Chiefs Stay Perfect, Pull Away from Lakers for 10-5 Victory

Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Lakers Instagram page 

By Gary Groob 

The Peterborough Lakers (6-6) traveled west to face the Six Nations Chiefs (11-0) in Major Series Lacrosse action Tuesday night at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena in Haggersville, Ontario.

The goaltending match-up had Drew Hutchison in net for the Lakers facing Warren Hill in net for the Chiefs. 

The undefeated Six Nations Chiefs continued their dominant run Tuesday night, using a strong third period to defeat the Peterborough Lakers 10-5 at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena.

The Chiefs jumped out to an early two-goal lead thanks to Ryan Smith and Andrew Kew, but Peterborough responded with a pair of transition goals from Nick Crowley and Matt Gilray to head into the first intermission tied 2-2. The second period featured end-to-end action, with the lead changing hands before Six Nations found another gear. Lyle Thompson's highlight reel marker and Chris Cloutier's coast-to-coast effort helped the Chiefs carry a 6-4 advantage into the final frame.

Six Nations took complete control in the third, with Brendan Bomberry, Dhane Smith, and Thompson extending the lead before Peterborough's Ryan Lanchbury briefly stopped the run. Any hopes of a Lakers comeback were quickly erased on a beautifully executed power play, as Andrew Kew and Josh Byrne combined to set up Ryan Smith for the game's final goal. Behind another balanced offensive attack and timely saves from Warren Hill, the Chiefs remained unbeaten with a convincing 10-5 victory over Peterborough.

To The Game:

The Six Nations Chiefs got on the board first when Ryan Smith split the defense on a great individual effort off a Dhane Smith pass at 2:17, followed by Andrew Kew scoring from in close off a Lyle Thompson pass at 3:59.

Nick Crowley got the Lakers on the board with an absolute howitzer from distance off a long lead pass from Drew Hutchison in transition at 12:20, followed by Matt Gilray also scoring in transition off a Crowley lead pass at 19:06.

After one period, Six Nations 2 Peterborough 2.

Second Period:

The Chiefs regained the lead with Lyle Thompson diving from behind the net off a Dhane Smith pass at 3:08, but a sidearm snipe from Mike Robinson from the outside off a Brad McCulley feed at 4:14 tied the game once again. 

The Lakers took their first lead of the night with Robinson dunking from behind the net off a Daniel Clark pass at 5:13, but Dhane Smith answered immediately with a bounced shot off a Chris Cloutier feed at 6:05.

Lyle Thompson gave the Chiefs the lead with a spinarama move from in close off a Cody Jamieson pass at 7:42, followed by Chris Cloutier going coast to coast off a Kyle Rubisch pass at 8:33.

After two periods, Six Nations 6 Peterborough 4.

Third Period:

Brendan Bomberry increased the Chiefs lead from the top of the crease off a beautiful pass from Dhane Smith at 3:26.  Smith himself then scored off a great effort from in close off an Andrew Kew pass at 12:18, followed by Lyle Thompson with a low to low laser from Brendan Bomberry 22 seconds later. 

Drew Hutchison was replaced by Deacan Knott in net for the Lakers.

Ryan Lanchbury got Peterborough back on track with a great move from in front of the net off a Dustyn Birkhof pass at 14:54.

However, on the power-play the Chiefs stopped the Lakers momentum with a gorgeous tic-tac-toe play.  Andrew Kew found Josh Byrne, who dished it Ryan Smith for the highlight reel goal at 17:14.

Final score, Six Nations 10 Peterborough 5.

The Three Stars:

1. Dhane Smith 
2. Lyle Thompson 
3. Andrew Kew 

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