Gary Groob
All Lacrosse All The Time – A Division of Edge of Philly Sports Network
The Premier Lacrosse League Season finally got underway with Chaos vs. Whipsnakes in Albany, NY. These teams have been the winners of the previous three championships in the league’s short history (Whipsnakes with 2, Chaos are the defending Champions).
The game was a heart-stopper until the final few seconds when Mike Chanenchuk scored the winner for the Whipsnakes to propel them to a 9-8 victory.
To The Game:
Chaos got off to a fast start when Brad Voight scored off a Bryce Wasserman feed at 3:48, followed by Ryan Smith finishing off a Kyle Jackson pass 4:57. The Whipsnakes got on the board when Connor Kirst fired a shot past Chaos goalie Blaze Riorden at 7:54.
Tanner Cook cook gave Chaos a two goal lead once again when he was able to beat Kyle Bernlohr (in net for the Whipsnakes) at 10:50, but Justin Guterding cut the lead to one once again when he scored with just 0:08 seconds left in the half.
After one quarter, Chaos 3 Whipsnakes 2.
Second Quarter:
Chaos once again got started quickly with three goals. Mac O’Keefe opened the scoring at 1:06 with a two point goal, followed by Troy Reh making it a 6-2 game at 2:05.
Justin Guterding scored his second of the day for the Whipsnakes at 7:22, followed by Mike Chanenchuk scoring at 8:55 to bring it to a two goal game once again.
At the half, Chaos 6 Whipsnakes 4.
Third Quarter:
The Whipsnakes came out on a mission scoring three goals to take the lead. Mike Chanenchuk scored his second of the day off a Matt Rambo pass at 2:44, followed by Matt Rambo himself firing a laser past Blaze Riordan at 4:01 to tie the game. The Whipsnakes took their first lead of the game when Jay Carlson scored a beauty at 6:32 with the Whipsnakes fifth unanswered goal.
Both teams had a number of chances the rest of the quarter but excellent goaltending kept this a one goal game .
After three quarters, Whipsnakes 7 Chaos 6.
Fourth Quarter:
Kyle Jackson tied the game for Chaos off a Jonathan Donville pass at 2:37, followed by Mac O’Keefe scoring his second of the day, with a blast at 9:29 just inside the two point line.
Jackson Reid was able to answer back for the Whipsnakes with a shot off the crossbar and in at 10:03 to tie the game once again, then Mike Chanenchuk scored his third of the game with just 4.4 seconds left on the clock to win the game for the Whipsnakes.
Final Score, Whipsnakes 9 Chaos 8.
Game Stats:
- Shots on goal were 23-16 in favor of the Whipsnakes.
- Faceoff battle was won by Joey Nardella of the Whipsnakes 11-9.
Top Scorers:
Whipsnakes:
- Mike Chanenchuk 3g, 0a
- Justin Guterding 2g, 0a
- Matt Rambo 1g, 1a
Chaos:
- Mac O’Keefe 1 1pt., 1 2pt. Goal
- Ryan Smith 1g, 1a
- Kyle Jackson 1g, 1a
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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.
