A's struggle at home

Three games into their 2006 season, the Rayburn Construction Junior A Northmen are still struggling to find their stride.

After starting the year with an 8-6 win over Orillia, the club has struggled through their last two games.

A lack lustre performance through the opening half of the game last Wednesday, in St Catherines, saw them return home empty handed, falling 7-6 to the Athletics.

Orangeville coach Matt Sawyer didn't sugar-coat the effort of his team. "They went through the motions," he said adding, "the rookies really looked like rookies and the veterans didn't look like veterans"."

Back home in the familiar surroundings of the Tony Rose on Friday, it was a much closer contested game but in the end, it still finished with the Northmen on the wrong side of the ledger, losing 9-8 to Peterborough. Still smarting from being swept out of the 2005 playoffs by Orangeville in four straight, the Lakers were in search of some redemption.

From the opening draw, they set the pace, finding themselves holding a 2-0 lead less than two and a half minutes into the period.

In a quirk of fate, #15, Matt McLeod snapped a shot low past the Peterborough goalie Aaron Bold at 15:15 to put Orangeville on the scoreboard.

Two minutes later playing four on four, Matt Lyons evened things up for the Northmen at 2-2.

Another pair of Laker goals again put Orangeville behind until a power play marker late in the period off the stick of Nate Sanderson sent the teams into the mid-frame with Peterborough up 4-3.

Orangeville settled down in the second, shaking the home opener jitters and played Peterborough even through the first half of the period.

McLeod tied the score 4-4 with a great solo effort at 9:47. After picking off a Laker pass at centre, he lugged the ball through the opposition defence and finding himself in alone, popping one past Bold.

Sanderson added another at 6:58 to give Orangeville their first lead of the game.

Mike Poulin showed some of his best moves through the second. Late in the period he came out of nowhere to make the save - that on any other night, would have been a sure goal to the wide side.

The teams traded markers with Jesse Gamble notching Orangeville's sixth before the Lakers again evened it up going into three tied at six.

McLeod and Gamble teamed up less than a minute into the third to put Orangeville back out front 7-6.

Shawn Evans continued to be a thorn in the Northmen side. Collecting his third for the night and assisting on another, he helped put the Lakers back out front 9-7 with just over 10 minutes left to play.

Both squads stepped up their game and with 26.9 seconds left in regulation time, Orangeville drew back within one but that was all the scoring they could manage, going down 9-8 at the buzzer.

It promises to be a busy week ahead for the Junior A squad.

Friday night sees the Six Nation Arrows in town followed by Ottawa for a 2 p.m. matinee game.

Tuesday finds the Northmen in the Beach against Toronto then in Brampton Friday night for a contest against the Excelsiors.