The OJLL semi-finals currently include two series going in very opposite directions. After another dominant defensive performance last night, the Orangeville Northmen are one game away from defeating the Peterborough Lakers and advancing to yet another OJLL Finals. Meanwhile out east, a vintage performance from Willem Firth lifted the Toronto Beaches last night, tying their series with Whitby 2-2.
Orangeville could punch their ticket to the finals as soon as tonight, while the Beaches series will go to at least Wednesday. Game seven for the Beaches series will go Thursday if necessary.
But after a crazy weekend of action, let’s check in on the action around the league.
Home Woes
One of the strange things about these playoffs is the contradictory road/home splits of many of the teams remaining.
In the Whitby/Beaches series, the home team has yet to win a game. This is further complicated by the fact that Beaches is playing their games in Pickering, just 15 KM from Whitby’s home venue. But they have failed to win on their home turf (literally turf this year) and have twice squandered opportunities at home.
Peterborough is 0-2 in this series at the Memorial Centre, with their lone victory coming at Tony Rose. Their sweep of Six Nations in round one included two road victories, meaning that the Lakers are 3-1 away from their hometown and 1-2 at their home arena. That’s even more surprising considering the proximity of Peterborough to the rest of the league. Bus legs usually hurt teams, but the Lakers have been at their best after long road trips.
I’m not sure there is anything that can explain this odd trend, but it’s a good reminder that the situations facing the road teams in game five may not be as dire as you would expect.
Eight Is the Magic Number
The long-held maxim in box lacrosse is that the team who can get to 10 goals will win more often than not. “It’s a race to 10,” is a term you will hear in just about every junior and professional locker room.
So far in the Orangeville series, this hasn’t been true. In fact, it has been a race to 8 goals instead. The losing team in each game has scored less than 8 goals, with the Lakers only scoring 8 or more goals in their lone victory (an 8-7 game).
The Northmen averaged 7.45 goals against this year, the best mark in the league. The Lakers averaged 8.05 against, so 8 has been the number for these teams all season.
There is no question that the Lakers need to find more offence in game five. Daniel Clark has led the way with 27 points in 7 playoff games, including 15 points in four games during this series. But the team has only scored a combined 23 goals in the series, less than 6 per game. That includes two separate games with only 4 goals.
That’s not going to do it in the playoffs, and they will need to find a way to get to 8 goals on Monday night.
Firth Has Statement Game
I have written about balance for the Toronto Beaches recently, but it was the star power that shined through on Sunday. Willem Firth had 11 points on 4 goals and 7 assists, meaning Firth was involved in every Beaches goal. Of those assists, 6 of them were the primary assist.
Technically it wasn’t a must-win, but the winner of game four in a 2-1 series plays a massive role in the eventual result, just ask the Lakers. The game brought Firth within 4 points of Liam Matthews for leading scorer in the playoffs, with Matthews having 41 points in 7 games compared to 37 for Firth.
Overall, Whitby has to feel very good about how they have played Firth in the series. Seeing a breakout contest like that is pretty much the worst case scenario for them, but there is lots of lacrosse yet to play. Confidence is a dangerous weapon, and the Beaches captain is full of it right now.
Both game fives go Monday night. I will be back on the airwaves for the OJLL in Orangeville at 8 PM as they look to punch their ticket to another OJLL Finals. Hope you can join!