PETERBOROUGH – It was exactly the kind of game everyone expected between the Six Nations Chiefs and the Peterborough Lakers when the Major Series Lacrosse league championships started with Game 1, Sunday night in Peterborough.
The Lakers took a 1-0 best-of-seven lead with an 12-11 come-from-behind overtime win.
After Lakers’ Shawn Evans scored the opening goal of the series, Ryan Benesch, Austin Staats and Dan Dawson closed the first 20 minutes of play ahead 3-1. They went goal for goal in the second period with Six Nations coming up with the extra goal to take an 8-5 lead with Chiefs goals coming from Dave Brock, Craig Point, Austin Staats and two by Dhane Smith. Chad Culp, Mark Steenhuis, and two goals by Chad Culp kept the Lakers close.
Staats scored two more in the early going of the third period for a four goal night before Peterborough pulled out all the stops in the second half of the period, trailing 10-6.
The wheels fell off the Chiefs wagon completely at that point. Lakers’ John Grant Jr., scored at 11:25 and Adam Jones netted two more in a span of three minutes to pull to within one goal of Six Nations with around five minutes to go.
Evans sent the game into overtime at 17:14 where Jones scored his fifth and sixth goals of the game. Point answered one of them but the Chiefs could not beat Evan Kirk in the Peterborough net as the Lakers held on for the OT win.
Game 2 went back to the ILA at Six Nations Tuesday night in a game that missed our deadline. The remaining games of the series are set for Thursday, August 25, in Peterborough, Game 4 is back at the ILA, Sunday, Aug. 28, at 8 p.m.. Game 5 is in Peterborough Tuesday, Aug. 30 with Game 6, if necessary, at the ILA Sept. 1. If a Game 7 is necessary, it will be played Saturday, Sept. 3 in Peterborough at 7 p.m..
After two consecutive Mann Cups in 2013-14, the Lakers spoiled the Chiefs three-peat attempt last year before falling to the Victoria Shamrocks for 2015. The Chiefs are on a mission to return the Cup to Six Nations.
