After the Kitchener/Waterloo Kodiaks made a mess of the MSL standings Tuesday night by defeating the Six Nations Chiefs, the Brooklin Redmen started their week at home to the Ajax Rock. The game was the first in two nights for the Redmen as they’ll also travel to Peterborough to take on the Lakers Thursday night (more on this game later).
With Kitchener jumping into a tie for third overall Tuesday and in turn Six Nations sitting pat, the Redmen could, with a pair of wins, find themselves in top spot by the weekend. The first hurdle would be the Ajax Rock, who have managed just one win on the season. It’s been a long season for the Rock already, and it looked to be a long night after the first period. Brooklin took a 4-0 lead after the opening twenty minutes. In the opening frame both Kyle Matisz and Derek Hopcroft both scored three points on their way to five and seven overall respectively.
Ajax showed signs of life in the second with a goal just over six minutes in. However, the next minute would see two more goals for Brooklin. One of few bright spots for Ajax has been Jordan MacIntosh, who continued his hot streak from the weekend in MLL with a goal for Ajax just before the halfway mark of the period. Matisz scored two goals, including a shorthanded marker, to complete his hat-trick before the period ended with a Rock goal from John Rae in the final minute. The second ended with Brooklin up 8-3.
Brooklin finished the game with five unanswered goals in the final period to crush the Rock 13-3. Shawn Williams of Brooklin led all scorers with nine points (two goals, seven assists) while Rae and Jesse Guerin led Ajax with two points each. Aaron Bold grabbed the win for the Redmen with thirty-six of thirty-nine saves while his counterpart Tyler Carlson was shouldered with another loss making twenty-five saves off thirty-three shots. Tye Belanger also saw action making seventeen saves on twenty-two shots in twenty-two minutes.
The Redmen will try and use the momentum from the game as they travel to Peterborough to face the Lakers. Peterborough is a perennial favourite and, especially given Ajax’s play, this matchup should be a preview of the MSL’s Eastern Conference final. The problem for Peterborough, if there has been one yet, is team chemistry. With the stars they have, it is rare to see them all dress in the same game. However, they have still posted a league high eighty-one goals scored, seventeen more than second place Ajax, who have two games in hand.
John Grant Jr has picked up where he left off after his NLL MVP performance. While he’s only played in three games he’s already picked up thirteen goals, and twenty points. Can anyone stop him? Aaron Bold will try, but we wish him luck. Last year Shawn Williams was a force for Brooklin scoring at a six points per game pace. This year that pace has slipped to just over five. Make no mistake, he’s still one to watch but is it the case his game has slipped since last year, or is there more weapons? For example, Derek Hopcroft has twenty-two points in six games, or one more than John Tavares. Kyle Matisz is playing his shorts off every night and is the biggest reason for reduced pressure on Williams. The key to Redmen success lies in Matisz.
So who comes away victorious on Thursday night? It may come down to last goal wins. For Brooklin, they’ll want to have a strong start, in case their gas tanks run dry in the later stages. Two games in two nights is hard, especially for men who have already played a full NLL season, and some who play MLL as well. For Peterborough, they need a steady sixty minutes to stay within striking distance if and when Brooklin tires. Expect a lot of goals and a fast pace. In Peterborough, expect the crowd to not be friendly to the Redmen. With this being a battle for first place overall, expect an emotional war as well. Brooklin can take it, but will they have enough for the final minutes? That will be the key question.
