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Junior Rock have tough weekend

The Westlock Jr. Rock capped off a busy week with a tough loss against the Lakeland Heat during Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League action at the Rotary Spirit Centre Sunday afternoon.
Westlock Jr. Rock’s Jacob Grainger kills a penalty during a 7-6 loss against the Lakeland Heat at the Rotary Spirit Centre on Sunday. The Rock went 1-2 in three games last
Westlock Jr. Rock’s Jacob Grainger kills a penalty during a 7-6 loss against the Lakeland Heat at the Rotary Spirit Centre on Sunday. The Rock went 1-2 in three games last week.

The Westlock Jr. Rock capped off a busy week with a tough loss against the Lakeland Heat during Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League action at the Rotary Spirit Centre Sunday afternoon.

In earlier in the week the Rock (6-3) went 1-1 in two road tilts, defeating the Edmonton Wizards 6-2 on May 25, and then falling 8-4 to the Lloydminster Xtreme on May 28, before getting edged 7-6 by the Heat at home.

On Sunday, the Rock got out to the early lead, but fell behind and trailed for most of the game. A comeback attempt came up just short in a nail-biter of a third period.

“It was a good little comeback. It’s tough, it took a long time for us to wake up in this one,” said coach Mike Ivey.

“It shows we have heart, but at the same time we have to player better than that.”

Ahead 2-1 in the second period, the Rock fell behind 3-2 after a pair of quick Lakeland goals. The Heat continued to pour it on and added two more to lead 5-3 after two.

In the third, the Rock trailed 6-3, but clawed all the way back to within a goal, but a Heat tally in the final 90 seconds made it a 7-5 game. The Rock answered right back, but it’s all they’d get.

“We weren’t getting the ball down the court quick enough, we seemed a little tired today,” Ivey said.

“It was a busy week of lacrosse for sure, but give our boys credit for not quitting.”

With several regulars out of the lineup over the weekend, Ivey said both losses were tough, but avoidable.

“It was a couple tough losses against two really good teams, no question, but two very beatable teams,” he said.

“We missed a few key guys, but other guys stepping up wasn’t quite enough. Some silly mistakes are coming back to bite us right now and we just have to tighten up on that.”

Saturday’s loss to the Xtreme halted a five-game win streak for the Rock, who hadn’t lost since their home opener on May 1.

On Wednesday, the squad picked up their sixth win of the season against the last-place Wizards.

“The Wizards are a weaker team. We had a couple affiliates in that game and they played well. It was a good team win,” he said.

Next up for the Rock is a road contest against the Edmonton Warriors on June 8.

“We’ve got to get back on track with a good week of practice,” Ivey said.

“We’ve got a bit of a break and reflect and think about what we need to change.

“We’ll be ready to go.”

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