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| Evan Kirk and the Six Nations Chiefs turned aside the Peterborough Lakers in Game 4 of the MSL finals to put themselves on the verge of returning to defend their Mann Cup title. (Photo: Tim Prothero) |
The Six Nations Chiefs have put
themselves on the verge of heading back to the Mann Cup to defend
their title, downing the Peterborough Lakers 9-7 in Game 4 of the MSL
finals to take a 3-1 series lead Monday night. Six Nations started
strong, taking a 5-1 lead after the first period and extending that
to 6-1 when Roger Vyse scored 7:25 into the second. The Lakers
fought back to make it a close game thanks largely to the
sharpshooting of John Grant Jr., who had 4 goals and added an
assist.
The Lakers were denied a potential
momentum-shifter at the end of the second period. Six Nations pulled
goalie Evan Kirk for an extra attacker with over 30 seconds to
play. When a rebound ricocheted up the floor, Brad Self ran it
down and fired the ball into the empty net what looked and sounded
like just before the final buzzer. The goal was waived off and rather
than going into the locker room on a high, the Lakers trailed 7-3.
They still came out with a flurry in
the third, though. They scored three times in the first three minutes
to pull within a single goal. Despite plenty of pressure, though,
they couldn't get the tying marker. Eventually the Chiefs responded,
with Craig Point and Kasey Beirnes firing home goals
that put the game away for Six Nations.
Cody Jamieson led the way for
Six Nations with 2 goals and 3 assists, Colin Doyle had 4
helpers and Jeff Shattler had a goal and 3 assists. Shawn
Evans added 4 assists for the Lakers.
“The boys on the bench just said
let's take a deep breath, get back to what we were doing, get back to
packing it in and they're going to work for anything they get,”
Chiefs coach Rich Kilgour said of his team's response to the
Lakers run in the third period. “That's what our defence has done
all year and that's what they did tonight.”
The one thing he'd like to change for
Game 5, tonight at Peterborough's Memorial Centre, is better
discipline. “We had them 6-1 and had an undisciplined four-minute
penalty. We had them 7-3 to start the third and we took a penalty
there,” Kilgour said. “We talked about, why give them a chance.
We gave them a chance, the refs called it and we let them right back
in it, they got rolling a bit. If we get them down a bit we have to
be more disciplined and then keep the run going. That's the only
thing I want to work on.”
Lakers coach Joe Sullivan also
stressed discipline as a key factor in his team's chances for success
as the series continues. “Early in the game we fell into discipline
problems again, something that's really bitten us hard in the last
two and a half games,” Sullivan said. “The sense of urgency now
has got to be that we're going to have to take whatever they throw at
us and turn the other cheek. That's exactly what they're doing.
They've got a big, tough, smash-mouth type defence that aren't going
to the penalty box a whole lot. They're playing within the rules and
we're not. Our offensive guys are getting frustrated and taking
behind the play penalties and our defensive guys are extending
themselves out so much that they have to hook and do the wrong things
to keep their man in check.”
The Chiefs have their chance to advance
to their second straight Mann Cup when the teams reconvene in
Peterborough tonight. The Lakers will look to hold them off and force
a sixth game back in Six Nations on Friday.
