Lakeshores in playoff hunt
Posted By IAN SHANTZ
Posted 7 months ago
The Basement Battle had a bit of a playoff feel.
And rightly so. While plenty of time remains -- the Barrie Lakeshores have six regular-season games left, the Redmen, five -- both teams entered last night's Major Series Lacrosse game at the Holly Community Centre with a chance to gain some all-important ground heading down the stretch.
The Lakeshores got what they'd hoped for with a 10-8 win, but it didn't come easily. Barrie led 7-2 after two periods before holding off a late rally that saw the Redmen score three unanswered goals to pull within a pair with just more than two minutes remaining.
Lakeshores' leading scorer, Nate Sanderson, paced the home side to its first home win of the season, scoring twice and adding five helpers, while Dan Ransom added a hat trick.
The probability is that these young clubs will be fighting for the final playoff spot later this month. The Lakeshores came into last night with two wins through 11 contests, while the Redmen have a pair of wins in 12 games.
Six teams advance to the postseason, while one does not.
Neither team wants to be on the outside looking in, and last night's result could have major implications when all is said and done.
Still, the home team doesn't plan on changing its approach, regardless of the opponent. After all, the approach has been the same all season.
"The whole year we've had to play like we've been in a playoff atmosphere," Barrie native Brad Trottier said. "We have to fight for everything we get, being so young."
The 24-year-old Lakeshores defender thinks the team has done a good job of competing this season, despite having a young lineup hit the floor against upper-echelon powerhouses such as Six Nations, Brampton and Peterborough.
It's losses against the weaker links, though, that can't keep ha p p e n i n g , especially at this stage.
Barrie opened the season in heart-breaking fashion against the young KitchenerWaterloo Kodiaks, giving up a pile of goals in the game's late stages. The Lakeshores also dropped a decision earlier in the year in Brooklin.
"We talked about that a couple of weeks ago when we were in Kitchener," Lakeshores head coach Lindsay Sanderson said, "about how important it is that we take care of business with the Kitcheners and the Brooklins.
"But (those teams) are trying to do the same thing," the coach added. "So there are no surprises for anybody."
That means Barrie must continue to get sharper as it pushes for that playoff positioning. The Lakeshores play Six Nations twice -- including a game this Sunday-- St. Regis twice, Brooklin once more and the Peterborough Lakers once.
"Hopefully, we can steal one in Six Nations on the weekend, and, maybe, steal one from Peterborough when we play them," Trottier said.
"But we're a young team. We try not to get ahead of ourselves. We try to concentrate on one game. We do try to take it one game at a time."
Brad Favero had a pair of goals for Barrie, while Matt Saban, Dan Ball and Jeff Ivey rounded out the scoring. Mike Atwood and Derrick Gordon combined for the win in net.
ishantz@thebarrieexaminer.com
