Recap: Minto Cup Day Two
Photo: Shelly Fey
By Adam Levi
Conquest is always met with retaliation, but on Sunday night, the most formidable forces at the 2024 Minto Cup got the job down on the front lines and inched closer to their goal of securing junior lacrosse supremacy.
The 2024 Orangeville Northmen looked much more like the 2024 Orangeville Northmen last night. Going up against the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League’s Raiders Lacrosse Club to kick off the Minto Cup action on Sunday night, the Northmen were relentless on the attack. They scored four goals in the opening 3:16 of the contest and never looked back. By the end of the first period, the Northmen held a commanding 8-1 lead.
The eight goals in the first were more than they could score in all of their Minto Cup opening match yesterday against the Port Coquitlam Saints - they scored seven goals in that duel.
Liam Matthews and Joey Spallina were the shining stars for the Northmen in the opening frame (and for the entire game). Matthews scored the first two goals in the game and completed the period with a hat trick, while Spallina posted two goals and four assists in the opening frame. Even though he didn’t face many shots in the first - the Raiders only registered 11 shots on goal in the first - Connor O’Toole stopped ten of those shots. O’Toole didn’t allow a goal until the 2:19 mark of the first.
While the Raiders did their best to try and replicate their strong effort from last night against the Coquitlam Adanacs (albeit in a loss), the Northmen refused to let Alberta’s team get into any comfortable positions on the floor. Over the first 20 minutes, it was all Northmen. This fast and furious start was more of what we were expecting from this Northmen team yesterday, but, as is said, ‘It’s better late than never.’
The second period was a much-needed bounce back for the Raiders, at least the latter half of the period. After a Dylan Sanderson Northmen goal within the first two minutes of the second to make the score 9-1, the Raiders defensive stopped the onslaught for 16 minutes. Not only were they able to keep the Northmen off the board for most of the second frame, but they were able to score four goals of their own, including a very impressive natural hat trick from Dylan Belliveau.
This stretch from the Raiders was very promising for this young club. To go down by eight goals yet still have the drive to try and fight back into the contest is not a given for any club, but especially not for a team with as little big game experience as this roster. Every moment they have at this Minto Cup is a learning moment for their future games together - and there will be plenty.
Heading into the third with a score of 10-5, the Northmen were still comfortably in control of this game - the result of this game was never really in question. The Northmen still wanted to make sure that they finished strong to take home an emphatic W. They did that by outscoring the Raiders 3-1 in the final frame to give their team a significant win during this round robin phase.
Joey Spallina finished the contest with nine points, and Liam Matthews had eight. They also had some help from the Sanderson brothers (Cam and Dylan), who combined for three goals and three assists on the night. Tre Deere and Nate Ruff also found the back of the net.
The Northmen improve their tournament record to 1-1, putting them in a much better position to help them make it out of this round robin phase. Their game later tonight against the hosting Coquitlam Adanacs will have huge implications for where teams sit in the standings heading into the next phase of this tournament.
Keep in mind: the team that finishes first in the standings moves on to wait for their finals matchup against whoever wins the second-place and third-place matchup. Looking at the teams’ records after Day Two, it would take a very lopsided Northmen win against the Adanacs on Monday to overtake the hosts in the #1 spot. The Adanacs put themselves in that cozy position to secure the top seed because of how they finished their game last night against their Tri-City rivals, the Saints.
The first half of this battle between 1-0 teams featured some of the best and most competitive lacrosse we’ve seen all tournament, and that’s saying something. From the get-go, the Adanacs and Saints bullied each other all over the floor. It was a game where the action on and off the floor was equally exhilarating. Everything about the opening 35 minutes of this game embodied what we hope every Minto Cup will be like.
American Ryan Colsey of the Adanacs lit up the scoreboard first, only 29 seconds into the game. From there, the game transitioned into a physical chess match. Austin Lamoureux got the Saints on the board, and then Silas Richmond gave them the lead, scoring eight minutes after his teammate. A few minutes after Richmond’s tally, David Charney surprised everyone in the arena (even the cameraman) with a hidden ball trick that he pulled off thanks to the expert help of Jaxson Dillon, who was believed to be possessing the ball.
In the second, Richmond continued to hit the twine with three goals in the opening 13 minutes of the period. If it hadn’t been for a highlight reel goal put together by Jack Kask, who threw an absolute dime of a Hail Mary pass to Cody Malawsky, who then caught the pass in stride, left his feet, and beat Ashton Brown for the score, Richmond would have had a natural hat trick.
To the dismay of the raucous Adanacs crowd, with 5:13 left in the second, the Saints were up 6-4 at this pivotal point in the game. The Saints looked to be building steam for another upset win. Then, the game was flipped on its head.
A few minutes before the Lincoln Wall goal that put the Saints up 6-4, the Saints had suffered a tough blow on the defensive side of the ball. Skilled defenseman Jordan Neary appeared to roll his ankle quite severely during a defensive shift. He went down and needed help getting off the floor. Yes, the Saints still had defensive all-stars Brayden Laity and Caelan Mander still in the lineup to ward off the Adanacs, but this injury to Neary seemed to be a turning point.
Like Clark Kent walking into a phone booth and becoming Superman, the Wall goal was the moment that turned the Adanacs into hometown heroes. Less than 30 seconds after going down 6-4, the Adanacs scored. Less than a minute later, they scored again. 23 seconds after that, they scored again. Suddenly, the Adanacs had regained the lead at 7-6 - this was their first lead since 1-0.
Noah Manning, who had been fairly quiet in Game One (he had two points on Saturday), was one of the main catalysts for this turnaround. He scored three goals in the period, including the last two goals of the second. Manning would finish the night with eight points, which was only second-best in the game to his teammate Jaxon Dillon, who tallied four goals and five assists against the Saints.
The Adanacs had scored the final four goals of the second period, but they weren’t done putting up the back in the back of the net. The Adanacs scored the first nine goals of the third period. Yes, you read the right - nine goals in the third. This extended the lead to 17-6. After an Anahalis Doxtato goal in the game’s waning moments to make it 17-7, the beatdown was over. It was like two games in one last night, but the Adanacs won the night in front of their home fans.
Adanacs goaltender Jack Kask and the Coquitlam defense deserve a shoutout for their efforts in the final 25 minutes of game. Sure, the offense exploded towards the end, but the back end only allowed one goal over the last 25 minutes, and only three goals over the last 35 minutes of game time. Defense is what wins championships, so they say, and defense has been the signature of the Adanacs success this season.
Later today, we’ll see the final games of the round robin. The Raiders will be seeking their first win in the tournament against the Saints, and the Adanacs will be looking to have a perfect round robin phase by beating the Northmen. The Saints and Raiders start the night’s action at 4pm PST, while the Adanacs and Northmen close out the round robin at 7pm PST.
