The Merchants Ride A Huge Second Period To Victory

Written by Gary Groob  - All Lacrosse All The Time 

The Brooklin Merchants traveled west to face the Six Nations Rivermen in the Ontario Series Lacrosse finals at thr Iroquois Lacrosse Arena in Hagersville, Ontario. 

These two teams have been the class of the league this season.  The Rivermen won two of the three meetings this year, with a strong rivalry emerging each time these squads played each other.   This series is must see lacrosse.

The goaltending match-up had Deacan Knott in net for the Merchants facing Dusty Hill in net for the Rivermen. 

As expected these teams matched up well, and played each other tough.  A see-saw battle in the first had them tied 4-4.

Where the game separated was the Merchants domination of period two.  Led by a hat-trick by Eddie Renaud (4g,2a) and a pair from Trent Boyd (2g,3a), Brooklin scored seven goals in the period to break the game open 11-7.

The Rivermen came back strong in the third, but the hole was just to deep to dig out of.  Brooklin takes game one with a 13-10 victory. 

To The Game:

The Merchants got on the board first when Kellen Pulera converted a Darren Elliott pass at 9:11, but Greg Elijah-Brown answered for Six Nations with a blast off a Jordan Goddard pass at 11:51.

Darren Elliott regained the lead for Brooklin with a shot from in close off an Eddie Renaud feed at 13:34, but Elijah-Brown responded again with a low to low laser off a Sam LeClair pass at 14:07.

Eddie Renaud and Ross Hill traded goals 0:22 seconds apart and the score was now 3-3.  Zac Carrigan gave Brooklin the lead once again with a laser off a Tyler Goodchild pass at 16:40, but Wake:Riat Bowhunter tied the game again on a great individual effort unassisted at 19:00.

After one period, Brooklin 4 Six Nations 4.

Second Period:

Eddie Renaud opened the second period scoring with his second of the game off a Zac Carrigan pass at 0:40 seconds, but goals from Sam LeClair and Zane Dalpe had Six Nations up by one at 5:14.

Christian Watts and Zac Carrigan answered back for the Merchants 0:22 seconds apart to regain the lead at 8:51, followed by Eddie Renaud with a pair of goals back to back for a 9-6 Brooklin lead.

Zach Herrewyers got one back for the Rivermen off a Kaden Brennan pass at 16:41, but a pair of goals from Trent Boyd late in the period had Brooklin up by four at the break.

After two periods, Brooklin 11 Six Nations 7.

Third Period:

Sam LeClair got Six Nations rolling in the third period with a laser off a Greg Elijah-Brown pass at 0:53 seconds, but Christian Watts and Jacob Hickey answered for Brooklin to make the score 13-8.

Sam LeClair scored his second of the period for the Rivermen converting a Ross Hill pass at 9:39, followed by Zane Dalpe with a unassisted shorthanded goal at 16:12.

The Rivermen pressured in the final few minutes but Deacan Knott and the Merchants defense were equal to the challenge. 

Final score, Brooklin 13 Six Nations 10.

The Three Stars:

1. Eddie Renaud 
2. Sam LeClair 
3. Trent Boyd 

After the game, Commissioner Joe Hiltz was able to present a few of the Ontario Series Lacrosse yearly awards to Six Nations players.

Jacob Crans  - Defensive Player of the Year

The Six Nations Goaltenders - Best Goals Against Average 

Brooklin takes a 1-0 lead in their best of five final.  Game two goes Sunday August 4th at the Iroquois Park Sports Complex.   Game time is 7:30 pm.