Chiefs come from behind to take emotional victory over Rock

 

Photo by Lee Nanticoke Photography

A gritty, emotional effort led the Six Nations Chiefs to a 11-7 come-from-behind win over the Oakville Rock Thursday at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre.

In the final game of Week 3 at the MSL Classic, the Rock hosted the Chiefs, who stood side-by-side at the beginning of the game for a moment of silence in honour of those who did and did not survive residential schools across the continent.

The starting goaltenders were Warren Hill for the Chiefs and Craig Wende for the Rock. It was an entertaining game with plenty of end-to-end action, spectacular goaltending, pinpoint passing and dynamite shooting.

Oakville led 2-0 at the end of the first quarter on goals by Joey Szabo and Dylan Watson. Szabo scored his goal at 2:38 in his first-ever MSL game – sniping the ball after multiple fakes on the tip of the crease. Watson ripped an outside shot by goaltender Hill with just 6 seconds left in the first frame.

The Rock added to their lead in the first minute of the second quarter when Watson blasted a power-play goal giving Oakville a 3-0 lead. 

Less than a minute later, the Chiefs hit the scoreboard for the first time when Tyler Brown came off the bench sniping the ball behind Wende. Watson completed his hat-trick with another outside shot giving Oakville a 4-1 lead.  

Tyler Brown responded with his second goal of the game at 4:19 beating Wende on a short side shot. Just four minutes later, Brown scored his third consecutive goal with a quick stick play on the crease, making the score 4-3 for Oakville at halftime.

At the 4:21 mark of the third quarter, Liam LeClair tied the game. Just seconds later, Damon Hill scored on a break away shot stick side waist high. For the first time in the game, the Chiefs led. However, the Rock tied the score with a power-play goal scored by Ryan Lanchbury on the tip of the crease after some precision passing. The Rock went ahead when Steve Fortelli sniped the ball from the top right down the middle. They added to their lead with Henry Rollins scoring, ending the third quarter with a 7-5 lead.

And then the Chiefs dug deep.

The Chiefs took over in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Rock 6- 0. Before the final quarter was three minutes old, Justin Martin ripped a shot that found the back of the net, decreasing the margin to one goal. The Chief tied the game with some great ball movement finished by Kedoh Hill. Less than two minutes later, the Chiefs took the lead when Kevin Hill lasered a sidearm shot by the Rock goalie. They added to the lead on the power play, when LeClair placed a perfect shot low on the glove side. LeClair repeated the feat with a similar goal putting the Chiefs up 10-7. The game’s final goal was an empty netter by Nonkon Thompson, scored with just twelve seconds remaining on the clock.

The Six Nations Chiefs should be given full marks for the victory.  Despite falling behind early in the game, they continued to persevere.  It was a solid team effort in securing the win, giving them a 2-3 record in the MSL Classic. With the loss, the Rock fell to 2-3.

Schedule for Week 4 of the MSL Classic:

(All Games begin at 8:00 pm)

Tuesday, August 17

Owen Sound vs. Oakville

Brooklin vs. Six Nations

Wednesday, August 18

Owen Sound vs. Six Nations

Thursday, August 19

Oakville vs. Cobourg

Reserve your game tickets by CLICKING HERE.  Only $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors.

Lacrosse fans can also watch all games online at JVI Video CHANNEL 1 and CHANNEL 2.