Lacrosse
Spartans win streak over
St. Catharines Spartan Corey Antongiovanni makes a pass on the run against the Niagara Thunderhawks Tuesday at Merritton arena
MERRITTON - The script was written less then a month ago — Tuesday, May 7, to be exact. That night at Merritton Centennial Arena the same Niagara Thunderhawks handed the St. Catharines Spartans their first loss of the season with a 9-6 victory.
This time it was a four-goal victory for the visitors as the Thunderhawks snapped the Spartans four-game win streak with an 11-7 win in OLA junior B action.
Not only did the Thunderhawks (7-3) move into a tie with the Spartans (7-5) in the South West division in points, they also have two games in hand, and most importantly now have the tie-breaker against St. Catharines after taking two of three games against them this season.
“With a young group we didn’t want to scare them with it, but we mentioned to them that it was a big game and challenged the young kids and the veterans and see who was going to step up,” said Niagara head coach Randy Chrysler.
“We’ve played with a lot of different players all season long, and what we’re doing now is trying to get a set roster together the rest of the way.”
It was the same old for the Spartans who looked like a tired, undisciplined team by the end of the game after being outshot 45-31 overall.
“We just find ways to somehow give them opportunities,” Spartan head coach Matt Attwood said. “We had a lot of mental breakdowns on defence. We went from cross-checking to sticking and it cost us a couple of goals. NOTL knows how to get in our heads and out guys don’t respond well to it.”
St. Catharines opened a 2-0 lead before the game was even five minutes old, but Niagara led 3-2 after one period of play and 6-5 heading into the third.
“We have to be better,” added Attwood. “We have to be consistent. Consistency is something we’ve lacked all year.”
The Spartans welcome London on Friday night. Game time at the Merritton arena is 8 p.m.
Notes: Spartan goaltender Craig Seneca is the cousin of Thunderhawk Cam Seneca.... Evan Scott scored a unanimous decision over Chaunce Hill in the games only fight as things got chippy midway through the third period.... The Spartans will be hosting their annual Silent Auction and Booster Bash Saturday at the Merritton Legion. Festivities begin at 8 p.m.
