The Orangeville Northmen defeated the Mimico Mountaineers by a score of 12-9 on Wednesday night to take a 1-0 series lead in the 2024 OJLL finals.
It was a balanced scoring effort from the Northmen, who got goals from eight different players in this one. Bowie Horsman led the way with a hat-trick, while Trey Deere and Joey Spallina each had 2 goals and 3 assists.
For Mimico, Lucas Dudemaine was the story with 4 goals in this one, while Finn Thomson added 6 assists to lead all scorers in the game.
Let’s get into some of the main themes of the game below.
Bowie Horsman and Easy Goals
I wrote earlier this summer about Bowie Horsman and his ability to score “easy” goals. Below is an excerpt from my article on June 30th.
“One of the great characters of the NHL in recent years was former Maple Leaf Phil Kessell. I remember hearing when Phil got traded out of Toronto, that he could score “easy” goals. Goal-scoring, especially in the playoffs, can be an excruciating process. While teams have to work so hard to create a goal, Phil could take a pass on the wing and just snap one home.
I mentioned this idea last night in reference to Bowie Horsman, who scored a hat-trick for Orangeville including the game winner in Overtime.
Of course, the phrase “easy” goal is ironic. Horsman’s shooting ability is something he has honed over the course of his lacrosse career, through hours and hours of skill development and dedication. The term “easy” refers only to the other players on the team.”
One month later, and Horsman again scored a hat-trick, and again they were the kind of “easy” goals that can be so elusive in the playoffs. When Horsman can get his hands free, opposing goalies seem to have an extremely hard time picking it up.
Similar to Kessell (who also wears the number 81) snapping it down the right wing, Horsman can snap it coming over a down-pick. It looks like this.
And like this.
He added another one on the power play as well off a slick shot through the wickets of Adam Power. The third goal proved to be the game winner in this one, and in a three-goal game, Bowie was the difference.
Against both of these teams, scoring goals can be a grind. Having a guy that can come off a screen and get you a couple is massive.
After scoring 5 goals in the first two rounds, he appears to be heating up at the right time. That’s a good sign for the Northmen.
Shot Tracker
Consistent readers of my coverage this summer will know that I have been discussing Mimico’s shot volume throughout the playoffs. When they win, Mimico tends to put 60 or more shots on goal. When they lose, it’s typically in the 40’s.
Wednesday was an interesting case, because they got just 44 shots on target, which should be another argument in support of my theory. But they actually out-shot the Northmen 44-38 and did a decent job of earning extra possessions.
What it does outline is that the path to beating these Northmen will likely require a more exaggerated possession advantage. Orangeville used their home-floor advantage to their benefit, finding Trey Deere multiple times off that extended back-gate at Tony Rose.
Mimico will need to do the same by using the small floor at Mimico arena to emphasize their possession advantage, and to accelerate their transition game. The 9 goals Mimico scored was the most that Orangeville has given up during the playoffs, but obviously was not enough to get it done this time around. Mimico will need to find a way to put more shots on target.
Special Teams
If there is something that Mimico needs to get cleaned up it’s the power play. They finished the night 2-7, which is not terrible necessarily.
But it’s tough when you consider that Orangeville went 3-4, and the fact that Mimico is unlikely to get 7 man advantages in a game again. It’s fair to say that Orangeville had some mental lapses throughout the game that resulted in penalties, which I would not expect to continue.
On the advantage, Mimico needs to find a way to create more good looks. The penalty kill is a tricky one. Matthews, Deere, and Spallina put so much pressure at the top of the power play. The Horsman is another hired gun (see above).
I’m not sure how much the Mountaineers can do with that group. They need to avoid taking penalties and hope some guys miss shots.
In football, the turnover margin typically decides games. In lacrosse, I think it’s a combination of special teams and loose balls.
Special teams went the way of the Northmen in game one.
Lucas Dudemaine
I’ll end with a note on Lucas Dudemaine, who has quietly put together an extremely impressive career in the double blue. Dudemaine is listed at 6’2, 185 lbs. I think he’s more in the mold of 6’3, 210 lbs.
I’ve enjoyed watching him play all season and last night was one of his best. He knows how to use his size to his advantage. He seems to catch defenders off-guard sometimes with his burst as well, as he is quicker than you might expect for a bigger athlete. On his first goal, he beat Graydon Stokes off the dribble and got so cleanly underneath him that Dudemaine had room to get across the dotted line and shoot on the run.
In other scenarios, he calmly navigates his way down the alley, knowing that defenders are unlikely to knock him off his line. On his second goal, he didn’t explode towards the net, but kept his head up and looked for options, before taking it to the rack.
As always, the celebrations are on-point. Dudemaine is a passionate player and one of the leaders of this Mimico team.
He will need to continue to play at a high level for the Mountaineers to stay in the series.
His next opportunity will be Friday night at the Drummond Bowl.
It should be a good one!