The Peterborough Timbermen say they used their unexpected week off to their advantage.
The Arena Lacrosse League’s sixth-place team will see action twice this weekend as they look to move up the standings.
Last weekend the Timbermen were scheduled for a rematch with the Toronto Monarchs but a swath of bad winter weather took over southern Ontario and all four ALL games were postponed. A makeup date has not yet been announced.
Timbermen captain Riley Campbell said the team took the extra week to better prepare themselves for the test ahead.
“It gave us a little break and gave the guys that were hurting a little bit of time to rest up and help with any injuries they have. I don’t think the surprise week off will affect us negatively at all,” Campbell said.
Friday at 8 p.m. the Timbermen visit the Oshawa Outlaws, who sit a surprising fifth after starting the season 3-0. In two prior meetings they defeated Peterborough 12-9 and 15-9, but after losing starting goaltender Scotty Komer to an ACL injury, the Outlaws have struggled to find their killer instinct, and recently lost to both Paris and St. Catharines, teams that were previously below them in the standings. A win over the Outlaws would potentially leapfrog the Timbermen into third place over the idle Shock Wave.
Saturday at 7 p.m. the Timbermen host the Six Nations Snipers, a team that has struggled to find an identity this season after rumours swirled that the team might not even play. The Snipers boast a lot of familiar Six Nations’ names like Wayne Van Every and Quinn Powless but have only won once, a 17-16 OT win over Peterborough on January 20th. Powless was placed on the Rochester Knighthawks’ active roster last weekend so if he can remain there for another weekend, the Snipers will be without their second-leading scorer versus the Timbermen.
“I think we are ready for the big back-to-back weekend. We know what we need to do and that’s come out of this weekend 2-0,” Campbell said. “If we can do that it puts us in a good spot in the standings. We need everyone to show up on time and come ready to play and compete. Everyone will be well-rested and should be ready to play hard.”
The Timbermen’s record is 3-4. The season is officially half over for them, and their three wins have already matched what they achieved in 2017, but the goal is now to take what they’ve learned in the first half and improve on it as they prepare for a playoff run.
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