Early Explosion Helps Cobourg Fend Off Furious Oakville Comeback

By Gary Groob 

The Cobourg Kodiaks (2-3) traveled west to face the Oakville Rock (2-1) in Major Series Lacrosse action Monday night at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre in Oakville, Ontario. 

The goaltending match-up had Laine Hruska in net for Cobourg facing Landon Kells in net for Oakville. 

The Cobourg Kodiaks looked to be in complete control early, exploding for seven first-period goals behind a dominant special teams performance and a four-goal night from Brock Haley.  Aaron Woods added a hat trick of his own, while contributions from Taylor Dooley, Shane Halliwell, and Aaron Toguri helped build what appeared to be an insurmountable lead.  Cobourg's aggressive start saw them capitalize on the power play, score shorthanded, and control the pace of play through the opening 20 minutes to take a commanding 7-1 advantage into the first intermission.

Oakville, however, showed tremendous resilience and nearly completed one of the biggest comebacks of the season.  After switching goaltenders early in the second period, the Rock steadily chipped away at the deficit behind strong efforts from Jake Darlison, Justin Lee, Sam LeClair, Mike McCannell, and Nolan Marshall.  Oakville outshot the Kodiaks 40-28 over the final two periods and battled all the way back to within a goal late in the third.  An empty-net marker from Aaron Toguri ultimately stood up as the game-winner, allowing Cobourg to survive the furious comeback attempt and escape with a thrilling 10-9 victory.

To The Game:

The Kodiaks started quickly on the power play. Brock Haley fired an absolute howitzer from the outside off an Alex Marinier pass at 1:08, followed by a shorthanded marker from Taylor Dooley, who went coast-to-coast in transition at 2:48.  Haley then added another blast from the side of the net off an Andrew Vradenburg feed at 4:25 for a 3-0 Kodiaks lead.

Oakville finally got on the board when Justin Lee scored with a low shot from in close that found the corner at 7:14, but Aaron Woods restored the three-goal advantage at 10:10 when a shot from the outside was deflected past Landon Kells.

Woods added another tally from in front, finishing a Brock Haley pass at 14:01, followed by a high-to-low blast from Shane Halliwell off an Alex Marinier feed at 15:43.  Haley then completed his first-period hat trick with an outside bouncer off a Briley Maxwell pass at 17:24.

After one period, Cobourg 7 Oakville 1.

Shots favored Cobourg 21-11.

Second Period:

Evan Constantopolous replaced Landon Kells in the Oakville net.

Despite being down two men, the Oakville Rock started to climb out of the hole when Jake Darlison went coast-to-coast in transition, scoring just 26 seconds into the period.

Cobourg answered at 5:30 as Aaron Woods battled his way to the front of the net and finished a Briley Maxwell feed to restore the Kodiaks' momentum.

The Rock struck again at 9:50 when Jack MacAlpine fought his way to the crease and converted a Nolan Marshall pass from in close.  However, Brock Haley halted Oakville's comeback attempt at 13:07, scoring his fourth goal of the game from in front off an Alex Marinier feed.

Oakville continued to battle, with Sam LeClair wiring a low-to-low laser off a Lucas Hucal pass at 16:14 to keep the Rock within striking distance.

After two periods, Cobourg 9 Oakville 4.

Shots on goal favored Oakville 22-15.

Third Period:

The Oakville Rock mounted a furious comeback attempt in the third period. Mike McCannell got things started, converting a Jake Darlison feed at 1:53, before Darlison himself wired a high-to-low blast off a Brooks English pass at 3:49 to cut further into the deficit.

Oakville continued to push on a two-man advantage when Justin Lee finished a Mike McCannell pass at 11:58.  Nolan Marshall then blasted a shot shortside at 14:50, bringing the Rock within a single goal and setting up a tense finish.

The Kodiaks regained some breathing room when Aaron Toguri found the empty net at 19:13.  Oakville refused to go away, however, as Sam LeClair blasted home a power-play marker with just 13 seconds remaining to make it a one-goal game once again.

Despite the late surge, the Kodiaks were able to hold on and secure the victory.

Final score, Cobourg 10 Oakville 9.

Shots on goal favored the Rock 18-13 for a game total of 51-49 in favor of Oakville. 

The Three Stars:

1. Brock Haley 

2. Evan Constantopolous 

3. Aaron Woods 

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