OHSWEKEN – The Six Nations Rivermen dropped back-to-back games against the St. Catharines Saints this week in OLA Sr. B lacrosse action. Thursday night in St. Kitts, they lost 9-7 and on Sunday afternoon, they lost 7-5 at home.
It’s hard to tell if the visiting St. Catharines Saints won Sunday at the Gaylord Powless Arena or if the Six Nations beat themselves with untimely and unnecessary penalties and a general lackluster performance. Either way, the Rivermen lost both legs of the home-and-home series against the St. Catharines Saints this week.
They are still in first place with a 3-2 record, but have played three more games than second place Brooklin and two more games than third place Ennismore.
Six straight penalties assessed to the Rivermen in the first period Sunday made it very hard to mount any kind of offense. Although the Saints could not cash in on any of the penalties, they did manage four even strength goals after Wayne VanEvery got things going at 1:55 from Roger Vyse and Rodd Squire.
The Rivermen looked slow and disinterested throughout the game while taking lazy and unnecessary penalties whenever they seemed to be gaining some momentum.
If not for some fine goaltending by Chase Martin in the Six Nations goal, the score would have been much worse for the Rivermen.
Roger Vyse led the Rivermen with a pair of goals and three assists for a five pointer.
Chris Attwood, this year playing for the Saints, scored the last goal of the first period and the first goal of the second, adding three assists to lead the Saints’ offense.
The Rivermen looked a little livelier in the middle frame with Stu Hill scoring twice and Roger Vyse closing the period with the Saints leading 6-4.
Each team added one goal each in the third: Jordan Critch for the Saints and Wayne VanEvery for the Rivermen.
In the first leg of the home and home series Thursday night in St. Kitts, the Saints came back from a 6-3 second period deficit to tie the game and send it into an extra ten minute OT period. The Saints scored twice to earn the 9-7 win and hand the Rivermen their first loss of the early season.
This coming week, the Rivermen will try to right the canoe when they take on the James Gang in Ennismore on Friday night in their only game of the week.
