It was an even-steven weekend for the Westlock Junior Rock who kicked off their season with a two-game split during a two game home stand on Friday, April 29 and Sunday, May 1 at the Rotary Spirit Centre.
On Friday night the Rock made quick work of the Edmonton Warriors during a 10-1 route, while losing 11-6 on Sunday afternoon in a tight match against the Vermillion Roar in Jr. B Tier II Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League action.
Coach Mike Ivey said overall, it was a positive start to the season.
“The boys played hard. We don’t quit, we know that,” Ivey said.
“We’ve got lots to work on no question, but I think the boys see we’ve got lots of positives and we have a chance to go all the way this year.”
In their home opener the Rock scored early and often to earn the victory before a packed house at the Spirit Centre.
The team got off to a quick start with seven first period tallies, putting them in the driver’s seat for the rest of the game. They never looked back en route to the win.
Ivey said it was exactly the start he was hoping for from his squad in front of a raucous crowd.
“It was a pretty dominant win. I think we even let off the pedal a little bit after we scored seven in the first period. I think it could have been even more, based on how we were playing,” he said.
“We had lots of people out and we appreciated that.”
The Warriors broke the shutout late in the second period, but that’s all the offence they could muster up.
In the win, the team managed to get 10 goals from 10 different goal scorers. Scott Ivey and Jeff Fagnan led the Rock offence with four-point games, with a goal and three assists each.
Ivey said he was pleased to see the scoring distributed around the whole lineup.
“We’re really deep this year. We’re going to get a lot of offence from a lot of different guys,” he said.
“It makes it a lot easier than getting it from one or two guys.”
On Sunday, the Roar paid a visit to town in a game that saw the Rock get plenty of chances, but convert on few.
“We were all over them, but you’ve got to be able to put the ball in the net,” he said. “Their goalie was great.”
The Rock rallied back to come within two goals with the score 8-6, but it would be as close as they would get.
“It was tough when it was that tight and we couldn’t take over,” Ivey said.
The Rock hit the road for their next three games with a two-game series against the Grande Prairie Junior Thrashers May 7-8, followed by a trip to Cold Lake May 14 to take on the Lakeland Heat.
The Rock return home for rematch against the Roar Sunday, May 15.
