They are Back!

Walking back into the Memorial Center after 3 years of missed lacrosse was familiar. It really did not seem like it has been that long. The Lakers DJ played “welcome back” over the PA system. It was nice to see lots of people that I have not seen for the 3 years and see the summer game we all love.

The banner-raising ceremony saw Shawn Evan’s carrying out the Mann Cup to the floor, placing the cup on the floor and the players gathering behind the trophy.

The banner-raising ceremony is usually with the team captain and assistant captains, but since Kyle Buchanan and Robert Hope are in the NLL finals they were not present for the game. Shawn Evan’s invited returning players to join him as the banner was raised while “We are the Champions played.”

Owner Ted

In normal team owner fashion, Ted Higgins came to the floor to sing O’Canada for the opening game and thank the fans for their support. He was dressed in his signature white blazer with a bow tie. It was announced that Ted is battling Parkinson’s disease and his voice is very much weakened so Ted was to sing along with a recording of himself singing O’Canada in the past. There seemed to be some technical issues and the recording could not be played. This did not deter Ted, he dug deep and started to sing O’Canada loud and proud! Then the crowd joined in to help Ted sing and finish up our anthem strong.

The Game

It was very noticeable from the opening face off the Lakers are missing Jake Withers from the face-off circle as Riley Haigh of the Kodiaks dominated face-offs all game. Losing possession every time there was a stoppage of play is huge. You could lose games because of it. I do not think Withers will be back this year due to his commitment to another league. Wonder if we can get Geoff Snider out of retirement?

Goalie Mike Poulin kept the Lakers in the game early with some real solid saves. Poulin had a great night with some key saves. Thomas Hoggarth also had himself a night with 4 goals. Shawn Evans, Turner Evans, Holden Cattoni and Mark Matthews were also the driving engines of offence with 15 points combined. I was really impressed with Peterborough Lakers Senior B call-up Dalton Hill. He played with fire and was a big body on the floor in the defensive roll.

The final score was 11-9 for the Lakers but the Kodiaks did push the Lakers in the 3rd as the Kodiaks entered the period down 8-4. It was weird to see Jim Milligan, coach of the Kodiaks on the opposing bench to the Lakers but you sure could see his style being played on the floor. Cam Milligan had a great night for the Kodiaks with 4 points.

It will be interesting to see how this season plays out for the Lakers as they are attempting to win the Mann Cup 4 times in a row in six years. A lot of familiar faces are still in the lineup but there also will be a ton of turnover of players. The most notable missing players are the Currier brothers, Jake Withers, Brock Sorensen, Ethan Walker and Ian Llord.

Note

One quick point I want to make, I am disappointed that the Lakers have lost the kids at the games. I am very hopeful that they can re-build the following that they once had. It was always amazing seeing how many kids would go on the floor between periods in the years past and the lack of kids was noticeable last night.