Ennismore Fires On All Cylinders In Dominant Win Over Collingwood

By Gary Groob

The Collingwood Cruise (1-5) traveled east to face the Ennismore James Gang (1-4) in Ontario Series Lacrosse action Saturday night at the Lakefield Arena in Lakefield,Ontario.

The goaltending match-up had Dante Mancini in net for the Cruise facing Andrew Kidd in net for the James Gang.

The Ennismore James Gang delivered their most complete performance of the season Saturday night, riding a dominant special teams effort and a balanced offensive attack to a convincing 12-5 victory over the Collingwood Cruise at Lakefield Arena. After building a 3-2 lead through the opening twenty minutes, the James Gang exploded in the second period, scoring six times and taking full control of the contest. Liam Vollans, Robbie McGrayne, Nick DiLauro, and Michael Blaymires were at the center of the offensive surge, while Andrew Kidd was solid between the pipes and even contributed an assist in transition. Ennismore's relentless pressure generated a 58-46 advantage in shots on goal and kept the Cruise on their heels for much of the night.

Collingwood showed flashes offensively with multi-point efforts from Christophe McWatt and Braydon Hickey, while Chase Forsythe scored twice in the loss. Jordan Roberts, Zack Gignac, and Titus Chapman also found the back of the net for the Cruise, but they were unable to contain the James Gang attack after the first intermission. DiLauro's three-goal performance highlighted a balanced Ennismore offense that saw thirteen different players register points, helping the James Gang secure their second win of the season and gain valuable momentum heading into tomorrow's game against the Hamilton Bengals.

To The Game:

The James Gang opened the scoring with Nick Crowley converting a long lead pass from Andrew Kidd in transition at 2:10, followed by a power-play marker from Robbie McGrayne finding the back of the net off a Liam Vollans pass at 3:11 for an early 2-0 lead.

Collingwood got on the board with Jordan Roberts wiring a Christophe McWatt pass at 9:28, but Michael Blaymires restored the two goal cushion with a sidearm snipe off a McGrayne feed at 10:51.

Chase Forsythe brought the game within one once again with a low to low bounced shot that found the corner off a Gareth Haigh pass at 12:49.

After one period, Ennismore 3 Collingwood 2.
Shots on goal favored the James Gang 24-14.

Second Period:

Bryce Dennis opened the second period scoring for Ennismore with a blast off a Nick DiLauro pass at 2:13, followed by Adam Churchill quick sticking a Liam Vollans pass at 5:46.

Zack Gignac scored for Collingwood with a shot from in close off a Braydon Hickey pass at 6:12, but an Evan Taylor marker off an Avery Cook pass at 7:23, kept Ennismore firmly in control.

Liam Vollans continued the James Gang attack on the power-play with a beauty of a goal from in close off a Robbie McGrayne pass at 12:51, followed by back to back tallies from Nick DiLauro.

The first was on the power-play with an outside shot off a Michael Blaymires pass at 14:12, followed by a sidearm snipe off a Mason Tardiff pass 0:23 seconds later for a six goal lead.

Collingwood replaced Dante Mancini with Oliver Vanyo in net.

The Cruise got back on track on the power-play when Titus Chapman finished a Braydon Hickey pass at 16:17.

After two periods, Ennismore 9 Collingwood 4.
Shots on goal favored the James Gang 18-13.

Third Period:

The Cruise opened the third period scoring with Chase Forsythe converting a Christophe McWatt pass at 7:41, but Tommy Pollock answered with a goal in transition off a Frank Coyle pass at 15:16.

Michael Blaymires added to the Ennismore lead with a howitzer from the side of the net off a Nick DiLauro pass at 17:44, followed by DiLauro with his third of the game unassisted at 19:22.

Final score, Ennismore 12 Collingwood 5.
Shots on goal favored Collingwood 19-16, for a game total of 58-46 in favor of the James Gang.

The Three Stars:

1. Nick DiLauro
2. Robbie McGrayne
3. Michael Blaymires