BANTAM FURY DEFEATS CLARINGTON

The Mason Homes Bantam Fury lacrosse team came up with their best all around effort of the season so far on Tuesday night, when they defeated the Clarington Gaels by a score of 8-5 at the Rec Complex. From the opening face off, the team, for the first time since the start of the season, looked like they meant business and took it to the Gaels right off the hop.

For only the second time this season, it was actually the home squad who marched down the floor from the opening face off, and with just 11 seconds gone, opened the scoring on a goal by Craig Shier, assisted by Evan Connolly. The game was third meeting between the teams this season, with Lindsay dropping the 1st game in Clarington, then a couple of weeks back, evening the season series at a game apiece, with a victory at home. The second game was a chippy affair, and with time just about expired, a vicious cross check to the neck of Brad Gerrow, had the Fury players up in arms and wanting another crack at this tough Clarington squad. Well, after scoring the 1st goal in the 3rd game, the Fury really stepped it up and all the players played with an edge that had not been seen by the coaches or the parents this year. The play of the team at both ends of the floor was what has been expected by everyone since the season started. Many times the defence of the Fury was so tough, that Clarington was not given many quality shots, as the Fury kept them to the outside, forcing them to just try to move the ball around, and on many possessions, forcing the shot clock to run out. When they did happen to get through, a strong performance between the pipes by goalie Josh ONeill, kept the Gaels frustrated. By the end of the 1st period, the score was 3-0 in favour of the Fury and you could see the jump in the players that really had not been seen all year. The scoring for the Fury in the 1st period was all done by Craig Shier, netting the natural hat trick, assists went to Riley Smith with 2 and singles to Nic Williams and Brad Gerrow.

The second period did not get off to a good a start for the Fury, as the Gaels responded with a quick goal, just 30 seconds into the period, to take the score to 3-1 in favour of the Fury. But, just one minute later, with just 2 seconds to go on the shot clock, a loose ball rolled to Riley Smith, who instead of picking it up, followed through with a hockey wrist shot, burying the ball in the bottom corner. The goal had the players and fans going wild, as it was beautiful goal to watch. Assists went to Nic Williams and Brenden Hlibchuk. This goal gave the Fury another 3 goal lead, and a bit of breathing space. The Gaels did not intend to roll over, and before the period ended, a nice passing play and a great fake shot, netted them their 2nd goal of the game, and setting up an interesting 3rd period.

With the weather outside being very humid, the arena inside was like a hot oven, and the players tried all they could do to stay hydrated and not start to cramp up. This period would come down to which team would wilt from the heat, and which team could keep the fresh legs on the floor to get the job down.

The 3rd period began on a great note for the hometown boys, as a the 3 minute and 6 minute mark, the Fury scored to take the lead by a score of 6-2. Scoring for the Fury was Brad Gerrow, assisted by Devin Jordan, and Luke Tamlin, with his 2nd beautiful goal in as many games, assisted by Craig Shier. Again, the Fury could not put the Gaels away, allowing them to get back in the game with a goal at the 8 minute mark. With some exciting play at both ends of the floor, this game was far from over, and with just 6 minutes to play in the game, the Fury's Craig Shier scored his 4 goal of the game, assisted by Brad Gerrow and Thomas Weber, to give the Fury a 7-3 lead. At this point the Fury sat back just a bit, and it almost cost them. The Gaels mounted a mini comeback, scoring at the 13 minute mark, then again at the 14 minute mark, to narrow the margin to 7-5. The Gaels called a time out, and pulled their goalie. With the draw at center, the Fury lost the draw and the Gaels marched down the floor. However, the Fury defence mounted a wall, and did not allow the Gaels to penetrate through, and regained possession of the ball in the Gaels end, forcing them to have the goalie run back into the net. Somehow, the ball came to Craig Shier, who potted his 5th goal of the evening, unassisted, giving the Fury an 8-5 win.

The next action for the Fury is Thursday, July 10, 2008, when they will travel to Toronto, to play the Toronto Beaches. The boys are then off for a bit, having a couple of practices the following week in order to prepare for the Dan Greer Memorial Tournament, being held in Clarington from July 18-20th. The next home action for the Fury will be on Tuesday, July 29, 2008, when they will host their highway seven archrivals the Peterborough Lakers. Game time is 900pm at the Rec Complex.







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