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Rock squeak by Rush in lacrosse action

Lindon Shanks scored his second goal of the game with just 1:18 to play, lifting the Rock past the Rush 6-5 in Greater Sudbury Lacrosse Association bantam houseleague action Tuesday night in Coniston.
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The Greater Sudbury Lacrosse Association is underway. File photo.
Lindon Shanks scored his second goal of the game with just 1:18 to play, lifting the Rock past the Rush 6-5 in Greater Sudbury Lacrosse Association bantam houseleague action Tuesday night in Coniston.

Early signs pointed to an easy Rock win at the Toe Blake Arena as goals from Justin Basso, Riley Ouellette and Brodie Erwin gave the homeside a 3-0 lead in the opening frame.

But a late goal from Julian Simeoni stemmed the tide, cutting the deficit to just two, as the Rush went on to net the only goals of the middle stanza. By the time the third period began, Griffin Simpson and Simeoni, with his second, had pulled the Rush even at 3-3.

From there, the rivals traded goals. Shanks, Simeoni, P.J. Nykilchuk (Rock) and Calvin Puro (Rush) scored at virtually two-minute intervals, leaving the adversaries still deadlocked, this time at 5-5 with 3:52 to play.

Time for Shanks to intervene.

"They won the last time we played, scoring a late goal," said the young multisport athlete. "Justin (Basso) passed it up and I got it and shot for the bottom corner.
"I tried faking one way and going the other way. I like to do that move."

Like a good number of the youngsters who fill the ranks of the GSLA, Shanks comes to the sport fresh off a season of hockey, though he manages to deftly sidestep the tricky question of which sport he enjoys more.

"I like lacrosse more in lacrosse season, and hockey more in hockey season," he said with a big smile. "When you're in lacrosse, you train to run, which gives you more stamina in hockey.

"It's a little bit of the same sport, because there is contact in both."

In one earlier bantam game on Tuesday, the Wings kept it close, heading to the third, before the wheels finally came off.

The Roughnecks broke open a tight 3-1 encounter, scoring five times in the final 15 minutes and registering an 8-2 triumph over the Wings. Spencer Lavallee scored six times for the winners, with Riley Bridge netting the remaining two goals.

Matti Allen found the back of the net early in the game for the Wings, while teammate Philippe Larochelle added another with time winding down. The bantam quartet are back in action on Thursday night, with games at both the Carmichael and McLelland arena.

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