The West Durham Ironheads improve to 8-3 on the season after knocking off their divisional rival Newmarket Saints 8-6 on the road. Wes Carew earned his fourth Junior B lacrosse victory of his young career, making 23 saves on 23 shots during relief duty of Tyler Newman, who suffered a lower body injury in the early stages of the second period. Newman made 22 saves on 31 shots on net before leaving the game. 

"Both of our goalies battled hard," said coach Pat Gregoire. "Newman probably could have came out after the first period but he wanted to fight through and finish the game but he was just too banged up. Wes came into the game cold and did a tremendous job, just letting Newmarket score one goal. I thought once our defence saw Newman go down again, they really used that as a rallying point and wanted to win one for Newy. They started to play much better, which helped out Wes." 

Newman battling injuries was not the only scare the Ironheads faced early on. The Saints controlled the majority of the play in the first period and held a 4-2 lead heading into the locker rooms after 20 minutes. But the offence came to life in the second period as they outscored the Saints 6-2 in the final two periods to secure the crucial divisional victory. 

"That's an ugly win but a key win," said Gregoire. "That Saints team came out hungry and played like a team fighting for their playoff lives. We didn't start on time and it showed. But the guys dug deep and figured out a way to score some big goals and shut things down on the back end."

The Ironheads are back in action next Wednesday when they faceoff against the Mountaineers at Ted Reeve Arena in the Bash at the Beach, a special game hosted by the Toronto Beaches Jr A Lacrosse club. Opening faceoff is set for 8 PM.