The second last night of the MSLClassic tournament pitted the Cobourg Kodiaks (5-3) vs. Six Nations Chiefs (3-5), and the Brooklin Lacrosse Club (6-1) vs. Owen Sound Lacrosse Club (3-5). Both of these games lived up to many of the previous games, being extremely entertaining. All four teams have displayed very talented, yet very young lineups that are full of energy, with a “no quit” attitude, which has given us some absolutely heart stopping games throughout the entire tournament.
The goaltending match-up had Kevin Orleman in net for Cobourg, facing Dustin Hill, who was tending goal for Six Nations.
First Quarter:
The scoring opened when Cam Milligan put one by Dustin Hill on the power play at 8:44, but was soon answered by two quick Chiefs goals. Nonkon Thompson converted a Kevin Owen Hill pass at 9:07, followed by Tehoka Nanticoke blasting an Austin Staats pass at 10:10 to give Six Nations the lead. Jeff Henrick scored in transition for the Kodiaks off a long lead pass from goalie Kevin Orleman with just 0:37 seconds left tying the game as the quarter came to an end.
After one quarter, Cobourg 2, Six Nations 2.
Second Quarter:
Cobourg took advantage of undisciplined play by the Chiefs. Dylan Hutchison converted a Cam Milligan pass at 5:16 giving the Kodiaks the lead, followed by two power play goals. Bennett Drake scored at 5:57, followed by Travis Longboat converting a Skkylar Thomas pass at 12:59 to open up a three goal lead. Skkylar Thomas then netted one himself with just under a minute left, and the Kodiaks went to the half up by four.
At Halftime, Cobourg 6, Six Nations 2.
Third Quarter:
Troy Holowchuk went in net for the Six Nations Chiefs to start the half.
This quarter was quite a bit rougher, with a parade to the penalty box starting to take place.
Carter Badour opened the scoring for Cobourg in transition at 1:22, followed by Bennett Drake scoring his second of the night at 3:40, giving the Kodiaks a commanding 8-2 lead. Tehoka Nanticoke got one back for the Chiefs, but Dylan Hutchison scored his second of the game on the power play and once again we had a six goal differential.
Six Nations then scored shorthanded, which seemed to spark the offense finally. Tehoka Nanticoke scored that goal at 7:28, followed by Brendan Bomberry on the power play at 11:19.
The Chiefs were definitely starting to show signs of life heading into the fourth quarter.
After three quarters, Cobourg 9, Six Nations 5.
Fourth Quarter:
The Chiefs continued to pressure Cobourg right from the start of the quarter. Tehoka Nanticoke scored his third of the game off of a Tyler Brown pass at 3:38, followed by two quick goals by Austin Staats making this a one goal game. Skkylar Thomas blasted a howitzer past Troy Holowchuk at 6:42 to give the Kodiaks a little breathing room, then Cam Mancini fired in a Rob King pass at 9:30 to make this a three goal game again. Kedoh Hill scored with just over a minute left for Six Nations, but it was too little too late.
It got a little rough at the end with Jordan Durston, and Austin Staats receiving unsportsmanlike penalties with less than a minute to go for Six Nations, as well as Kesler Doolittle receiving a five minute slashing penalty a few seconds later. Cooler heads would prevail, and the game ended with Cobourg earning the “W”.
Final Score, Cobourg Kodiaks 11, Six Nations Chiefs 9.
The goalie battle had Rylan Hartley in net for Owen Sound, against Nick Damude, who was in net for Brooklin.
Owen Sound jumped out to a three goal lead early, but with the steady play of Brooklin, they were able to slowly get them back into the game .
Justin Robinson opened Brooklin’s scoring, but was answered by Keagan White to restore the three goal lead. Connor Kearnan scored again for Brooklin, followed by Ryan MacSpadyen and it was just a one goal game. Josh Medeiros scored late in the second quarter for Owen Sound giving them a bit of breathing room heading into the half.
At the half, Owen Sound 5, Brooklin 3.
The third quarter had a much chippier game being played with a number of penalties being called.
Two power play goals tied the game for Brooklin. Dan Michel scored first, followed by Jeff Wittig, and that was all the scoring in the quarter.
Once again we were setting up for yet another “classic” finish to an #MSLClassic game.
The fourth quarter continued with the defensive trend, with many shot clock violations, and outside shots being taken. The tie was finally broken on a shot by Austin Murphy that Rylan Hartley got a piece of, but still found the net with just 3:46 left in the game.
Owen Sound made a final push, but good defense, and Nick Damude standing tall in net kept this battle 6-5.
Final score, Brooklin 6, Owen Sound 5.
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.
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