Perfect Season for Merchants Intact After Big Test

By Mark Stehlin

The Brooklin Merchants hosted their rivals, Six Nations Rivermen on Saturday afternoon. These clubs have history in high pressure situations over the years. As recently as last season, the Merchants defeated the Rivermen to take the Ontario Series Lacrosse crown and the right to hoist the Clare Levack Trophy. Coming into Saturday’s game, the Merchants were 7-0 and the Rivermen were 8-0 but had one overtime loss. At the final buzzer and the scoreboard displaying a 12-8 final, the Merchants rose to 8-0 and the Rivermen suffered their first loss in regulation, both teams sit at 16 points. 

“To be honest, I saw that as ugly win. They had a short bench and we had a full squad, we let them hang around a little too long. Mark (Debrone, assistant coach) and I keep preaching that getting on and off the floor quickly is critical and I thought we got a bit lazy out there,” said head coach, Ryan Degerdon after the game.

The teams went back and forth to start the game. The Rivermen scored first and on the back of a power play the Merchants were able to tie the game just 20 seconds into that extra man situation. Thunder Hill, league points leader added one for the Rivermen. The player in third in league scoring, Robbie Baxter countered as he spun off a defender and fired it home behind Rivermen starter Cam Dunkerley. The teams were knotted at 3-3 after the first period.

The Rivermen arrived with 14 runners, 18 is considered a full squad, adding two goalies makes it a full 20-man roster. The Merchants took it to their guests and tallied for a six-goal offensive outburst in the middle frame compared to just one for the Rivermen. With just over three minutes to go in the second, Ryan Langille fired the ball at the Six Nations net, it had power and pace and Dunkerly could not stop its momentum. That goal was critical as it gave the home side a cushion of 9-3. Six Nations were able to stem the tide of that six-goal run and answered the bell with 1:55 left in that period. That was as close as they would get as the second ended 9-4 in favour of the hosts. 

The Rivermen played with pride in the third and won that frame by a score of 4-3. It was too little to late to alter the score. A chippy and physical ending was a message to the Merchants to be ready as they travel to the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena on Saturday July 5 for a 7 pm game. 

“We will be ready for the game there next week. We will watch some game tape and clean up a few things. These guys know that we hold them to a high standard, and I am confident that they will continue to rise to the occasion,” added Degerdon.