Junior Rock’s Trent Durell take a shot on the Lakeland Heat goalie during the club’s 11-3 April 28 loss at the Rotary Spirit Centre. The Rock opened their season April 27 with a 12-1 road loss to the Vermilion Roar.
The Junior ‘B’ Rock have some work to do following their first weekend of lacrosse action in three years.
The newly-reformed club dropped their first two games of their Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League Tier 2 season, falling 12-1 to Vermilion Roar on the road April 27, before dropping an 11-3 decision to the Lakeland Heat at the Rotary Spirit Centre April 28.
Coach Kyle Schram said it’s going to take some time to get everyone on the same page, although he liked their effort and knows the talent is there.
And it’s not like the Heat, or Roar were going to be pushovers.
Last year the Heat were the class of the north east division posting a 15-1-1 record, while the Roar went 12-5 with a 167 to 88 goal differential.
In Sunday’s tilt the Rock only trailed the Heat 1-0 after the first period before the wheels came off in the second, which saw them fall behind 7-1.
“We’ve got a lot to work on, obviously. The boys played good, I think the effort was there, but I think the other team got in our head a little bit and we got undisciplined and took some undisciplined penalties,” said Schram following the game that featured a pair of scraps.
“Overall, I’m happy with the effort though.”
Schram chalked the losses up to early-season jitters and expects to see improvement throughout their campaign.
“We need to work on our offence, we’re gripping our sticks a little too tight and the guys just aren’t there yet,” he said.
“A lot of these guys haven’t played for two years. We’re going back to the drawing board.
“We’re going to get back to work and practice hard and get back at it and be ready for next weekend.”
The Rock next hit the floor May 5 in Sherwood Park to face the Titans, who went 13-3-1 in 2018, then will be in Edmonton the following day to take on the Warriors, who ended last year with a 6-11 mark.
Following that they’ll be in Spruce Grove May 10 to tangle with the Parkland Posse before returning home to the Spirit Centre for a May 11 date with the Wainwright Wolfpack.
