Gary Groob's recap of the Arena Lacrosse League - Edge of Philly Sports Network

The Arena Lacrosse League (ALL) showcased four games this past weekend, showing its depth of talent ready to make the jump to the National Lacrosse League (NLL) in the near future.

Game One:

Paris RiverWolves (3-0) vs. Peterborough Timbermen (1-1) at the Millbrook Arena in Millbrook, Ontario, Saturday afternoon.

The teams both had opportunities to get the “W”, but in the end, after another thrilling nail biter, the Paris RiverWolves came out on top 8-7.

The first half was the Timbermen getting out to a 4-1 lead after one, and 6-3 at the half, on the strength of Captain Mark Vradenburg (2g,2a) and Aaron Woods (2g,1a).

Whatever changes Paris made at the half worked well, holding the powerful Peterborough team to just one goal in the second half. The offense scored five of their own, including a powerplay goal with just 1:01 left in the game for the victory. The Paris resurgence was led by Cole Spear (2g,3a) and Eddie Renaud (2g,1a), while Dan Keane (0g,5a) was the setup guy throughout the afternoon.

Of note, and of importance, was Peterborough Captain Mark Vradenburg leaving the game with an apparent knee injury…as details come forward, we will keep you up to date.

Game Two:

St. Catharines Shockwave (1-2) vs. Toronto Monarchs (2-1) at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre (TRAC) in Oakville, Ontario, in the late game Saturday night.

These teams have been heading in different directions this year, but whenever they would get together in the past, they would bring out the best in each other, and this game was no exception. Toronto started well, but the Shockwave found their legs in the second quarter, dominating the rest of the game, winning handily 16-6.

St. Catharines got production from Layne Smith (4g,2a), Gates Abrams (3g,0a), as well as Brooker Muir (2g,0a) with both Anthony Patterson (1g,5a), and Bryan Neufeld (1g,5a) being the play makes.

The Monarchs got their production from Patrick Corbett (2g,0a), Tanner Buck (2g,0a), Emeka Okaeme (1g,1a) and Tyler Halls (1g,0a).

The Three Stars:

1. Layne Smith F St. Catharines
2. Brooker Muir R St. Catharines
3. Tanner Buck D Toronto

Game Three:

Whitby Steelhawks vs. Paris RiverWolves was the early game at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena (ILA) on Sunday afternoon.

Paris got out to a 2-1 lead on the Steelhawks just a few minutes into the game, but that was it. Whitby dominated the game from that point on, scoring 15 of the next 16 goals, taking advantage of a tired RiverWolves team, who played a grueling game with the Peterborough Timbermen the previous day, for a 16-3 win.

Whitby was led by Cam Milligan (4g,6a), Cody McMahon (2g,4a), Liam Osbourne (3g,0a), with playmaking by Jeff Fernandez (1g,5a), while the offensive production for Paris came from Eddie Renaud (1g,2a), Dan Keane (1g,0a), and Brett Kloepfer (1g,0a).

The Three Stars:

1. Cam Milligan F Whitby
2. Laine Hruska G Whitby
3. Cody McMahon F Whitby

Game Four:

Oshawa Outlaws (1-2) vs. Six Nations Snipers (0-3) in the late game at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena (ILA), Sunday afternoon.

This was a battle of the only two remaining teams without a victory, in a back and forth affair.

The first half had the teams match each other goal for goal, mini-run for mini-run, with the Snipers going to halftime holding on to a 6-5 lead.

The third quarter saw Oshawa mount a strong attack, scoring seven times breaking the game wide open, heading into the fourth quarter with a four-goal lead.

The fourth quarter was again more evenly played, but the damage had already been done to Six Nations, with the final score in favor of Oshawa 15-12.

Luke Laszkiewicz (4g,2a), Gage Board (3g,0a), and John St. John (1g,5a) led the Outlaws attack. Oshawa’s special team unit also came into play scoring four powerplay goals, while surrendering none.

For the Six Nations Snipers, Clayton King (2g,1a), Vern Hill (1g,2a), and Brent Longboat (1g,2a), led the team in scoring.

The Three Stars:

1. Gage Board F Oshawa
2. Ryan Schuetzkowsi G Oshawa
3. Luke Laszkiewicz F Oshawa

Upcoming Games For Week Four:

Three games on tap…

Saturday, January 11th:

Children’s Arena in Oshawa, Ontario

Early game… 3 pm

Toronto Monarchs vs. Whitby Steelhawks.

Late game… 7 pm

Six Nations Snipers vs. Oshawa Outlaws.

Sunday, January 12th

Peterborough Timbermen vs. St. Catharines Shockwave at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena (ILA), in Hagersville, Ontario. Game time is 2 pm.

Standings:

Paris RiverWolves………………3-1
Whitby Steelhawks…………….2-0
Toronto Monarchs……………..2-1
Peterborough Timbermen…..1-1
St. Catharines Shockwave….1-2
Oshawa Outlaws………………..1-2
Six Nations Snipers……………0-3

Written by:

Gary Groob
Laxphilly.com

Gary Groob

Gary Groob has been involved with Lacrosse for the majority of his life, whether playing, coaching, or covering the sport for the media.

An avid fan, with a real drive about helping to “grow the game”, Gary became part of podcasts about the game in 2010. Through the podcasts, Mr. Groob was given an opportunity to write about lacrosse, and the rest as they say, is history.

Through many miles (flying and driving) Gary has made inroads with the National Lacrosse League, Major Series Lacrosse League, the Ontario Lacrosse Association, as well as the Arena Lacrosse League, covering the leagues, their teams, and players, working for, and in concert with all of them.

In the year 2020, Mr. Groob was made the media person for the Arena Lacrosse League, voted onto the board of directors of the Brampton Excelsiors Lacrosse Club, as well as being made administrator of the Lacrosse page “Global Lacrosse” with a membership of 9000 members in over 90 Countries. Gary was also made an administrator of Lacrosse History Past Present and Future in 2022.

Mr. Groob co-hosts a weekly Lacrosse show on Spanglish Sports World, and ZingoTV channel 250, as well as writes a weekly lacrosse column for La Portada Canada News (both in print, and online).

Gary also hosts a Lacrosse talk show and podcast for The Edge of Philly Sports Network, seen live Sunday nights at 9pm (ET), and archived on the Edge of Philly YouTube page, as well as Spotify.

Mr. Groob’s other sports interests include Hockey, Football, Boxing, Wrestling, and Baseball, competing competitively in Boxing and Wrestling for many years.