The Brampton Excelsiors hosted the Cobourg Kodiaks at Brampton Memorial Arena in a Thursday night MSL matchup. While both teams have subpar records, they have collectively played other teams in the league close in most of their matchups. This matchup would also be a close one, as Cobourg rallied from a 10-4 deficit in the third period, nearly forcing overtime. However, Brampton would prevail 10-9, improving their record to 2-6. Cobourg falls to 1-6, and now sits at the bottom of the standings, outside of a potential playoff spot by a half-game.
Brampton leads early, extends gap in second
James Whiteford opened the scoring at 1:14, then Chris Willman (8:43) gave the Excelsiors a 2-0 lead. Emerson Clark responded for Cobourg with his first goal of the season (14:47) to halve the deficit. However, late in the period Kodiaks defender Nick Ellerton was called for slashing. Tanner Thomson (18:04) took advantage on the power play to push Brampton’s lead back to two at the first intermission.
The second period began furiously, as six goals were scored in the first six minutes of the frame. Seth Van Schepen pushed the Brampton lead to 4-1 just 10 seconds into the period. Tanner Buck struck back for Cobourg 21 seconds later. Brampton then went on a three-goal run to widen their lead. Thomson (1:14), Connor McClelland (3:41 shorthanded), and Robert Hudson (4:23 shorthanded) made it 7-2 in favor of the Excelsiors. Marshall Powless (5:17) scored while still on the power play to end the run and close the gap to four. The score remained 7-3 through the end of the second period.
Brampton holds off late charge by Kodiaks
Aaron Woods (1:17) narrowed the margin to 7-4 to open the third period, but Brampton would string together another three-goal run. Tallies from Jeremy Searle (1:35), Tyler Ferreira (4:50), and Steven Portelli (8:56) gave the Excelsiors a seemingly insurmountable 10-4 lead. But Cobourg would claw their way back into the game with a five-goal run of their own. Woods went back-to-back (9:58; 10:25) for his hat trick. Curtis Romancych (10:51) narrowed the margin to three. Then Buck went back-to back (19:08; 19:45) to pull the Kodiaks within one. Unfortunately, they could not find the equalizer as time ran out. Cobourg has now lost five straight. These two teams play again this Sunday at the Cobourg Community Centre.
Other Stats of Note
Cobourg: Buck (3g, 2a); Woods (3g); Powless (1g, 3a); Clark (1g, 2a)
Brampton: Thomson (2g, 2a); Portelli (1g, 3a); Willman (1g, 2a)
PIM: Cobourg 14; Brampton 6
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“Muffler” Mike Kostiuk was formally introduced to box lacrosse when he attended a New England Black Wolves game on a whim in 2016. Instantly hooked, he has since become an avid follower of the National Lacrosse League. Following the postponement of the 2019-2020 NLL season, he was offered the chance to share his wealth of statistical knowledge and unique insights with the lacrosse community at large. He cheerfully accepted, and currently serves as Edge of Philly’s correspondent for both the Albany FireWolves and New York Riptide.
