After splitting the first two games of the Ontario Junior B Lacrosse League’s Eastern Conference Championship against the Akwesasne Indians over the weekend by the closest of margins, the Green Gaels return home to the best fans in Junior Lacrosse for the culmination of the best 3 out of 5 series this weekend.

Due to construction at the Garnet B. Rickard Recreation Complex, the Green Gaels will be playing all remaining games at the Darlington Sports Centre in Hampton. With additional seating available at Darlington Sports Centre, it should make for an even greater fan experience and atmosphere as the Green Gaels look to move onto the OJBLL Finals.

Game 3 – Friday, July 27 – 8PM - Akwesasne Indians vs. Green Gaels – Darlington Sports Centre

Game 4 – Saturday, July 28 – 7PM – Akwesasne Indians vs. Green Gaels – Darlington Sports Centre

Game 5* - Sunday, July 29 – 2PM – Akwesasne Indians vs. Green Gaels – Darlington Sports Centre

*If Necessary

Game 1 of the series on Saturday night saw the Green Gaels fall behind the Indians early in the first period at the A`nowara`ko:wa Arena as the Gaels adjusted to the unfriendly atmosphere of the Indians home floor.

Trailing 5-2 after the first period, the Gaels picked up their play in the second period with goals from Jeremy McWatters, Brock Haley, and Trent Boyd to breath some life back into the boys in Green. However, keeping Akwesasne leading scorer Russ Oakes off the scoreboard was a difficult task, as he would keep his team ahead 8-5 after two periods.

The third period started with the Gaels in the penalty box early, making a come back difficult to envision, however, once the Gaels killed off a 5 on 3 situation, the offence started to click. The Gaels scored three straight goals to tie the game at 8-8. Kendrick Angus of the Indians answered back with two goals, one of which deflected off a Gaels defender, to pull Akwesasne ahead 10-8 with two minutes remaining.

The Gaels pushed hard at the end of the game, with Haley scoring his third goal of the game with just over a minute remaining, but the early first period deficit was too much for the Gaels to overcome as they dropped game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals 10-9 to the Akwesasne Indians.

With a quick turnaround for Game 2 of the series, the Gaels stepped back on the floor at the A`nowara`ko:wa Arena Sunday afternoon. Things got heated early as an altercation occurred during first warmup that brought the teams together at center floor and required the referees to calm matters and separate all players.

With the intensity level high, the Gaels started the game much stronger than the previous night, with Owen Boyle scoring just over a minute into the game. The Indians answered back right away with goals from Oakes, Angus, and Derek Lister to pull ahead 3-1 and quiet the Gaels down. The boys in Green continued to work throughout the period and answered the Derek Lister goal quickly to make it 3-2 heading into the intermission.

The second period was full of momentum swings, with the Gaels coming out strong scoring two goals in three minutes from the stick of Owen Boyle, his second and third of the game. 

Then the high powered Akwesasne offence went to work. Five straight goals by the Indians over five minutes slowed the Gaels right down, and the Akwesasne crowd was back into the game and the loudest they had been all series long. The Gaels offence came alive near the end of the second period though quieting the crowd with three goals in the last four minutes from Trent Boyd, Haley, and Adam Poitras to bring the Gaels back within one goal heading into the third.

The Gaels came out firing in the third period retaking the lead early on transition goals from Goodchild and Boyle. After a 10 minute misconduct was assessed to Poitras, confusion occurred on the Akwesasne bench, and they restarted play with the goaltender pulled. Bryce Tolmie coming out of the penalty box forced a turnover and Adam Turner would score a crucial insurance marker for the Gaels on an empty cage.

The Indians would pressure late and cut the lead to 10-9 on a late forced turnover scored by Kendrick Angus, but the Gaels would hold on through the final stages to win game 2 and head back to Clarington with a split on the road, and the OJBLL Eastern Conference Final tied 1-1.

With the expanded seating options at the Darlington Sports Centre, the atmosphere for the remainder of the playoffs should be electric. We are looking forward to hosting the best fans in Junior Lacrosse along with all of our future Green Gaels from across Durham Region to cheer in your boys in Green.

Tickets for Green Gaels Home Playoff Games are $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and students, while children 12 and under are admitted free under the supervision of an adult. Kids, don’t forget to bring your helmet and sticks to go on the floor during all intermissions!