The Peterborough Timbermen slid to fourth place in the Arena Lacrosse League standings after a second consecutive loss dipped their record to 5-4 this weekend. The Timbermen fell 16-8 to the Whitby Steelhawks on Saturday afternoon at Children’s Arena.
The Timbermen have not beaten the Steelhawks since March 2, 2019, an 18-6 win at Children’s Arena.
“This was a good way to measure our gaps to success,” said head coach and general manager Joe Sullivan. “We committed as a team to winning a championship in 2024 and tonight was not a step in that direction. Whitby is a very good team and well coached, so credit to them.”
Whitby led 9-2 at halftime after a six-goal run in the second quarter, and 12-3 after the third. Peterborough chipped away at the lead in the fourth, outscoring Whitby 6-4.
The Timbermen host the third-place Oshawa Outlaws at Millbrook Arena this Saturday, and Sullivan pointed to several areas in which the team needs to improve in order to get back on the winning track.
“Our defence needs to focus on playing solid positional defence and playing a system,” he said. “We gave the ball away an unforced 23 times against Whitby, denying our offensive players the flow they need to be a solid unit. Our transition is key, and a strength ,but forcing transition with two and three players running by our bench doesn’t allow our offensive players to get onto the floor and into a rhythm.”
Sullivan expects Vaughn Harris, Teio McComber, Skkylar Thomas and Thomas Kiazyk to be back in the lineup this weekend to add a boost.
Nikolai Farrus led Whitby with four goals and three assists, while Trent Boyd scored twice and added five assists. Lukas Coote got the win in goal.
Saturday’s game at Millbrook Arena begins at 2 p.m. Tickets will be sold at the door.
TIMBERMEN SCORING:
Austin Murphy (3-0)
Riley Curtis (1-5)
Nathan Schultzkie (1-2)
Dylan Goddard (1-1)
Jack MacAlpine (1-1)
Jake Gasperetti (1-1)
Cole Hanrahan (0-2)
Ty Armstrong (0-1)
Brine Rice (0-1)
