogs where in the game from start to finish, actually leading the game on several occasions, they just could not put it together when it came down to the final minutes of the game. Plain and simple the Turfdogs should of won on Saturday, but the team played to much of an individual style of play, and did not get very good goaltending from starter Kevin Croswell. Goaltending has been the Turfdogs Achilles heal all season, with the exception being the season opening win over Niagara. Croswell whom is a veteran of the NLL, seemingly cannot make a save when the team desperately needs one, coach Matt Giles seems to have lost confidence in Cole Murray and John Chesebrough is yet to get a start for the Dogs. I think its time Giles gives the veteran Chesebrough the call between the pipes as he has been strong for the Turfdogs in the past. Geoff McNulty, Jesse Guerin and Tim Bergin all had strong offensive performances for the Turfdogs, as McNulty and Guerin seem to have found some excellent chemistry on the left side of the offense. Guerin, McNulty and Dylan Goddard are the Turfdogs go to guys on offense, but all are lefty’s, the right side of the floor needs to find more goal scoring production. With offensive threats in Josh Wasson, Nic Grasby and Coady Adamson, there is the ability there, the team simply needs to share the ball better, and use pick and rolls, rather then playing selfishly.
5. Niagara Lockmonsters (0-3)
Last Week: Not in Action
The Lockmonsters where off this past weekend, having a long time to think about their previous loss to the Southwest Cyclops back on January 31st. Niagara hosts those same Cyclops this Sunday at the Meridian Centre in Niagara an will look to pick up their much needed first win of the season. A loss would put the Lockmosnters 3 games back of the final playoff spot in the Canadian Lacrosse League, while a win would move them within 2 points of the Durham Turfdogs, whom the Lockmonsters will host on February 22nd, which is the Turfdogs next action. Look for Dylan Llord and Brenden Thenhaus to continue their strong offensive seasons, while Niagara hopes Brock Levick can replicate his offensive performance from his first career CLAX appearance. if Brad Favero and Todd Kozak could every get going offensively the Lockmonsters could become a handful at that end of the floor. Niagara will hope to also get much better goaltending moving forward as there goaltenders have been average at best this season.
