Gary Groob
All Lacrosse All The Time – A Division of Edge of Philly Sports Network
The Miners Lacrosse Club (1-1) faced the Whitby Warriors (1-1) in game two of the Minto Cup best of three finals on Sunday night. Whitby won the opening game 12-8 in an action packed event.
While Edmonton didn’t win the first game, they showed they belonged, and were going to be ready for game two. Whitby needed to sit back and play their game to be crowned Minto Cup Champions.
The goaltending match-up had Keegan Melenychuk back in net for Edmonton facing Kaleb Martin in net for the Whitby Warriors.
In a back and forth struggle, the Miners Lacrosse Club came away with the 9-8 overtime victory. Davis Dame scored at the 4:02 mark of overtime, with Whitby having no answer. Keegan Melenychuk made 46 saves in the victory. Jack Royer (2g,4a), and Mathieu Gautier (2g,3a) led the way for the Edmonton squad. Brock Haley (3g,1a), and Adam Poitras (2g,3a) were the offensive leaders for Whitby.
To The Game:
The Miners drew first blood when Jake Bowen fired a shot off a Mathieu Gautier pass at 1:23. Parker Pipher tied the game up off a Adam Poitras pass at 3:00. Whitby took the lead off a Gabriel Sorichetti goal in transition converting a Peytin Wallace feed at 9:18; followed by Brock Haley quick sticking a Sorichetti pass 0:14 seconds later. Jack Royer brought Edmonton within one converting a Mathieu Gautier pass at 14:32.
After one period, Whitby 3 Edmonton 2.
- Shots on goal were 18-16 in favor of Whitby.
Second Period:
Whitby increased their lead with two from Adam Poitras. The first goal was off a shot that just squeaked by Melenychuk at 6:12, followed by a shorthanded goal at 7:58.
The Miners finally got on the board on the power play when Mathieu Gautier converted a Jack Royer cross crease pass at 13:58, followed by Jack Royer firing a howitzer off a Jake Bowen pass at 14:51 bringing this to a one goal game.
Brock Haley fired a blast from the outside on the power play at 16:08 for Whitby, but was answered back by Caelan Mander converting a Callin Harris pass 0:28 seconds later shorthanded. Mathieu Gautier scored a buzzer beater at 19:59 to tie the game for the Miners.
After two periods, Whitby 6 Edmonton 6.
- Shots on goal were 15-14 for Edmonton, for a game total of 32-31 for Whitby.
Third Period:
Lucas Littlejohn gave Whitby the lead off a Parker Pipher pass at 3:34, but Marcus Needham answered back with a crease dive off a Jack Royer feed at 5:37.
Brock Haley gave the Warriors the lead again, only to have Luke Bowen tie the game on the power play off a Jack Royer feed at 14:57.
Both goalies were absolutely unbeatable the rest of the way, sending the game to overtime.
After regulation, Edmonton 8 Whitby 8.
- Shots on goal were 13-11 for the Miners, giving a game total of 44-43 for Edmonton.
Overtime:
Although both teams had chances, only Davis Dame would be able to score for the Miners in overtime at 4:57.
Final score, Edmonton 9 Whitby 8.
- Shots on goal favored Whitby 11-6.
Game Stats:
- Whitby outshot Edmonton 54-50 in the game.
- Edmonton went 2 for 5 on the power play, scoring a shorthanded goal.
- Whitby went 1 for 4 on the power play, also scoring a shorthanded goal.
Top Scorers:
Whitby Warriors:
- Adam Poitras 2g, 3a
- Brock Haley 3g, 1a
- Parker Pipher 1g, 3a
Edmonton Miners:
- Jack Royer 2g, 4a
- Mathieu Gautier 2g, 3a
- Marcus Needham 1g, 2a
Game three will be at the CAA Centre in Brampton, Ontario Monday, August 29th. Game time is 7pm.
- In Canada you can watch the game on TSN +
- Internationally the game can be found on YouTube, on the OJLL page.
Don’t forget to check us out every Sunday night at 9pm (ET)
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.
