Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Chiefs trounce Excelsiors 14-3 to take 3-1 lead in semifinals

Defender Billy Dee Smith turned scorer to help the Chiefs run away with Game 4. (Photo: Dave Fryer)
On a night when three Brampton Excelsiors players were recognized for excellence in the regular season, it was the Six Nations Chiefs who showed how excellent of a team they can be.

Major Series Lacrosse Commissioner Jim Brady presented 2015 season awards to a trio of Excelsior players before the game Tuesday night in Brampton's Memorial Arena: Joe Resetarits as MVP, Chris Corbeil as top defender and Tyler Ferreira as rookie of the year.

Then Six Nations went out and dominated Brampton from start to finish, outscoring them handily in each period en route to a 14-3 win that gives them a commanding 3-1 lead in the best of seven MSL semifinal.

Ryan Benesch, Billy Dee Smith and Dhane Smith scored in the first 7:26 of the game as many goals as Brampton would manage all game. Corbeil got one back shorthanded but the Chiefs added another pair before the first period buzzer.


In the second period, Brampton got on the board twice but fell further behind as Six Nations connected five times. Then the Chiefs blanked the Excelsiors 4-0 in the final frame.

Benesch wound up with a goal and 6 assists to lead all scorers. Dhane Smith had 3 goals and 2 assists, Kasey Beirnes 3 goals and 1 assist, and Randy Staats 2 goals and 3 assists for Six Nations. Resetarits and Connor Daly had Brampton's other goals. The box score shows Brampton outshooting Six Nations 49-38, with Dillon Ward making 46 saves to earn the win.


Game 5 goes Thursday night in Six Nations. Game 6, if necessary, would be back in Brampton Friday night.