The Peterborough Timbermen hung-in with the Toronto Monarchs on Friday night but eventually fell 13-10 to the first-place team at Children’s Arena in Oshawa.
The Monarchs sit atop the Arena Lacrosse League standings with 10 points. The Timbermen fall to a tie for third place with Oshawa and Whitby after the Paris RiverWolves’ fourth win over Six Nations on Friday night gave them sole possession of second. Paris, Oshawa and Whitby are all in action on Saturday night, and each will look to gain ground on the Timbermen.
Nine different players found the back of then net for the Timbermen, who floored a full team for the first time in weeks. Back in were Joe Hall and Shane Francis, two highly-touted players who had only made one prior game.
The addition of two new players meant that some lineup shuffling had to be done, so forward Cole McWilliams found himself playing both offense and defense during the game.
“We had a full lineup tonight so that’s where I was plugged into tonight,” McWilliams said. “I just tried to do what I could back there and not be noticeable.”
Having McWilliams play both ends of the floor worked – although he was held pointless, he was able to help control the play going up the floor and give more chances to the offense.
The Timbermen started strong, leading 2-0 after the first quarter on goals from righties Joel Matthews and Justin Kulla. The Monarchs tied the game early in the second and it was back-and-forth from there.
“We were with them the whole game but we just fell apart towards the end,” said McWilliams.
The Monarchs led 6-4 late in the second. Timbermen leading scoring Mark Vradenburg got Peterborough back within a goal on the power play by the half.
Toronto quickly went up 7-5 in the third but a run from Peterborough saw them tie the game at seven, then nine and 10. Dan Michel brought it to 7-6 and Colton Armstrong chased down a loose ball and got in close on Monarchs’ goaltender Joel Watson. Nick Karam’s second of the game put the Timbermen up 8-7. Jordan Critch tied the game at eight just seven seconds later, scoring off the face-off.
Patrick Miles and Zack Thompson traded goals for a 9-9 tie. Thompson’s goal was a gift from captain Riley Campbell, who battled with Watson behind the Monarchs net before scooping the ball and shoveling it out front to Thompson who was all alone.
Tyler Ferreira ended the third quarter by banking the ball into the Timbermen net off the back of goaltender Brett Perras for a 10-9 Monarchs lead.
Fred Hartley tied the game at 10 early in the fourth, picking up his own rebound twice to keep the play alive. But from there, the Timbermen lost some composure, allowing the Monarchs to score shorthanded, and then on an extended five-on-three power play.
Francis played well on defense, assisting on Kaleb Bingley’s first goal in the ALL on a delayed power play in the second. Hall assisted on Vradenburg’s goal, and also took a beating from the Monarch’s new tough guy Broedie Birkhof in the last minute of play. Birkhof, who led the Timbermen in penalty minutes last season, was ejected from the game.
“I didn’t really notice Birkhof back there until he grabbed Hall,” McWilliams said. “Our new guys were great though. Shane was playing hard. Joe was great for the offense. It was good to have those guys in the lineup. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t pull it out.”
With the loss, the Timbermen’s record falls to 3-4 as they reach the halfway point of their 14-game season. They are next in action on Saturday, February 10th at 8 p.m. for a rematch with the Monarchs at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre in Oakville.
