On June 14, the Saskatoon Brewers of the Sr. B PGLL Canadian Lacrosse League, battled the Saskatoon Sr. SWAT in the last weekend of regular season play. A week prior, the Brewers downed the Saskatoon SWAT in a physical game that was explosive from start to finish.
This week the Brewers were without a few players on both sides of the ball which proved to make a difference throughout the game. The first four goals of the game went to the PGLL leading scorer Adam Saunders of the Brewers at 14:42, 7:12, 6:11 and 4:19. The Saskatoon SWAT would remain scoreless this period, unable to get any momentum going against assistant captain Chris Sokalofsky and Cody Corriveau on defense. Jack Okanee and Casey MacIntrye would finish off the period with scores at 4:19 and 34.4. Period 1 was hard fought and high strung as the Saskatoon SWAT found themselves frustrated on offense and defense going into the locker room for intermission. The period ended with the Brewers leading 6-0.
Period 2 started off quick with a goal from assistant captain Baeley Malkoske at 19:32. The SWAT would see a surge in offense as they scored three goals back to back at 17:39, 17:03 and 15:43. The period was rough physically as tensions rose. A. Saunders would score a solo goal at 10:40 and MacIntrye would score at 8:42. Some questionable no calls turned the period upside down after MacIntrye’s goal, tempers surged to the surface and the penalty minutes started to rack up. The Saskatoon Brewers would see a player in the box for most of the remaining play time this period, with the Saskatoon SWAT seeing six minutes. No goals were scored in the last eight minutes of play due to slight calls from the referees, which made it impossible to get any momentum going. Quickly the game was spiraling out of the referee’s control, no matter what penalties they decided to call as words were exchanged on both sides. Jordan Tornato continued to dominate face-offs and defense this game which helped the Brewers maintain possession of the ball after all scores this period. Period 2 would end with a score of 10-3 for the Brewers. Coach Marcus Fischer went into the dressing room looking to calm players down and move control of the game back into the Brewers sticks.
There is only one word to describe Period 3 of Game 9 in the Brewers regular season.
Ridiculous.
In the first six minutes would see four weak slashing calls as the referees seemed determined to call anything that resembled an infraction in an attempt to control the game. Stop time dragged out the period with questionable calls and no-calls leaving both benches equally frustrated and feeling like they were back in a PeeWee game. Twenty-two minutes of non-essential penalties were called for either team throughout the 20 minutes of play, with at least 12 minutes of more severe penalties not getting called. A. Saunders scored the first goal of the period at 15:37. Malkoske would score three back-to-back goals at 13:46, 13:04 and 9:18. The Saskatoon SWAT scored four goals this period to bring them up to seven for the game. The Brewers would score two more to finish the game by Brady Fetch and A. Saunders. Goalie Parker Nolan-Ens would earn Player of the Game honors for battling through lots of shots on net in the third period. Jason price stepped up on defense this game making some hard hits and scooping up loose balls. Price is getting back into the game after a year-long absence and the Brewers are happy to have him. The game ended with a score of 16-7.
Saskatoon Brewers v. Saskatoon Steelers: Game 10
On June 16, the Brewers took on the Saskatoon Steelers in the last regular season game. The Brewers came into the game undefeated and the Saskatoon Steelers had a 3-4-2 record as the Brewers previously beat them 18-2 in the first game of the season. The Steelers were the first team on the scoreboard at 16:01, but were quickly answered by Jack Okanee at 15:49 and Casey MacIntyre at 14:00. The Saskatoon Steelers would score four more goals this period, to the Brewers six. Levi Dziadyk would score two, Adam Saunders had one and MacIntyre contributed another to end the period. The Brewers brought in an AP goalie for the game, Kelly Sokalafsky, as their roster goalies were away for the game. K. Sokalafsky took some time to get settled into net, but with the help of his older brother and assistant captain, Chris Sokalafsky, on defense he was back in season form by the second period. The Brewers took their only game penalty minutes this period for a high sticking call, to the Steelers four minutes for a high stick and unsportsmanlike penalties.
Period 2 was quickly started by C. Sokalafsky who scored at 19:09, followed shortly by back-to-back goals by Brady Fetch at 18:14 and 17:21. Jordan Tornato was dominating face-offs this game with the help of his draw team. Brewers were able to maintain control of this period with the defense transition players making some great plays and pushing the ball up for some breakaway goals. Levi Dziadyk would score at 13:31 followed by Bryton Thorarinsson at 12:44. Steelers would see three goals this period while the Brewers defense kept the ball away. To finish the period A. Saunders and MacIntyre would score brining the tally to 13-8.
Period 3 saw the Brewers defense completely shut down the Saskatoon Steelers who would remain scoreless this period. The Steelers defense had their best period this season against the Brewers, keeping the only scores to Dziadyk and assistant captain Baeley Malkoske for one point each. Malkoske had 11 shots on net this period, but after breaking his main stick on a hard defensive play early in the game, he had a hard time adjusting to his backup stick. I can assure you the whole arena heard the pop.
Malkoske would earn player of the game for his efforts on both offense and defense, and for putting his body and equipment on the line for the win. The Brewers exited the game with a score of 15-8, leaving them undefeated for yet another season of PGLL Sr. B Canadian Lacrosse play.
The Brewers play the Moose Jaw Chiefs in the Provincial Semi Final game on June 21st in Saskatoon. The winner of the game will advance to the Provincial Final on June 23rd.
