Tough Road Loss for BLC in Game One of Semi-Finals

By Mark Stehlin

The last time the Brooklin Lacrosse Club left the Peterborough Memorial Centre, they took away a 13-9 win. They made a return visit last night for game one of their semi-final series against the Lakers with a very different outcome. In front of a hostile Peterborough crowd, BLC was on the losing end of a 12-4 final. Fortunately, there is a quick turnaround as game two goes Saturday night in Whitby and short memories will be the order of the day. The formula is simple, overcoming that loss with a solid effort at home will bring BLC right back into the series.  The team expects good energy in the building as the Ontario Lacrosse Festival has descended upon Whitby for the next 10 days. 

The start to the game did not go to script for BLC. The Lakers rushed down the floor on their first possession and scored for the 1-0 lead. They would score twice more in the first for a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes. There was a bright spot in the frame. After the Lakers scored their second goal on a shot that starter Zach Higgins just couldn’t quite squeeze against his body, he made some terrific saves as the clock wound down and the offense had some looks but couldn’t solve Lakers goalie Nick Rose.  BLC went to the room looking to build off that spark.

Things did not get any better for the visitors in the second frame despite the fact that shots on net were virtually identical all night. The visitors had a five-on-three power play on which they were not able to convert. Braedon Saris, who was picked up by the Senior B Brooklin Merchants for their Presidents Cup run, made it 4-0 with a shot from the slot on the power play minutes later. The Lakers onslaught continued and with the score at 8-0, head coach Joel Johnson gave the nod to Steven Orleman to take over the pipes from Higgins. The Lakers found themselves in more penalty trouble and a solid effort by Chris Boushy gave BLC their first goal of the night, another power play marker for BLC and it was 10-2 after two periods.

The final frame was about pride and getting some jump for game two. The scoring summary was 2-2 in that frame for the 12-4 final and one game deficit for BLC. 

“Game 1 is game 1, they earned the win tonight. It was their night and who is to say it can’t be ours next time out,” said Joel Johnson after the game.

“We believe in ourselves in that room, again we struggled tonight, and they took it to us. I see this as a long road.  I am just as confident coming out of this game as I was going into it. I liked our grit and determination and that’s hard when you are in a hole like that. I am sure that game two will be the response match we need,” added Johnson.

Scoring – Westley (1,2) Clark (0,1) Boushy (1,0) Barnable (1,1) C Kearnan (0,2) B Kearnan (1,1) 

The Brooklin Merchants host the Owen Sound NorthStars tonight in game three of a best of five semi-final series. A win for the Merchants and they will play the winner of Hamilton and Six Nations for the Claire Levack Cup as Ontario champions. As the Merchants are hosting the Presidents Cup both Ontario teams earn a spot in the tournament set for August 23-30, 2025 at Iroquois Park Sports Centre.