It's tough to get off the canvas when your opponent has knocked you down.
However, the Okotoks Junior B Marauders did just that when they gave the Calgary Shamrocks an early scare before dropping a 17-10 decision in a Southern Alberta Junior B lacrosse tournament final July 25 at the Murray Arena.
The Shamrocks had shellacked the Marauders 16-1 earlier in the tournament.
“The boys were just starting to click,” Marauders coach Donnie Haynes said after the final. “We had new guys almost every game and the chemistry started to build.
“We just got better every game.”
The Shamrocks have been a perennial powerhouse in Junior B play and are the defending national champions.
Getting beat by 15 points by an opponent who has the last Canadian title became a distant memory when the Marauders stepped on the floor in the tournament final.
It looked like a repeat rout when the Shamrocks jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the game.
However, the Marauders calmed things down when assistant captain Wallace MacRae rifled a shot by the Shamrocks goalie to make it 2-1.
Calgary took a 6-4 lead into the dressing room after 20 minutes, getting the two-goal lead when James Johnston scored with 30 seconds left in the opening period.
The Marauders wouldn’t go away. They were able to tie the game at 7-7 midway through the second stanza when Carson Mann slipped the ball past Shamrock goalie Josh Pilsner.
Calgary had a slim 11-9 lead after two periods.
But you don’t become defending champions by getting down when coming up against a hard-working, feisty opponent.
The Shamrocks took advantage of some Marauder miscues and penalties, as they held Okotoks to one goal in the final 20 minutes en route to the 17-10 victory.
Okotoks took a five-minute major with about 10 minutes left in the game which sealed the Marauders’ fate.
“We got some untimely penalties, kind of soft calls as far as I was concerned,” Haynes said. “They have a heck of a ball club over there and they will bury you on powerplays.”
MacRae paced the Marauders' attack with four goals, Cooper Isley and Mann each scored twice with Sean Garlock and David Bevis also finding the back of the net for the home team.
Garlock, a five-year veteran with the Marauders, said it was a strong effort after their earlier loss to the Shamrocks.
“I thought we came back strong in this one,” Garlock said after the final. “We played a solid first two periods and really took it to them.
“We had some unlucky penalty calls in the third and you can’t score any goals when you are shorthanded. But we came out strong this game and I am really proud of the guys.”
The Marauders finished 2-2 in the tournament, with victories of 11-9 over the Calgary Mountaineers on July 22 and they doubled up the Calgary Chill 16-8 on July 21.
The tourney was put together to help get more competition during the abbreviated regular season due to COVID.
“There wasn’t really a full year, so all the south teams decided to get together to form some sort of crown for this year between the south,” Haynes said.
The tournament will help the Marauders in 2022.
“We have a boat-full of guys trying out for Junior A this year and we didn’t get a lot of those guys back,” said Haynes, adding the Marauders were also missing some players due to a major field lacrosse tournament out east.
“This tourney we had a lot of call-ups, and a lot of Midget guys we will be looking at for next year.”
The Marauders are back at the Murray Arena against the Mountaineers July 29 at 7:30 p.m.
