In the first Semi-Final of the President’s Cup, the Ladner Pioneers (6-1) were facing the Snake Island Muskies (3-4) for the chance to play in Saturday’s Final.
In their only meeting of the tournament, Ladner won 9-8 with Tyler Pace leading the way with six points.
The goaltending match-up had Christian Del Bianco in net for Ladner facing Kobi Johnson in net for Snake Island.
In a very entertaining game of end to end action, these two teams went stride for stride with wach other for most of the day.
Snake Island fought hard in the third to take the lead. But with the just over five minutes left Ladner got on a three goal run to take the lead and eventually win this heart stopping affair.
Ladner wins 10-8 and punches their ticket to the final Saturday night.
To The Game :
Ladner got on the board first when Spencer Bromley rang a shot off the post that bounced off Johnson’s leg dribbling into the net at 1:22, but the Muskies answered quickly when Sam Firth converted a pass from Skylar Thomas at 3:03.
Snake Island took the lead off a point blank shot from Joe Resetarits off a Brine Rice feed at 6:53, followed by Skylar Thomas converting a Sam Firth pass at 7:17.
The Pioneers got one back when Spencer Bromley underhanded an Austin Shanks pass in at 14:04, followed by Shanks himself scoring unassisted to tie the game at 16:21.
Snake Island took the lead with a blast from Vaughn Harris off a Joe Hall feed at 19:31, to take the lead heading to intermission.
After one period, Snake Island 4 Ladner 3.
Shots on goal were 17-15 in favor of the Muskies.
Second Period:
Ladner tied the game with a James Rahe bank shot off the post, converting a Ryan Benesch feed at 3:34, but Snake Island answered immediately when Chris Attwood finished a Joe Resetarits feed at 3:57 the other way.
Thr Pioneers kept pressing to tie the game once again when when Alex Turner converted a Ryan Benesch pass at 6:43.
Trey Adams replaced Kobi Johnson in the Snake Island net.
The Muskies continued the attack with Vaughn Harris finishing a Skylar Thomas pass at 7:47, but rhe Pioneers stormed back with Austin Shanks converting a Zach Herreweyers pass at 18:50, then taking the lead when Phil Caputo finished a Tyler Pace feed at 19:49.
After two periods, Ladner 7 Snake Island 6.
Shots on goal were 12-11 in favor of Snake Island.
Third Period:
Snake Island tied the game when Joe Resetarits scored from in close off a Vaughn Harris pass at 4:16, then took the lead on a Chris Attwood shot that Del Bianco got a piece of but rolled into the net at 12:10.
Ladner then tied the game once more when James Rahe hit a backhanded shovel shot off a Ryan Benesch feed at 14:36, follwed by Phil Caputo giving the Pioneers the lead unassisted at 18:34. Ladner put an exclamation point on the game scoring into the empty net with Jeff Cornwall converting a long lead pass from Nick Jensen at 19:10.
Final score, Ladner 10 Snake Island 8.
Shots on goal were 18-13 for the Pioneers, for a game total of 44-42 for Ladner.
Players of the Game:
Ladner Pioneers – Phil Caputo
Snake Island Muskies – Vaughn Harris
Don’t forget to check us out every Sunday on www.eopsports.com
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.
