While the temperature drops throughout Ontario and Quebec, the race for the Baggataway Cup is heating up. With one more weekend to play before the playoffs, several huge contests remain.
Last week, we recapped all of the early season action in CUFLA, so if you are looking to get caught up on the 2024 season, check that article out here.Â
Good stuff happening in @CUFLAlacrosse pic.twitter.com/uiZFPnaAxT
— Lacrosse Culture Daily (@LaxCulturedaily) October 14, 2024
Going forward, we will update the week of action going on across the league and keep fans updated as the playoffs approach. With that in mind, lets get right into it.
Trent Gets OT Win on the Road
Arguably the best game of the week came last Thursday in Kingston, when the Trent Excalibur traveled to Queens. It was a crazy game of runs, as the Excalibur led 4-0, and 6-2 after the first quarter.
With 7:58 remaining in the second quarter, Trent led 8-3, but the Queens run was on. The Gaels scored seven of the next eight goals, and a Drew Cairns goal with 55 seconds remaining brought the game tied.
That was only for Curtis Conley to steal the show, scoring with 1:34 remaining in overtime to steal the victory and push Trent to an 8-1 record.
Mason Tardiff and Dylan James had 2 goals and an assist each to lead Trent, while Cairns and Bryan Poetker had the same statline to lead the way for Queens. However, the goalies were the story of the game as Trent’s Jackson Brown was credited with 14 saves, and Queen’s netminder Quinton Greenfield came up with 12 of his own.
Badgers Avoid Upset On Senior Night
The other overtime game this week came in Kitchener, where the Brock Badgers improved to 5-3 and avoided the upset to the now 3-6 Laurier Golden Hawks.
The game followed a similar flow to the Trent game, with Laurier leading 3-0 after the first quarter on goals from Ronan Lamarche, Trevor Mcdonald, and Thomas Macdonald. Brock battled back in the second but still trailed 5-2 at the half.
It was mostly Badgers from there, with three goals in the third from Noah Simonelli, Brodie Thoms, and Mitch Zulian to bring the game even. The two teams then traded goals in the fourth to force overtime.
The hero in this one was St. Catherine’s Jr. A product Colton Armitage, who scored with 2:54 remaining in the fourth quarter to seal the victory for the Badgers and help them keep pace in the standings. Brock now sits third in the western conference, behind Guelph and Western.
One of two OT Winners in @CUFLAlacrosse last weekend! pic.twitter.com/kJiMxqDZp6
— Lacrosse Culture Daily (@LaxCulturedaily) October 17, 2024
Score Roundup
The other results from this past week were the following
Western 21 – Toronto 5
Guelph 19 – Nipissing 4
McMaster 11 – Laurentian 1
Guelph 15 – Toronto 7
Laurier 9 – Laurentian 1
Guelph 19 – McMaster 1
Looking Ahead
Unbeaten McGill has lots of work left to do this season, with a Friday contest this week at Queen’s, then a huge matchup in Peterborough on Saturday against Trent. It will be a difficult turnaround from the Friday night game to an early Saturday contest (2 PM), so Trent especially will be eager to take on the top ranked squad.
In the West, Guelph still has plenty of work on their own. At 9-0, they lead the conference but play second ranked Western (7-1) on Sunday in Guelph. The Gryphons won the first contest between the two teams on September 21 13-7, which was the only loss of the Mustangs season.
Following this weekend, the league will have a Super Qualifier weekend to determine the participants in the 2025 Baggataway Cup!