OUTLAWS AND MINERS HIT FLOOR FOR REMATCH

On Wednesday night the Outlaws and the Miners met for the second time in less then a week. In the first game the Miners showed that they were a power to be reckoned with in a defense battle edging the Outlaws 5-3. On Wednesday night the Outlaws were determined to show that they continue to be the king of the mountain even with a the depleted line up as they have a number of key players out with injury, including Kevin Howard and Marwan Jomha. So it could be argued that the Miners would an easier game to get two points then the last meeting. That did not prove to be the case.

The game opened quickly as Remi Hebert quickly took possession and moved across the crease and beat Miners starter Jon Marrese to the top corner. Most people had not taken their seats yet as the goal came in the first 15 seconds. The teams then tighten up their defenses and it took another 6 minutes before anyone could get a goal and when it happened it was probably the prettiest goal of the night as Matt Weibe moved across the net faking John Jenkins before swooping down and firing a backhand underhand to Jenkins left to tie the game. The Outlaws responded with goals from Stu Sterparn and a howitzer from Chris Stashnick to take a 3-1 lead. The Miners scraped together one last effort in the period and Cole Howell made a nice move to the net and threw a couple of fakes before putting it in the top corner to get them back into the game. Score after one 3-2 Outlaws.

The second period turned out to be a tough defensive battle. Both teams cut down chances at then net which resulted in only one goal and that came from Howell who showed that he is a different player from last year with his strong play to the net. That goal came in the 16th minute of the period.

In the third the strong defense disappeared and the goals come fast furious. It started a minute and half into the period when Howell got the natural hat trick to tie the game. The Outlaws then took control of the game and put themselves into a commanding two goal lead with three straight goals from Sterparn, Kevin Gilpen and Hebert and it looked like the Outlaws would get their revenge. The goals all came before the first half of the period was over and it looked like the Outlaws were getting control of the game. The second half of the period proved to be different as the Miners regained their composure and fought back with a goal from Mark Malayko at the 8:09 mark. Shaun Wilhelm then got a quick stick goal before potting one on the power play to give the Miners a one goal lead. This would give the Miners a one goal lead and it seemed that momentum had shifted until Brad Alexander took a fast break pass from Ryan Davis and he beat Marrese to the top corner to tie the game. With time running out it seemed that this game would end up as a tie and with time running out on the shot clock it looked as if the Outlaws would have the last chance to win. Howell took a desperate shot at the net and just beat the buzzer beating Jenkins low. There is some dispute if the clock had run out but the referee called it a goal. That would be it for the game as the Outlaws got control of the face off but did not get a good chance.

This game was not as good as the first one but still exciting. Both teams did not execute very well but both goalies played very well. There were no fights as both teams kept it pretty clean. Chris Stashnick was dominate in the face off circle winning 15 of the 18 face offs.

This is the first time in Outlaw’s history that they have lost two games in a row in any RMLL action and it will not sit well with them. The Miners improved their record to 7-1 and have control of first place.

Face Offs
Miners: 2 0 1 = 3
Outlaws: 4 2 9 = 15

Loose Balls
Miners 16 16 14 = 46
Outlaws 16 25 23 = 64

Shots
Miners 16 20 9 = 45
Outlaws 15 17 16 = 48

Score
Miners 2 1 5 = 8
Outlaws 3 0 4 = 7

RAIDERS AND MINERS CONTINUE FIGHT FOR JUNIOR A SUPREMICY

The Calgary Raiders traveled north to take on the Edmonton Miners for the second time but this time both teams were blessed with fuller lineups as all of their players playing lacrosse in US schools had returned and the Raiders new goalie Angus Dineley arrived from Toronto Beaches anxious to show what he was made of after a couple of impressive performances against some of the senior teams.

Dineley got a rude welcome to Junior A lacrosse in Alberta when the Raiders took the first penalty of the game in the first 25 seconds and the Miners first power play only took one shot but that was all they needed as Cole Howell beat the Calgary goalie. Less then two minutes later Ryan Polny gave Dineley more to think about when he went in by himself and beat him to low left side. After that Dineley settled down as did the rest of the Raiders and the game evened out a bit. The Raiders got their first goal when Keegan Davidson fired a ball from a long way out to beat Miners goalie Jon Marrese who seemed surprised. After that neither team seemed to be able to get anything going and the goaltending began to resemble the kind that fans would expect at this level. No one could get goal until the last half minute when the Miner’s Shaun Wilhelm took a pass from Lucas Huyser-Wierenga and quickly fired it from the outside to make the score 3-1 going into the first intermission.

The second period was much more wide open with the Raiders getting a number of fast breaks and the Miners getting in the open on their 5 on 5 chances. The Raiders started it with Brett Christensen getting his first of two in the period. The Miners responded with 4 goals in a span of 2 ½ minutes. Mark Malayko broke in and took a pass from Alex Engle to make it 4-2. Wilhelm then worked in on a one on one and put it past Dineley and then Neil Tichkowsky did the same thing on the other side followed by Wilhelm who completed his hat trick. That gave the Miners a 6-2 lead and control of the game. The Raiders were finally able to respond with Christensen getting his second from the outside. The Miners replied to that one when Malayko broke in and again took a pass but this time from Dan Hartzell and fired a quick shot to make it 7-4. The Raiders did not give up and replied with a goal from Josh Russell. The period ended at 8-4 for the Miners.

The third period was pretty even as the Raiders tried to get back into the game and carried the play but each time they thought there might be some light the Miners took that away. The Miners started it with a fast break goal when Hartzell broke down taking a pass from Malayko and beat his man and the Raider goalie. The Raiders responded with one of their own when Davidson got another from the outside and then Christensen completed his hat trick to make it 9-6. But that would be a close as it would get as Kyle Weiher immediately broke in and beat his defender to give the Miners a four goal advantage. Tichkowsky then put it out of reach before the Raider got one to end the game 11-7.

The game was fast paced and both teams showed they have lots of talent and it will be interesting to see what happens in the next few weeks to see how they develop. The Miners power play was very effective as they scored on 5 of 12 chances and their man short was very good going 1-12.

Face Offs
Raiders 3 4 2 = 9
Miners 3 3 3 = 9

Loose Balls
Raiders: 8 8 9 = 25
Miners: 14 9 9 =32

Shots
Raiders: 17 12 19 = 48
Miners 20 18 13 = 51

EDMONTON MINERS AND RED DEER RAGE MEET FOR SECOND TIME

The Edmonton Miners traveled to Red Deer mid week to face the Rage for the second time this year. In the first game it was a close game with Red Deer working hard but the Miners prevailed. The Rage have been playing better as of late and were looking forward to seeing if they could close the gap on the Miners.

The game started out with the Miners quickly grabbing a 1-0 lead when Dalen Crouse fired to the short side, but then the Rage toughened up and starting goalie Darren Steinke stood on his head for the rest of the game. The Rage rewarded his efforts with two goals in the period including one by Owen Williams who just joined the team from the Calgary Raiders. The Miners controlled the play and out shot the Rage 20-13. Score after one, 2-1 Rage.

The second period was a close affair mostly because of Steinke’s play. The Miners were held off the scoreboard for 9 minutes but then Kyle Weiher forced a turnover and went in one on one and beat the defender and the goalie to tie the game. 13 seconds later Neil Tichkowsky took the ball in and beat Steinke with a blast. The Rage immediately responded when Jamie Achtemichuck faked out Miners tender, Dave Marrese and the Miners defense with a wild fake and then deposited the ball into the open net. Then Weiher came back with one more to give the Miners a 4-3 lead before the Rage tied the game going into the second intermission.

In the third period it was all Miners and it started immediately with Ryan Polny firing one from the outside and then Crouse got his second one of the night. Geo Flett gave the Rage a bit of hope before Andy Kent put it out of reach for the Miners. Each team got one more and then the Miners took over complete control. The Rage lost their discipline and after each goal took another penalty giving the Miners an opportunity to go on the power play. In the end the Miners scored 7 goals in the period and dominated play.

The shots on goal do not always tell story of the game but in this case it was a good measure. The Miners out shot the Rage 72 to 39 and dominated both on loose balls and the face off circle. The Miners did not play well until the 3rd period but then in the final frame they came together and took complete control. The score could have been much worse if not for the heroics of Steinke.

Miners were lead by Dalen Crouse (3,1) and Neil Tichkowsky (3,1) with 3 goals each and Kyle Weiher (2,2) two goals. Achtemichuk had two goals for the Rage.

The Miners next game is today in St. Albert at 9:00 pm.

SR. RAIDERS AND MINERS MEET FOR SECOND TIME WITH MINERS THINKING REVENGE FOR ONLY LOSS

The Calgary Raiders came to town with the Edmonton Miners on the schedule for their first game of three in three days, having the knowledge that they are the only team that has been able to solve the Miners this year with an 8-7 victory a month ago. The Miners were set to make the point that the first game was an aberration. Both teams needed the points. The game was well attended with 275 fans showing up for the game.

In the first period the Miners dominated notwithstanding a number of mistakes. There was only one goal in the first ten minutes by the Miners but then the flood gates opened in the last ten. The Raiders tied it up before the Miners scored three goals to make the score 4-1. The Raiders then got one before the Miners finished with two more to take a 6-2 lead into the intermission. The Miners scored a number of fast break goals and beat Raider’s goalie Angus Jenkins a number of times low. Both teams made numerous mistakes and gave up the ball with unforced turnovers.

The second period was a reverse of the period with the exception that the Raiders would only get 5 goals in the period. The Raiders opened the period with a goal by Justin Mascey before the Miners responded with two of their own. This would prove to be the Miners last two goals of the game so the question was would that be enough. The score half way through the game was 8-3. That was when the Raiders mounted their comeback scoring four more goals before the end of the period. The story of this period was the goaltending heroics of Jenkins. He was a much different goalie then in the first.

In the third the game was played almost exclusively in the Raiders end but no one could beat Jenkins who made an incredible save to keep the Raiders in it but the Raiders were unable to get many chances on the Miners goal tender, Dave Marrese but when they did Marrese stood up to the challenge including a couple of breakaway saves. In the end neither team registered a goal allowing the Miners to hold onto an 8-7 win and to split the series.

The game was fairly rough but referees Todd Lorenz and Brent Rainer did a good job. Clearly the Raiders were frustrated at the end of the game and tried to start up an altercation but the Miners did not take the bait. In the end the Miners had 13 minutes in penalties to the Raiders 23.

Dalen Crouse led the way for the Miners with 3 points (2,1), with Neil Tichkowsky chipping in with a pair. For the Raiders, Scott Cable was clearly the star of the game with 4 goals. All season long the Miners have relied on a number of players to contribute to the scoreboard and tonight was no exception with 6 different scorers and 9 different players getting assists.

In the end the Miners will be happy to take the two points but not with their performance. The sloppy play and numerous mental mistakes will cost them when it comes to playoffs. Fortunately they will not have to wait long to try and forget this one as they go against the Airdrie Knights tomorrow at 4 pm.

KNIGHTS AND MINERS MEET FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 2005 SEASON.

The new and improved Airdrie Knights showed up at Bill Hunter in third place to take on the first place Edmonton Miners and many fans were expecting an exciting clash but were disappointed with a game which can only be described as uninspired. The Knights showed up with only 10 runners including their backup goalie, Christon Roth and coach, Jared McNichol putting on the pads and the Miners responding with a very lack luster effort.

The Knights opened the scoring in the first period with an outside shot by Ryan Snell. For the next 8 minutes not much happened before the Miners scored a couple of goals to take a 2-1 lead. The Knights tied it up and then each team scored and the period ended 3-3.

In the second the Miners took an early lead when Greg Whitenect scored a fast break goal. The Knights then fired two to take their only lead of the night, 5-4. That would also be their last goals and for the second half of the game it was all Miners as the Knights ran out of gas. The Miners took over and scored 4 goals in the rest of the period to take an 8-5 lead into the third.

In the third the leg weary Knights could not keep up to the Miners and clearly they were just waiting to end the game. The Miners fired 4 more goals to win the game 13-5. There was little good to say about either team’s performances. The Miners again made a number of mental mistakes but won the game with some good athletic goals.

Whitenect had a very strong game with 4 goals which is very impressive as a transition player. Neil Tichkowsky was the only other multi goal scorer in the game with two.

Leading point getters tonight were Whitenect (4,0), Dalen Crouse (0,4) and Kyle Weiher (1,3). For the Knights Peter Roth had a strong game with 4 points (1,3).

Next game for the Miners is Wednesday night in Red Deer against the Rage.

OUTLAWS AND MINERS HIT FLOOR FOR REMATCH

On Wednesday night the Outlaws and the Miners met for the second time in less then a week. In the first game the Miners showed that they were a power to be reckoned with in a defense battle edging the Outlaws 5-3. On Wednesday night the Outlaws were determined to show that they continue to be the king of the mountain even with a the depleted line up as they have a number of key players out with injury, including Kevin Howard and Marwan Jomha. So it could be argued that the Miners would an easier game to get two points then the last meeting. That did not prove to be the case.

The game opened quickly as Remi Hebert quickly took possession and moved across the crease and beat Miners starter Jon Marrese to the top corner. Most people had not taken their seats yet as the goal came in the first 15 seconds. The teams then tighten up their defenses and it took another 6 minutes before anyone could get a goal and when it happened it was probably the prettiest goal of the night as Matt Weibe moved across the net faking John Jenkins before swooping down and firing a backhand underhand to Jenkins left to tie the game. The Outlaws responded with goals from Stu Sterparn and a howitzer from Chris Stashnick to take a 3-1 lead. The Miners scraped together one last effort in the period and Cole Howell made a nice move to the net and threw a couple of fakes before putting it in the top corner to get them back into the game. Score after one 3-2 Outlaws.

The second period turned out to be a tough defensive battle. Both teams cut down chances at then net which resulted in only one goal and that came from Howell who showed that he is a different player from last year with his strong play to the net. That goal came in the 16th minute of the period.

In the third the strong defense disappeared and the goals come fast furious. It started a minute and half into the period when Howell got the natural hat trick to tie the game. The Outlaws then took control of the game and put themselves into a commanding two goal lead with three straight goals from Sterparn, Kevin Gilpen and Hebert and it looked like the Outlaws would get their revenge. The goals all came before the first half of the period was over and it looked like the Outlaws were getting control of the game. The second half of the period proved to be different as the Miners regained their composure and fought back with a goal from Mark Malayko at the 8:09 mark. Shaun Wilhelm then got a quick stick goal before potting one on the power play to give the Miners a one goal lead. This would give the Miners a one goal lead and it seemed that momentum had shifted until Brad Alexander took a fast break pass from Ryan Davis and he beat Marrese to the top corner to tie the game. With time running out it seemed that this game would end up as a tie and with time running out on the shot clock it looked as if the Outlaws would have the last chance to win. Howell took a desperate shot at the net and just beat the buzzer beating Jenkins low. There is some dispute if the clock had run out but the referee called it a goal. That would be it for the game as the Outlaws got control of the face off but did not get a good chance.

This game was not as good as the first one but still exciting. Both teams did not execute very well but both goalies played very well. There were no fights as both teams kept it pretty clean. Chris Stashnick was dominate in the face off circle winning 15 of the 18 face offs.

This is the first time in Outlaw’s history that they have lost two games in a row in any RMLL action and it will not sit well with them. The Miners improved their record to 7-1 and have control of first place.

Face Offs
Miners: 2 0 1 = 3
Outlaws: 4 2 9 = 15

Loose Balls
Miners 16 16 14 = 46
Outlaws 16 25 23 = 64

Shots
Miners 16 20 9 = 45
Outlaws 15 17 16 = 48

Score
Miners 2 1 5 = 8
Outlaws 3 0 4 = 7

RAIDERS AND MINERS CONTINUE FIGHT FOR JUNIOR A SUPREMICY

The Calgary Raiders traveled north to take on the Edmonton Miners for the second time but this time both teams were blessed with fuller lineups as all of their players playing lacrosse in US schools had returned and the Raiders new goalie Angus Dineley arrived from Toronto Beaches anxious to show what he was made of after a couple of impressive performances against some of the senior teams.

Dineley got a rude welcome to Junior A lacrosse in Alberta when the Raiders took the first penalty of the game in the first 25 seconds and the Miners first power play only took one shot but that was all they needed as Cole Howell beat the Calgary goalie. Less then two minutes later Ryan Polny gave Dineley more to think about when he went in by himself and beat him to low left side. After that Dineley settled down as did the rest of the Raiders and the game evened out a bit. The Raiders got their first goal when Keegan Davidson fired a ball from a long way out to beat Miners goalie Jon Marrese who seemed surprised. After that neither team seemed to be able to get anything going and the goaltending began to resemble the kind that fans would expect at this level. No one could get goal until the last half minute when the Miner’s Shaun Wilhelm took a pass from Lucas Huyser-Wierenga and quickly fired it from the outside to make the score 3-1 going into the first intermission.

The second period was much more wide open with the Raiders getting a number of fast breaks and the Miners getting in the open on their 5 on 5 chances. The Raiders started it with Brett Christensen getting his first of two in the period. The Miners responded with 4 goals in a span of 2 ½ minutes. Mark Malayko broke in and took a pass from Alex Engle to make it 4-2. Wilhelm then worked in on a one on one and put it past Dineley and then Neil Tichkowsky did the same thing on the other side followed by Wilhelm who completed his hat trick. That gave the Miners a 6-2 lead and control of the game. The Raiders were finally able to respond with Christensen getting his second from the outside. The Miners replied to that one when Malayko broke in and again took a pass but this time from Dan Hartzell and fired a quick shot to make it 7-4. The Raiders did not give up and replied with a goal from Josh Russell. The period ended at 8-4 for the Miners.

The third period was pretty even as the Raiders tried to get back into the game and carried the play but each time they thought there might be some light the Miners took that away. The Miners started it with a fast break goal when Hartzell broke down taking a pass from Malayko and beat his man and the Raider goalie. The Raiders responded with one of their own when Davidson got another from the outside and then Christensen completed his hat trick to make it 9-6. But that would be a close as it would get as Kyle Weiher immediately broke in and beat his defender to give the Miners a four goal advantage. Tichkowsky then put it out of reach before the Raider got one to end the game 11-7.

The game was fast paced and both teams showed they have lots of talent and it will be interesting to see what happens in the next few weeks to see how they develop. The Miners power play was very effective as they scored on 5 of 12 chances and their man short was very good going 1-12.

Face Offs
Raiders 3 4 2 = 9
Miners 3 3 3 = 9

Loose Balls
Raiders: 8 8 9 = 25
Miners: 14 9 9 =32

Shots
Raiders: 17 12 19 = 48
Miners 20 18 13 = 51