Westlock’s midget Rock lacrosse squad is one win away from being named Greater Edmonton Lacrosse Council league champions.
After a perfect 3-0 playoff run so far, the Rock sit waiting for the result of the July 2 semifinal between the Leduc Crush and the Fort Saskatchewan Rebels. The winner takes on the Rock on July 3 at Londonderry Arena in Edmonton.
“Right now I feel pretty good against either of those teams,” said Rock coach Kevin Peyre. “They’re bigger teams, and they’re a little bit dirty, so it’s more just whenever we get a powerplay, using it and playing disciplined. If we do that and use our speed, we’ll be fine.”
Peyre also touched on the fact the Rock play as a single, cohesive unit, and not a collection of individual players as a key to a potential championship.
“As long as we can show up and play as a team, I have no concerns with how we’ll do against them,” he said.
GELC playoffs are a double-knockout affair. No team is eliminated until it loses twice. Since the Rock are undefeated so far, no matter their opponent, they have two chances to win the title.
The Rock put together a 10-3-1 record in the regular season, good enough for second place behind the 14-0-0 Rebels.
Combined with a 3-0 playoff record, the team is 13-3-1, and hitting its stride, Peyre said. Include tournament action, and the Rock have lost only four games all year, he added.
“We’re definitely clicking at the right time,” he said. “We improved the whole time. That was the biggest thing that I wanted to focus on.”
Having the team reach its peak at this point of the season bodes well for the playoffs, given the fact almost every team in the league makes the playoffs.
“As long as we can get better throughout the season, where we end up didn’t really matter to me all that much,” Peyre said.
In addition, he said gradually improving means the Rock have had time to get all aspects of their game in working order. That compares to a team like the Rebels that may not have improved as the season wore on because they were winning regularly.
“Sometimes it takes a couple losses to learn how to win,” Peyre mused.
