The Westlock midget Rock lacrosse team put another notch in the win column June 18 with a 9-2 victory over the visiting Edmonton Blues at Jubilee Arena.
“The game went pretty good,” said coach Marc Lemoine. “We were short a few players but we managed to gel.”
The game started well for the Rock. Less than five minutes into the first period, Corey Mercier scored to give the home side a 1-0 lead.
However, exactly a minute later the Blues would notch the equalizer. That tie would last until the 12:06 mark of the period, when Dayne Wingrove scored to make it 2-1.
The lead held up until 3:18 into the second period, when the Blues once again scored to tie the game, this time at 2-2.
Again, however, the tie lasted only a short time, because Jake Chizma scored 37 seconds later to give the Rock a 3-2 lead, a lead they would not relinquish. Before the end of the period, the Rock added two more goals by Jordan Boulerice at 11:38 and Brandyn Lemoine at 15:39 to take a 5-2 lead into the second intermission.
The third period was a chippy affair, with the Blues taking a number of penalties to put the Rock on the powerplay.
The home side took advantage of their opportunities, notching four goals in the period. Mercier scored his second of the game only 3:26 into the period. That was followed up by three goals in less than a minute — Scott Ivey at 4:05, Ivey again at 4:14 and Cole Walker at 4:54. Goalie David Lee did the rest, shutting out the Blues, as the Rock ran away with the game 9-2.
“I thought our offence went well,” coach Lemoine said. “They executed well in the second and third periods.”
He said he was impressed with how even the game was until the third when the Blues’ parade to the penalty box started.
The game was the team’s second last of the season, with the final contest scheduled for June 19 in Westlock.
It’s been a somewhat trying year for the team, Lemoine said, with a number of injuries meaning the team hasn’t played with a full roster for a while.
With the playoffs approaching, he said he’s confident the boys will do well. He said he and the coaching staff have been building the season up to be ready to compete hard in the playoffs.
