Devils advance

By Mo Cranker on July 9, 2018.

mcranker@medicinehatnews.com @MHNmocranker

While the weekend may not have gone exactly as planned, the Medicine Hat Sun Devils advanced to the next round of the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League junior Tier 2 playoffs.

The Sun Devils dropped the first game of the best-of-three series with the Calgary Axemen Saturday evening by a score of 16-14, before taking both games Sunday at the Kinplex to keep their season alive.

“Coming into today we knew we just needed to continue,” said head coach Chris Loran. “We knew we needed to keep our heads held high, and we knew that we did a good job outshooting them (Saturday).

“Their goalie was great and we just didn’t get that extra bounce or two, but we knew we were right in that game.”

The Sun Devils took Game 2 with a 19-10 win, scoring at key times and killing off a five-minute major late in the game to ensure victory.

Zack WIlson led the Medicine Hat in the victory with seven goals and two assists, while Daniel Drefs added two goals and two assists of his own. The team as a whole sent more than 70 shots towards the Calgary net. Taryn Smith led the Axemen with three goals and two assists.

“We’ve been a high-offensive team all year.” said Loran. “We want to make sure that we keep the gas on the whole time, and we did that in the second game — we didn’t let up for the full 60.”

The team had little time to reflect on its victory Sunday, with both teams given a 10-minute rest before they were thrown into a 10-minute, winner-takes-all mini game. Medicine Hat won it 6-4, scoring three times in a 19-second span to open up a 5-1 lead.

“There’s really no prep going into that,” said Loran. “We just had to be sure to maintain momentum, and to make sure that you’re pressuring them right away.

“While we obviously try to get ahead, you have to play defensively strong — you can’t give the other team any momentum in a situation like that.”

Tanner Simpson scored the first and last goals of the min-game, with Wilson adding a goal and an assist. Drefs scored the game winner and added a helper.

Calgary’s Justin McAdam had five goals and three assists Saturday, while Izaak Loran had six goals and two assists for the Devils.

The Sun Devils will head to High River in two weeks for the conference semifinals.