Justin Ivey, Beat Writer New England Black Wolves
Lacrosse is Awesome
The Friday night game between the visiting New England Black Wolves (4-6) and host Toronto Rock (5-4) was a goalie clinic. That doesn’t always translate to the most exciting game, but fans were treated to fast pace play and big hits as well. Both teams were coming off losses and looking to get back to the win column. New England would play without team captain and leading point man Shawn Evans who was just placed on Injured Reserve – Second Level, and fan favorite enforcer Bill O’Brien who was serving the first game of a two-game suspension. Turner Evans for Toronto, Shawn’s cousin, was out for the home team. The game would be tight all the way, and needed extra time to declare a winner. Final Score: New England 10—Toronto 9.
The first quarter of action in Toronto would get off to a quick start. The first goal of the night would come on the Toronto power play, as Brett Hickey (2G, 2A) capitalized on quick ball movement just 13 seconds into the man advantage. Kevin Crowley (2G, 4A) would even the score under a minute later. He used the truck stick to get through NLL veteran Brodie Merrill (1G, 1A) and seemed ready to put the team on his back with Shawn Evans sidelined. Second year player Reilly O’Connor (1G), who has been a stud for New England of late, would score next to give the Black Wolves their first lead 3:31 into the game. The next six minutes would have plenty of shots, but both Nick Rose for Toronto and Evan Kirk for New England would make difficult saves look routine. It was easy to tell at this juncture both goalies were in the zone, and to not expect many goals from either side. Tom Schreiber (1G, 3A) would break the drought 9:51 into the first after New England could not capitalize on their first power play opportunity of the night. Joel Coyle (1A) would get called for his second penalty of the quarter with 2:57 left to play, and again Toronto would score quickly into the man advantage. The play was a mirror image of their first power play goal and this time Stephan Leblanc (1G, 4A) would get the net. Toronto could not hold the lead as a streaking Seth Oakes (1G) would fly past two defenders, fall forward into the crease and score past Nick Rose. At the end of the first quarter, the game would be tied. New England 3—Toronto 3.
Reid Reinholdt (2G, 1A) would break the tie 2:10 into the second quarter with an upright jump across the crease shooting over the top of Kirk to put Toronto back in front. New England was still showing heart. Crowley had an excellent defensive play and took the ball coast to coast, but was turned away by Rose. Reinholdt would score again to put Toronto up 5-3. The home team looked like they had found a bit of swagger and would be rewarded with another power play opportunity as Brett Bucktooth would be called for an illegal cross check. Kevin Buchanan (4G, 3A) had other ideas. With excellent footwork and a shot of lightning, Buchanan would score a shorthanded goal to bring the Black Wolves back within one halfway through the second quarter. Feeling hot, he would score again to tie up the game less than two minutes later. The rest of the quarter would belong to the goalies. Good opportunities and long possessions would be fruitless. The score at halftime would be knotted up at five a piece. New England 5—Toronto 5.
New England would extend their goal streak to start the third quarter. Daryl Veltman (1G, 1A), playing his second game with the Black Wolves would score 59 seconds into the third. Under a minute later fans would be treated to a fight. Sheldon Burns (1G, 2A) and Phil Caputo would square off to the chants of the crowd. Kevin Buchanan would score next, getting his hat trick, to give the Black Wolves a two-goal lead. And then the demeanor of the game changed. Seth Oakes would let a shot go a fraction past the shot clock expiration and would get clocked by Billy Hostrawser. As the dust settled and the game returned from the TV timeout, the penalties were revealed. Oakes was handed a gross game misconduct, unsportsmanlike and roughing for a total of 14 minutes. Hostrawser and Merrill were both handed minors. The field would remain at even strength. The only other goal of the quarter came from Latrell Harris (1G, 1A), the speedy quick 18 year old from Ontario. The third quarter would end with New England on top. New England 7—Toronto 6.
The Toronto deficit would not last long in the fourth quarter. Dan Lintner (1G) would score just over a minute in, and Brett Hickey would score just over a minute after that to give Toronto the lead. This is usually the time where Shawn Evans is doing much of the ball handling, and without him, the other players would have to step up. Kevin Crowley did. He tied the game with the extra attacker just over 30 seconds after Toronto took the lead. Tied at eight, the goalies again would be responsible for a long scoring drought. For over seven minutes, neither team could break the tie. Toronto’s Captain Brodie Merrill finally did with 4:42 remaining in the game. His savvy play led to a transition opportunity that he took himself. Kevin Buchanan would come through for the Black Wolves again, scoring just over two minutes later to tie the game back at nine. Neither goalie would break the rest of the fourth, setting us up for sudden death extra time. At the end of regulation the score was: New England 9—Toronto 9.
New England would win the opening faceoff of the extra period, and would get the offense moving. Rose was not going to let this game end that easy though and stood tall. Toronto would get their chance, but Kirk 
was living up to his reigning Goaltender of the Year award. Toronto would appear to win the game as the buzzer lit with the ball in the net, but the officials immediately, and correctly, waved it off as a crease violation. A crazy series of events would lead to the game winner. Toronto, bringing the ball to the offensive side, tried to pass the ball to the middle of the field. Kyle Buchanan disrupted the pass and went for the groundball. If he had picked it up, there was a good chance of a one on one with Rose, but he couldn’t handle the ground ball. Circling back around, he tripped a bit, scooped the ball and flicked it back hand to an unassuming, but ready Sheldon Burns. Bringing his stick low, he fired a worm burner past Rose to win the game. Final Score in OT: New England 10—Toronto 9
UP NEXT
New England Black Wolves host the Georgia Swarm (7-1) on Sunday, March 12 at 1:00 PM. The Toronto Rock hosts the Calgary Roughnecks (3-6) on Saturday, March 11 at 7:00 PM.
Justin Ivey, Beat Writer New England Black Wolves
Lacrosse is Awesome