The Peterborough Timbermen made an effort late in the game but ultimately fell to the Oshawa Outlaws 14-7 at the Tribute Communities Centre in their second game of the young Arena Lacrosse League season.
The Outlaws built a 4-0 lead before Colton Armstrong got the Timbermen on the board at 12:52 of the first quarter with a transition goal. Peterborough and Oshawa traded two goals apiece in the second quarter for a 6-3 Oshawa lead at the half.
The third quarter was where things went very wrong; it was all Oshawa as the Outlaws scored six in a row to the Timbermen’s one. Peterborough outscored Oshawa 3-2 in the fourth quarter with a renewed effort, showing promise of what a full 60 minutes could look like in future games.
Things got messy with penalties and five Timbermen ejected in the second half of the game.
Head coach Joe Sullivan wasn’t pleased with his team’s discipline and felt it cost them the game.
“The Timbermen played tough lacrosse but that style of lacrosse doesn’t win games and definitely we had players put themselves before the team,” he said. “The issue is if these players truly want to get to the next level discipline is a key characteristic they will need to improve. Penalties and a strong lack of discipline falls on my shoulders as the coach of this team.”
However, he was at least happy to see his players sticking up for each other and bonding as a team.
“If there is a positive to be found in this game it’s that the team united and during numerous altercations they stuck together and never backed down,” he said.
Sullivan recognizes that a 0-2 start isn’t what Peterborough fans want to see and says the team will be better.
“It was a very disappointing game,” he said. “We practiced hard just to give Oshawa the win. That won’t happen again.”
Not dressed for the Timbermen were Josh Bean, Travis Bland, Nick Finlay, Fred Hartley, Geoff McNulty, Cole Murray, Patrick Pollock, Pete Rennie, Curtis Singleton, and Zach Thompson.
The Timbermen’s next game is Saturday, January 21 at 8:00pm at the Syl Apps arena in Paris versus the RiverWolves. They will play home games at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on February 26 and March 19. Tickets for those games are on sale now at the PMC box office.
Scoring for the Timbermen were:
Colton Armstrong (1-1)
Doug Utting (1-1)
Riley Campbell (1-0)
Cole McWilliams (1-0)
Dan Michel (1-0)
Ryley Martinell (1-0)
Joe Wasson (1-0)
Garret Lewis (0-2)
Tim Bergin (0-2)
Brett Coons (0-1)
Josh Wasson (0-1)
