Mired in a two-game losing streak 鈥� they鈥檝e only lost three games all season 鈥� Tyson Johnson said his team knew the importance of the task ahead.
Johnson and his Shooting Eagles teammates were out on the floor early, determined to be in the proper mindset for the penultimate game of the Arena Lacrosse League (ALL) West regular season.
The Eagles were already assured of first place, but with just two games to go ahead of the playoffs on March 29, the team wanted to remedy what had ailed them in their two most recent games.
But the Sea Spray were looking to build off their most recent game, an overtime win as the team battles for second place. So they jumped out to a 4-1 lead early in the second quarter on Wednesday night at 91原创 Events Centre.
鈥淭he good thing about it is we are not easily shaken. We know we can get momentum; we know we can come back from a deficit,鈥� Johnson said.
鈥�(And) I always take that as in invitation to start winning faceoffs and give the boys opportunities.鈥�
Following the 4-1 goal, Aiden Hindson and Nick Musso scored seven seconds apart 鈥� both goals coming off faceoff wins from Johnson 鈥� triggering a seven-goal run as the Shooting Eagles went ahead 8-4.
The Sea Spray would rally in the second half, to even the game at 8-8 before the Eagles closed with four straight and a 12-8 victory.
With one regular season game remaining, the Eagles are firmly entrenched in top spot at 10-3, while the Sea Spray sit in third place at 5-8.
Mark Yingling (2-4), Dylan Lacroix (2-2), and Coady Adamson (2-2) paced the offence with a pair of goals apiece, while Jake Young, Patrick Corbett, Declan Fitzpatrick, and Hindson each had a goal and a helper.
Musso and Keegan Kozack also had a goal apiece, while Johnson chipped in a pair of helpers, but more importantly, gained his team extra possessions, winning 19 of 24 faceoffs.
This marked the fourth straight game Johnson has been dominant on draws as he has won 84 per cent (90-17) of his faceoffs in that span.
鈥淲hat is working well is a lot of communication,鈥� he said, adding that daily reps whenever he can 鈥� especially with the Black Fish鈥檚 Reese Barnes 鈥� have proved invaluable.
Brody Harris finished with 29 saves on 37 shots in the Shooting Eagles goal.
Lee Jackman was the busier of the two goalies, stopping 45 of 56 shots for the Sea Spray.
Offensively Tyler Kirkby paced the attack with a goal and four assists, while Adam Dickson scored twice with one helper and Nathan Ma also had a three-point effort on a goal and two assists.
Trevayne Hunter, Seamus Bankier, Thomas Jeck, and Austin Robinson rounded out the scoring.
Up next, the Grizzlies and Black Fish were set to play Thursday night, March 20. Stay tuned for results.
In the meantime, the regular season wraps up with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 22. The two weekend games will see the Black Fish take on the Sea Spray at 1 p.m., followed by the Grizzlies battling the Shooting Eagles at 4 p.m.
