Akwesasne(2-0-1) continues to be the surprise of the league as they upended Brooklin 11-10. John Tavares scored six points to make him the OLA's all time leading scorer. We had to wait three years for this record to fall but once JT returned he only needed three games to become #1. Scott Thompson had a strong five point game. The rest of the Thunder scoring was balanced, a very good sign. Akwesasne has home games against Windsor this coming weekend. They could easily be in first place by Sunday afternoon.
Brampton(3-0) is off and running. All rumours regarding the demise of the defending champions are unfounded. After a hard fought overtime win in Brooklin, the Excelsiors whipped Windsor twice, scoring 56 goals in two games. Against Brooklin, draft pick Bobby McBride had a couple of timely goals when the Excelsiors really needed them. In overtime they blitzed the Redmen by scoring four times. Dan Dawson looks to have settled in very nicely. Also Bryan Kazarian had a solid effort. Lest we forget new addition Blaine Manning who chipped in with four assists. So the champs keep on improving and may simply be too good for everyone else. Windsor is certainly no match for them. No scoring available from those games but I suspect Josh Sanderson has made an early bid for the scoring title. Brampton and Six Nations hook up Thursday and Saturday in a first place showdown.
Brooklin(1-2) had a disappointing week. Any loss to their hated rivals from Brampton is hard to swallow but a home defeat in overtime is a particularly bitter pill. Garret Kikot stepped up with a big five point game. As usual, Gavin Prout and Shawn Williams were towers of strength. Another one goal loss came after the Redmen travelled to Cornwall. Prout and Williams were again productive but the supporting cast failed to materialise. Brooklin will certainly be relieved when Jason Crosbie returns to the fold. Also rumoured to be joining the team is Matt Shearer. Shearer has enjoyed a sparkling NLL career but has never amounted to anything in OLA play. The Redmen have only one game this week, a tough one up in Peterborough Thursday night.
Peterborough(1-1) had an inconsistent weekend. They began well with a 12-10 victory in St.Catharines. The next day they played like they had spent the long weekend lying in the sun as Six Nations completely outclassed them in a 12-6 contest. Scott Evans and Mat Giles both had seven point games in Port Dalhousie. Dan Carey debuted with a strong five point effort. Scott and Steve Evans led a struggling offence in Ohsweken. The Lakers home opener is this Thursday against Brooklin. Then they return to St.Catharines Saturday night.
St.Catharines(0-4) continues to fumble about in the league basement. The highly touted A's are looking like the flop of the year and will need to turn things around fast. Last week they fell to Peterborough in their lone match. Tony Henderson continued his fine play by scoring a hattrick. Scott Stewart is another nice surprise as he contributed four points. Mike Hominuk and Mark Steenhuis also has strong games. The Double Blues go after their first win against Peterborough again this weekend.
Six Nations(3-0-1) welcomed back Delby Powless and the Chief star scored seven points as they blasted Peterborough 12-6. Nine different players scored in the win. Kyle Jamieson was the top playmaker with four assists and Russ Davis chipped in three helpers. The first place Chiefs go toe to toe against Brampton twice this week. This is when we get to see how good they really are.
Windsor(0-3) found out the hard way that this is 2004, not 1974. They seemed to be thirty years behind the Excelsiors during 27-7 and 29-3 routs. The Warlocks travel east as they get two cracks at their first win against Akwesasne.
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