ARROWS GOT BETTER AND BETTER AS THE NIGHT WORE ON
by thistles forever
PORT WHITBY - Six Nations overcame a sluggish start and a very
determined Whitby squad to defeat the Warriors 9-8 Tuesday night. It
was a fast, intense game, excellent lacrosse and easily the best
performance of the young season. The win makes the Arrows undisputed
league leaders, while the loss dropped Whitby back into a tie for third
place.
The opening period was all Warriors. They came out quickly and treated
the fans to a fast break in the opening minute. What a contrast to
Monday's game at the Sandbox which didn't have two fast breaks the
entire night! Six Nations were clearly second best in the opening
twenty minutes. They did outshoot the home side 18-15 but the Arrows
were launching long bombs from everywhere. Very few of their shots
were authentic scoring opportunities. Whitby took the period 4-1.
The Warriors still looked good early in the second. They extended
their lead to 5-1 before the tide shifted. The turning point came
immediately after a beautiful Jason Henhawk breakaway goal. Henhawk
made it 5-2 by burying a point blank blast behind Scott Wylie. On the
following draw Steven Hoar took a hit from a careless stick then earned
a 5 minute major by kicking the Six Nation's player. This was Hoar's
second major - after a first period fight, started when Mark Anderson
high sticked the Whitby player in the face and cut him badly - and
ended his night. The Arrows counted two goals on the major, instantly
transforming the contest. From this moment on the visitors were the
better team and the Warriors were back on their heels. Shots in the
second period favoured Six Nations 17-13, however Whitby took a 7-5
lead into the last twenty minutes.
The lead was soon extended to 8-5. This led to false expectations for
the home town faithful. The Warriors gave them one of their worse
periods of the year. They managed only two shots on goal through the
first 15 minutes. This lack of production was magnified by the
questionable goaltending of Jake Henhawk. For much of the evening my
headline looked like it would be, GOALTENDING DECIDES IT. Wylie was
outstanding, as he held off the stronger Arrows, while Henhawk was weak
and gave the Warriors too many easy goals. Thus the lack of any
offence in the final period by Whitby was what doomed their cause.
The visitors battled back to 8-7 early in the frame but stalled their
own comeback with atrocious ball handling and countless turnovers with
more then 20 seconds on the shot clock. Still the home team did not
take advantage and seemed to be determined to sit on their lead. With
7 minutes remaining Delby Powless finally knotted the contest 8-8.
Down the stretch would have two key moments - one power play for each
side. Whitby's came first, with 5 minutes left. Kyle Jamieson killed
half of it with great ragging. The Warriors eventually got some shots
on goal but Henhawk was equal to each of them. A glorious opportunity
came the visitiors way as the penalty ended. Mike Morrison shot wildly
and the rebound bounced out to centre. Out of the penalty box popped
Raweras Mitchell. Wylie robbed him beautifully on the breakaway. With
just under 3 minutes remaining it was Six Nations turn with the man
advantage(a bigger 4 on 3 power play). Drew Bucktooth made it count.
He bounced a shot through Wylie's legs with 107 seconds left on the
clock. That was the winner. The Arrows had a period shot advantage of
13-8 and a game edge of 48-36.
It was a game well handled by the officials. Gary Martin wasn't
exactly vintage Martin from the early 1990s as he is still calling too
many penalties compared to his glory days. Nevertheless this was a
better effort on his part. He and Mark Gardinio did a good job of
keeping the tempers down. Plenty of timely coincidental minors kept
the teams concentrating on lacrosse alone. The last two penalties of
the game were borderline calls and it might have been preferable to
have seen no power plays down the stretch. At least those calls went
one each way.
Intangible is the word that comes to mind as one looks over the ashes
of Whitby's defeat. Here is a team with as much offence as anyone in
the league, outstanding depth, solid goaltending, a discipline squad
and one which gave out a great effort Tuesday night. Yet they still
blew a comfortable lead, reminiscent of their loss to Orangeville
earlier. Plus the 10-9 home loss to Peterborough also comes to mind.
What's wrong with the Warriors? This is a team filled with players who
are accustomed to winning and know how to win. They've all been
winning consistently since the age of five. Yet they let a very
winnable game slip away Tuesday night. It almost seems like the
players are spoiled with winning, often winning easily. So spoiled
that they cannot handle the adversity which comes up in a titanic
struggle, like the Arrows gave them. It all makes for a fascinating
second half of the season. On paper the Warriors do have the best team
in the league. Can they turn that advantage into a championship?
The Celebrity section was hopping. After a calm opening period,
Hurricane Wamper blew in. Now Wamper will tell you last night's game
was little boys running around - which is what he always says about
Jr.A. Pay him no mind because he doesn't know what he's talking about.
I don't think he watched five minutes of last night's game as he was
talking so much. Mostly with Maninthetub as poor Memphis Dave(after
travelling across half the continent to see this contest) tried in vain
to concentrate on the game. Quote of the night came from the Tubman
after it was all over: "it was a great game! It was 4-1, then when I
checked again it was 9-8!" The Central Committee is currently
reviewing all 26 games the Wamper allegedly has seen.
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