BEDFORD: While the game didn’t start the way Jace Lightfoot and his Team N.S. U17 boys teammates drew it up, once they settled down their offence took over en route to a victory last week at the Minor Box Lacrosse nationals in Bedford.
Lightfoot, of Windsor Junction, was not his characteristic self to start, looking a tad shaky and giving up a couple goals that he would have liked to have back, but his teammates had his back as they earned the 10-6 win over P.E.I.
Team N.S. jumped out to a 3-1 lead after the opening period, with Leo Matheson, Luke Silk-Brown and Ryan Quigley finding the back of the net.
Matheson opened the scoring at 8:10 of the first period, converting a pass from Jonah Pulsifer and Silk-Brown.
Silk-Brown then made it 2-0 at 7:01, assisted by Kye MacDougall, before Quigley added the third at 4:43, with Silk-Brown and Max Kidd Campbell picking up assists.
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P.E.I. battled back in the second, scoring four times while N.S. managed just one goal. Max Kidd Campbell scored the lone N.S. goal of the period at 8:21, assisted by MacDougall, leaving Team N.S. trailing 5-4 heading into the final frame.
That’s when the Nova Scotia offence exploded.
Pulsifer scored twice in the opening 42 seconds of the third period, striking at 12:56 and again at 12:18 to quickly put N.S. back in front. Matheson assisted on the first, while Silk-Brown and MacDougall helped set up the second.
After P.E.I. briefly answered to make it 6-6, Team N.S. scored four unanswered goals to put the game away.
Kidd Campbell restored the Nova Scotia lead at 6:43, with Silk-Brown earning the assist. Silk-Brown then helped set up Oliver Bruce at 4:55, putting N.S. ahead 8-6.
Sawyer Swim made it 9-6 at 3:57, assisted by MacDougall and Mason Cole, before Matheson capped the six-goal third period at 2:05 to complete the 10-6 victory.
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For Nova Scotia, the offensive outburst was a total team effort, with Matheson scoring twice and adding an assist, while Pulsifer also had two goals.
Kidd Campbell scored twice, Silk-Brown had a goal and four assists, and MacDougall finished with four assists.
The victory came Wednesday, Aug. 12, at the Greenfoot Energy Centre in Bedford, with N.S. overcoming a second-period surge from P.E.I. before taking control in the final frame.
For Lightfoot, the win was a good example of the luxury a goalie has when his teammates can respond at the other end of the floor.
After allowing P.E.I. to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 5-4 lead, Nova Scotia’s offence responded with six goals in the third period to secure the victory.
Lightfoot was one of three or so Fall River and area players on the team.
In the end, N.S. fell in the B division Gold medal game to Manitoba 8-5 on Saturday afternoon.
(Information in this story was provided to The Laker News)
