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The Brampton Guardian
Excelsiors rout Redmen
The Brampton Guardian
Friday August 1 2008
Robin Inscoe
 
BRAMPTON - By ROBIN INSCOESports EditorThe Ontario Lacrosse Association Major Series season began for real at the Powerade Centre on Thursday night and unfortunately for the Brooklin Redmen the real Brampton Excelsiors showed up.After cruising to a 14-3-1 record and first place in the OLA regular season, the Excelsiors began its run for the Mann Cup, emblematic of senior lacrosse supremecy in Canada, on Thursday by routing the visiting Redmen 13-1 to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Canadian semifinals.The Excelsiors made no bones about the fact at the start of the season that their goal was to win the national championship, and they proved they were serious on Thursday as they dominated the fourth-seeded Redmen in all facets of the game."We'll take it," smiled a pleased Brampton coach Troy Cordingley after the game. "We're in it for the wins. This is the real season and we picked it up."Picked it up might be a bit of an understatement.If the Brampton coaching staff had any worries about the team showing a little rust after a two-week layoff and first round bye, they need not have been.The Brampton defense was almost flawless. They allowed the Excelsiors offense a little time to get rolling in the opening 20 minutes by stifling the Brooklin attack. In fact, the Redmen managed just one shot at Brampton goalkeeper Anthony Cosmo in the opening 10 minutes.By then the Brampton offense was hitting its stride.Colin Doyle got the Excelsiors rolling 90 seconds into the game and Jeff Shattler would score what would be the eventual game-winner exactly three minutes later, his first of five on the night.Shattler would get the only other goal of the opening frame as the Redmen stayed close.In fact, for a short time in the second it looked like Brooklin might make things interesting- short time being the operative word.Shawn Williams got the Redmen on the board in the opening minute of the second period to cut the lead to 3-1, but it was the last thing Brooklin would have to cheer about all night.Patrick Merrill restored Brampton's three-goal lead 30 seconds later and the rout was on.Dan Dawson added a pair and Mike Carnegie a single to give the Excelsiors a 7-1 lead after two periods and they added six unanswered goals in the final frame.Shattler finished the game with five goals and an assist while Dan Dawson scored three times and set up three more. Aaron Wilson and Blaine Manning each had four point nights, Wilson with two goals and two assists while Manning was credited with four helpers. Mike Hominuck picked up three assists for his efforts while Dan Teat and Phil Sanderson added a couple of helpers each. Doyle finished the night with a goal and one assist while Patrick Merrill and Carnegie each finished the night with one goal. Paul Dawson, Josh Sanderson and Mike Kirk each picked up an assist in the win.Cordingley admitted he never thought about his team getting off to a slow start against the Redmen, who had disposed of the Kitchener-Waterloo Braves in three straight in their preliminary round best-of-five series."I thought we did a great job," admitted the Brampton bench boss. "Maybe we got off to a bit of a slow start but we wore them down defensively. We were real good in the shooting and passing lanes. We knocked down a lot of passes."And when the Redmen did get through Cosmo was equal to the task. He faced 32 shots in the win while Kurtis Wager was tested 46 times in the Brooklin cage.The Excelsiors hope to jump to a 2-0 series lead when the battle continues at the Powerade Centre tomorrow at 7 p.m. for game two. After that, the series shifts to Brooklin for games three and four on Wednesday and Friday. Game five, if necessary will be at the Powerade Centre next Monday, August 11 at 8 .m. with game six in Brooklin the following night. A seventh and deciding contest would go at the Powerade Centre on Thursday, August 14 at 8 p.m., if needed.And coach Cordingley isn't taking anything for granted."There's still lots to work on," said Cordingley. "But I liked our effort."