The Westlock Jr. Rock posted a two-game weekend series sweep of the Grande Prairie Jr. Thrashers in Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League Tier II Jr. ‘B’ action.
The Rock pounded the Thrashers 16-2 on Saturday, May 7, and again 14-3 on Sunday, May 8, to improve to 3-1 on year.
“We came together really well as a team,” said coach Mike Ivey. “It’s nice to have a weekend where you travel for sure. We were playing ball really well, scoring on a lot of different guys.”
Although they’ve seen Grande Prairie as an easy win for the in the past, Ivey said the Rock didn’t want to make the mistake of taking them lightly.
“They got a couple on us, for sure,” Ivey said of the Thrashers’ performance over the weekend.
The Rock, Ivey continued, used speed and a heavy pressure to make quick work of the home team over the weekend.
“We were really aggressive on the forecheck and a lot of our deep moves and fast plays kept things going,” he said.
“It wasn’t too physical. When you are beating a team that much it does deflate a game a little bit. You don’t run and gun as much and that’s a big part of our game.”
Next up for the Rock is a trip to Cold Lake to face the Lakeland Heat on May 14, before hosting the Vermilion ROAR at the Rotary Spirit Centre on May 15. Ivey said the Rock will be well prepared for what they anticipate will be a tough test.
The ROAR edged the Rock 11-7 May 1 in Westlock, and Ivey said they want a shot at redemption.
“We’re hoping to come back around and beat them. We’re really deep right now, so we can play pretty good. You can’t really one-man-show it in this league. We beat on them good last time and that helped us out,” Ivey said with a laugh.
“It’s a really good mix — lots of energy from the young guys and lots of leadership from the rest.”
