The Cobourg Kodiaks, once at the top of the MSL standings, are winless in their last five games, the last defeat coming at the hands of the Brooklin Lacrosse Club (2-9) on Sunday by a score of 12-7.
The Kodiaks started the season 5-1 but have failed to win a game since June 18 and now sit in a three-way tie for fourth place with Brampton and Oakville.
Sunday’s game was a should-win for the Kodiaks against a Brooklin club with nothing to lose, but Brooklin came out firing. Connor Goodwin got the Kodiaks on the board first but Brooklin led 4-1 by the end of the period.
Dan Michel, recently acquired from Peterborough, put Brooklin up 5-1 at 3:28 of the second. Travis Getz made it 6-1 36 seconds later. Cobourg showed some life with Joey Cupido scoring on a shorthanded break. Mark Vradenburg followed that up with a shot that Zach Higgins could only slow down before it trickled into the back of the net. Each team scored twice more in the period for an 8-5 Brooklin lead.
Brooklin outscored the home side 4-2 in the third period. Cobourg was gifted a glorious opportunity to get back in the game with seven minutes left as Connor Laird was about to be called for interference. Before the whistle could go, Laird was checked into the boards by Ben French who received a five-minute major for boarding, negating the power play and then putting the Kodiaks down for three more minutes.
Cobourg’s a great transition team but Brooklin turned the tables on them, earning more breakaways and making them count by fighting for turnovers and loose balls. Cupido’s second period marker was the only transition goal from a team capable of putting up 3-4 per game.
Cam Milligan led the Kodiaks with a goal and five assists. Travis Getz led Brooklin with a hat trick and one helper. Holden Garlent, Jake Fox, Dan Michel and Curtis Knight all had two goals for Brooklin.
Next Sunday’s game vs. Brampton is now a must-win if Cobourg wants to stay in the playoff picture, and it won’t be an easy task. Brampton is surging, discontent with their predicted fifth place finish. They’ve won twice over Oakville, beat Six Nations and won a close 13-12 battle over Cobourg last week.
