This week our team went out and lost a tough game to the Niagara Lock Monsters in a relatively low scoring 11-7 final. Our goaltender Jay Preece made several outstanding saves to keep us in the game and give us extra chances to try and close the gap near the end, but we couldn’t find a way to beat Dave DiRuscio when it mattered as he was solid all night. It was a close game for most of the night until the third quarter when they scored three goals in about 1:20 to take a lead they wouldn’t give back.
We knew they were an explosive team and that they could score quickly but couldn’t seem to find a way to claw back this time like we did against Durham early on in the season. After the game we had a quick players-only chat to refocus the guys since we play the same Niagara team again on Thursday where we are hungry to snap our two-game losing streak. We need to battle hard and win these last two games as playoffs are looming right around the corner, which is shocking seeing as we barely have played a month of lacrosse but that’s how the league is formatted this year and we have no other choice but to go out and fight for a big two points in each game.
Both upcoming games are on the road against teams who draw good crowds and we will need to really come together to give ourselves the best shot at winning in the stretch run of the regular season. There is no panic from any of the guys or coaching staff in our room despite the small slide. Our team has lots of vets who have been in many different situations and all know how to rally a team to get back on the right track.
Cheers till next week
Speck
