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Caledon Bandits routed in season opener against Wilmot By Jake Courtepatte It was a start the Caledon Bandits would rather soon forget. Around 100 fans filled the seats at the Mayfield Recreation Complex Tuesday night for the Ontario Junior C Lacrosse League team's season opener, facing a Wilmot Wild team with a win already in their belt. Wilmot emerged on top of the 11-1 final. The division rivals clashed right from the get-go. The first three minutes of the game lasted almost a half-hour of real time, as referees struggled to maintain control and determine lengths of penalties. The Bandits picked up a pair of minors along with a handful of Wild minors and a misconduct with the season barely underway. On the penalty-kill in the first minute, the Wild almost took a very early lead, if not for a nice shoulder save by the Bandits' Callum Murphy. The close call seemed to foreshadow things to come. Then with a five-on-three to Caledon's advantage less than five minutes in, the Wild's Braiden Kerbs did some gritty work down low to hold possession for as long as possible, bringing cheers from the Wild bench. It sparked him to split the Bandit defenders, going low on Murphy for the 1–0 lead. Open the floodgates. While the only real chance of the period for the Bandits was a two-on-one in which Michael Pascalis almost trickled it through the five-hole, at the other end the Wild added three more before the first buzzer for a 4–0 lead. The Caledon team regained their composure during the break, striking first on the powerplay in the second to cut the deficit to three. However, the Wild defence was able to tighten back up, leading to the Bandits' frustration, and in turn retaliation. A few more penalties negated any chance of a comeback, with the Wild continuing to pour in goals. A buzzer beater with one second left in the middle frame, the Wild's eighth goal of the night, was the straw that broke the Bandits' back. The frustration boiling over in the third, three more unanswered goals for the Wild left the Bandits with the 11–1 loss. Port Colborne's Spencer Tanguay made his first start in net for the Wild, and was fabulous on the few good chances the Bandits had. After falling out of the first round of the playoffs to the Fergus Thistles in a pair of hard fought games last July, the Bandits enter this year's season with hopes of returning to the glory days of Caledon lacrosse. Summer of 2014 was hard on the Bandits, as they compiled a 5-11-0 regular season record, the franchise's first sub-.500 record in a decade. Their last OJCLL championship came back in 2009. The Bandits will be looking to rebound Saturday when they visit Six Nations. They will be at home every Tuesday, next week hosting the Mimico Mountaineers at the Mayfield Rec Complex. For stats, schedules, and more information, visit www.banditslacrosse.com/jrc  Caledon Bandit Austin Haughen makes a dash for the net during Tuesday's 11-1 season-opening loss to the Wilmot Wild. |
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Post date: 2015-05-06 15:46:14 Post date GMT: 2015-05-06 19:46:14 Post modified date: 2015-05-07 16:31:53 Post modified date GMT: 2015-05-07 20:31:53 |
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