Lakers Drop Heartbreaker to Rock as Playoff Race Tightens

By Scott Arnold

The Peterborough Century 21 Lakers came within seconds of knocking off one of the Major Series Lacrosse's top teams Thursday night, but a late Oakville goal handed Peterborough a 13-12 loss that keeps the playoff race as tight as ever.

it was little lakers night at the pmc on thursday with funds raised during the game going to five counties children centre (photo courtesy of the peterborough lakers, via david pickering)

The loss drops the Lakers to 7-7 on the season. They remain in fourth place in the MSL standings with 14 points, holding the tiebreaker over the fifth-place Brooklin Lacrosse Club (7-8) after winning the season series. Cobourg's win over Brampton on Friday night moved the Kodiaks to 8-5 and four points ahead of Peterborough for third place, while the second-place Oakville Rock improved to 10-4 and now sit six points in front of the Lakers. Undefeated Six Nations (14-0) continues to lead the league with 28 points and has already clinched a playoff berth.

Only the top four teams qualify for the postseason, while Brampton (2-12) and Owen Sound (1-13) have both been eliminated from playoff contention.

Thursday's game looked like it could go either way from start to finish.

The two teams traded goals throughout the opening half, with the score tied six different times before Oakville pulled away with five straight goals to open a 10-6 advantage.

Peterborough answered with a six-goal run of its own spanning the end of the second period and the start of the third, turning a four-goal deficit into a 12-10 lead.

Oakville responded with two quick goals in a span of 44 seconds to tie the game before Jake Darlison scored the winner with just 32 seconds remaining after intercepting a pass and breaking in alone.

The Lakers had one final opportunity to force overtime, but former Peterborough goaltender Landon Kells, who entered the game in relief for Oakville, stopped Brad McCulley's late chance to preserve the victory.

One of the night's biggest stories was the performance of newcomer Colton Armitage. Playing his first game as a full-time member of the Lakers after appearing earlier this season as a call-up, the 22-year-old recorded the first hat trick of his MSL career while adding two assists for a five-point night.

Braedon Saris also had five points with two goals and three assists, while Rob Hellyer finished with six points on a goal and five helpers. DJ Clark scored twice, Ryan Lanchbury had a goal and four assists, and singles came from Holden Cattoni, Liam Patten and Dylan Hutchison. Justin Sykes and Brad McCulley each added two assists.

With starting goaltender Deacan Knott serving the first game of a four-game suspension, Drew Hutchison got the start before Nick Rose came on in relief and held Oakville scoreless for more than 20 minutes.

Jake Withers also missed the game while serving the first of his two-game suspension after last week's altercation with Owen Sound goaltender Kaleb Martin. Knott received his suspension following his fight with North Stars goaltender Andrew Kidd during the same stoppage in play.

The Lakers have four regular season games remaining, beginning with what could be their biggest game of the season next Thursday when the Cobourg Kodiaks visit the Peterborough Memorial Centre. Peterborough will then travel to Brampton on July 24 before closing out the regular season with games at Six Nations on July 28 and at home against Owen Sound on July 30.

Next Thursday's game will also feature Retro Night, celebrating the 1986 Peterborough Maulers with throwback jerseys, an 80s and 90s soundtrack and the return of the popular Toonie Dog promotion. The Lakers are aiming to top the Peterborough Memorial Centre record of 924 hot dogs sold during the team's first Toonie Dog Night earlier this season, with a new goal of selling 1,386 hot dogs in honour of the 1986 Maulers.

Scott Arnold is a Journalist and Content Creator at PTBOCanada Media Inc

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Tiktok, Youtube and LinkedIn. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for our newsletter here.