Week 9 of the Premier Lacrosse League season was live from Barton Stadium in Denver, CO this weekend.
Interesting scheduling to keep tabs on, as Friday night’s contest was a 9 p.m. start and was between Cannons and Redwoods. Currently, Redwoods look like a team on a mission as they are starting to heat up as the season progresses. As for Cannons, they sit in last place in the standings and need wins in a hurry. Also, another tidbit to watch is the uniforms each team was wearing. It’s always cool to see some throwback uniforms every now and again.
This one started off relatively slow, but don’t let that fool you. Redwoods continued to put the league on notice, dropping Cannons 15-12.
To the action we go. One thing that has propelled Redwoods’ offense is the two-point goals. What better of a way to start this one off than with a bomb from two-point range from Eddy Glazener. Rob Pannell followed up with a goal of his own. Stephen Rehfuss got Cannons on the board, and that’s how the first would end. 3-1 Redwoods.
Charlie Bertrand opened the scoring in the second with a nifty tic-tac-toe goal on the powerplay. Lyle Thompson and Matt Kavanagh traded goals, and Asher Nolting got his first on quite the snipe from the slot with a defender draped all over him.
Cue the two-point bombs from Redwoods again. Kyle Hartzell fired a cheeky bouncer that skipped right up and in. 7-3 Redwoods with 5:19 left to play in the second. Cannons notched the next two, courtesy of Jonathan Donville and Ryan Drenner. With under a minute to play, Nakeie Montgomery got his first and Thompson got his second to make it 8-6 Redwoods going into the half.
“We just got a little bit sloppy,” said Redwoods head coach Nat St. Laurent at halftime. “We just have to can our shots. We’re getting great shots, we just have to make them count.”
Bertrand opened the scoring in the third, with a nice cut through the middle on the power play. Mark Cockerton got his first and Thompson got his hat trick, and the Redwoods lead was now down to one. Montgomery put a stop to the Cannons’ run. Nolting and Donville notched the next two for Cannons to tie it at 10.
Here comes your goal of the game. Bertrand took possession of the ball just past the two-point arc, drove right in and faked a lefty shot, only to then shoot behind-the-back. Gross stuff from #41 of Redwoods. Cockerton closed the quarter and we’re tied 11-11 going into the fourth.
Pannell got Redwoods on the board first, only to be answered by Thompson’s fourth of the game. Unfortunately, that’d be the last goal Cannons scored in this one. The Redwoods defense, and goaltender Jack Kelly, took over. Ryder Garnsey notched two beauties, and Bertrand got his fourth to wrap it up. Your final, 15-12 Redwoods.
Charlie Bertrand commented after the game on how impressed he was with Redwoods’ offense.
“I think it was a whole team win. We knew we really needed this win, battled a lot of adversity at halftime, and it was really a gut check,” he said. Bertrand also commended goaltender Jack Kelly for “standing tall” late in the game.
Players of the game for Cannons were Thompson (4+2), Nolting (2+1) and Rehfuss (1+2). Nick Marrocco had a solid game in net, but faltered late. He made 14 saves with a 52% save percentage. As for Redwoods, Pannell (2+3), Bertrand (four goals) and Montgomery (two goals), led the way. As stated, Jack Kelly had a great game, especially late, making 14 saves, with a 54% save percentage.
Next week, the action is live from Salt Lake City, UT. Cannons need wins, fast, along with some help in the standings. They take on Chrome August 13th, at 5:30pm. As for Redwoods, they need to keep the train rolling. They take on Waterdogs August 12th, at 10:30pm.
