Making the best of it with Lacrosse in Sudbury

When numbers are not abundant, local sports make due as best they can.

The Midget/Intermediate division of the Greater Sudbury Lacrosse Association (GSLA) features only 40 or so teenagers enrolled, not enough to form much beyond perhaps a pair of teams.

But rather than simply form two consistent teams that could easily build up animosity over the course of the three-month season, league officials elected to adopt a more practical approach, attempting to split the group up evenly based on whichever athletes are able to make the weekly game nights.

"It's up to the coaches," said longtime GSLA member Austin Bouchard, competing for one final summer before heading off to join the Mars Hill Lions (NCAA Division II) in North Carolina in the fall.

"They try and split the rep players up as best as they can and then go from there. Most games are actually pretty even, usually a one- or two-goal spread. It's always good lacrosse.

"You split the rep kids up and try and get them on the floor with the rep kids from the other team. And then you get the kids that are newer to lacrosse out there with the newer kids from the other team."

Over and above the competitiveness, there are other ancillary benefits to the set-up.
"Because of the way that the teams are split up, we often end up in the dressing room with kids from the other team," said Bouchard.

"So it's a lot friendlier than if you were on two different teams."

All of this was evident Thursday night at the Garson Arena, as the Rock edged the Stealth 13-12, with Mitchell Mousseau netting the game-winning goal with less than 20 seconds to play.

It was Mousseau's fifth marker of the game in a contest that remained penalty free, with Bouchard chipping in with a hat trick for the winners. Kurtis Watson added a pair of tallies, with Matt Marion, Ryan Walker and Tristan Simeoni.

Tyler Brisson answered with a four-goal performance for the Stealth, who trailed 10-2 midway through the second period before netting seven straight goal. Nick Marion scored three times, Calvin Puro twice, and Braeden Tulini, Nick Jeffery and James Munro once each.