The Peterborough Timbermen weren’t able to get a win for their fans in their home opener at Millbrook Arena on Saturday, and it stung.
The 8-7 loss to the Paris RiverWolves hurt in more ways than one. They saw a 7-3 lead evaporate in the last 20 minutes of play. Compounding that was the loss of captain Mark Vradenburg to an apparent knee injury.
The Timbermen came out strong in the first quarter, building a 4-2 lead. Paris closed the gap to 4-3 in the second but that sparked a three-goal run from the Timbermen. Joe Hall streaked in shorthanded. Aaron Woods doubled the score at 6-3. Vradenburg capped the run in the third with the most fun goal of the day – Paris gave up on a possession at their line and Vradenburg scooped up the ball and beat Nolan Clayton uncontested. It happened so fast it left the Peterborough bench laughing and asking what had just happened.
But from there, things went south. Paris scored back-to-back power play goals to cut the lead to 7-5. Brett Kloepfer got the RiverWolves within a goal about 30 seconds after Vradenburg left the game. Drake Smith tied it. And a late power play for Paris put them up 8-7 with 1:01 left in the game.
“We made some importune shots that gave them the ball back,” said head coach and general manager Joe Sullivan. “Their power play was dynamite and our short man wasn’t. Landon (Kells) played fantastic, he only let in eight goals and five of them were on the power play. We have to stay out of the box and let our goalie play.”
Despite the loss, the Timbermen were happy with the day overall – it was great to finally be able to play in their own barn.
“To have somewhere that we can actually call home is a great feeling,” said assistant captain Brett Coons. “We can get here early. We know what’s going on. We know what our situation’s like in the rooms. We can get comfortable. It’s much nicer than having to go to someone else’s barn to have a home game. The crowd was awesome. I think that was the most people we’ve had out in our four years.”
An estimated 150 people attended the game including parents, friends, community members and members of the local lacrosse community.
The Timbermen are back at Millbrook Arena on Saturday, January 25th to host the Six Nations Snipers. Next Sunday they visit the defending champion St. Catharines ShockWave at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena and then return to Children’s Arena on January 18 to face the Whitby Steelhawks.
Scoring for the Timbermen:
Aaron Woods (2-2)
Mark Vradenburg (2-2)
Zack Thompson (1-1)
Mitchell Geoffroy (1-1)
Joe Hall (1-0)
Justin Bragg (0-1)
Davis Prince (0-1)
Lyman Beatty (0-1)
Shane Francis (0-1)
