The Niagara Lock Monsters begin their season today as they take on the Iroquois Ironmen. The Ironmen are coming off a hard fought loss to the Oshweken Demons 18-15. This should be a good test for the Monster’s who struggled last year as the Peel Avengers.
The Ironmen put up a good effort in their last outing but came up just short.. The Ironmen got down early against the Demons and that is what ultimately cost them. Chris Atwood will once again be expected to carry the offensive load for the Ironmen in this game after he had an 8 point night against his former team but also look out for Josh Johnson who had 5 goals in the team’s opener. While in net Mike Atwood will need to be better early and try to stop an early outburst from the Monsters.
For the Lock Monsters all eyes will be on St. Catharines natives Dylan Llord, Ben Favereo and Jon Arnold. Llord comes into this game with high expectations after being the Lock Monsters first round pick in the NLL supplemental draft. Llord will be expected to bring leadership and offense to the Lock Monsters. Favereo will also have pressure on him after being a key acquisition of the Monsters this offseason and will need to repeat his offensive performance from last season. The Final key for this offense is Kim Squire who led the Avengers in points last year and will be looked upon to help Llord Anchor the offense.
For the Ironmen the key to victory is to weather the early storm. Expect Niagara to come out fired up for their first game. Mike Atwood will need to stand on his head early and make some big saves to keep the game in control. If the Ironmen can survive the early storm then it will allow Chris Atwood and Josh Johnson to carry get the offense going and build a lead.
For the Lock Monsters they need to spread the ball out among their offensive weapons and force the Ironmen to play tight defense. The Monsters offensive depth is their greatest strength so they want to run and gun and force Atwood to make saves early.
My prediction for this game is that the Monsters get their first win of the season thanks to their offensive depth. Expect the Monsters to take control of this game early and keep the Ironmen’s offense at bay on their way to a win.
