Merchants Survive a Squeaker in Collingwood

By Mark Stehlin

It was a win, but the Brooklin Merchants almost let the two points slip through their fingers on the shores of Georgian Bay on Sunday afternoon.

The Merchants laid their 4-0 record on the line with a visit to Eddie Bush Arena and a date with the Collingwood Cruise. When the dust settled they managed to hang on for the 10-9 win, but it wasn’t a clear-cut two points by any stretch of the imagination.

“The game started well, and we were happy with the effort. It was in the third period however, that the guys did not play at the level that this club expects,” said head coach Ryan Degerdon.

“In that third period with about 15 minutes to go I stood on the bench and assessed the situation. I watched poor passing, bad decision making and limited ball movement. With a 9-5 lead after two periods I think the players were too comfortable and this game provided a valuable lesson. No matter who we play it has to be a complete effort each and every night to be successful,” added Degerdon.

It was the Cruise who opened the scoring and had a 2-0 lead early on. The Merchants found their rhythm and rattled off five straight for the 5-2 lead after twenty minutes. Whitby Warrior graduate Robbie Baxter continues to impress. He scored his team leading ninth goal of the season in that opening frame.

The second period was equally impressive. After the Cruise scored early, the Merchants put up three unanswered to open the gap to 8-3 with just over half the period remaining. The teams traded goals for the rest of that period that saw the Merchants head to break up by the aforementioned 9-5 lead.

It was the disappointing effort in the third period that almost snapped the Merchants win streak. The Cruise came out of the gate like a missile with two quick goals to give them and their fans some life. Merchants leading point getter at this stage of the season, Parker Pipher responded with a goal to stem the tide. The Cruise responded with two more including one with 19 seconds on the clock that brought them to within one goal. The Merchants escaped with the 10-9 win and a record of 5-0 to lead the Ontario Series Lacrosse league.

Scoring – Oldman (1,0) O Wills (1,1) Norris (1,2) Carrigan (1,1) Z Wills (0,2) Baxter (1,4) Pipher (2,1) Hyland (0,1) McPherson (2,1) Dalton (1,0)

Ethan Harwood with 29 saves on 38 shots took the win in net.

The Merchants (5-0) will regroup and travel to Owen Sound (4-1) for a date with the NorthStars on Sunday June 7 at 2 pm.