The Westlock Midget Rock didn’t skip a beat after getting a very short break at the start of the Greater Edmonton Lacrosse Council playoffs, burying the Edmonton Wizards 13-3 in Edmonton June 22 before taking down the Sherwood Park Titans 13-5 June 24.
“The Wizards played us really hard,” said head coach Shane Boulerice.
The hard forechecking of the Wizards paid off for them getting within a goal at 4-3 before Westlock took over the game halfway through the second.
The Rock began the playoffs with a crushing victory of the Edmonton Wizards, opening the game with four goals in the first period and matching that in the second before sealing the deal with an extra five.
Blair Boulerice netted a hat trick, while captain Blair Lobsinger scored four and Ryan Conquergood netted three goals in the third period.
“In the third, Westlock played fast and made some very nice passes,” said Boulerice.
Saturday afternoon the Rock pounded the Warriors 13-5, with Blair Boulerice nailing in his first of five goals of the game in the first 20 minutes.
The club scored four goals in the first period but the Titan’s pressed hard and got themselves on the board with two.
The Rock hammered in four more goals in the second period, but the Titans battled back with two more goals and knocked in their fifth and final point in the third.
But Westlock wasn’t done quite yet and locked in their lead with five more goals in the final period.
“Another good game with a lot of action from both teams, but our skills and ability to run the whole game overtook the hard-pressing Titan team,” Boulerice said.
The Rock will square off against the Edmonton Warriors Midget B team in St. Albert in the semifinal game June 26.
The winner will move on to the final round in Edmonton June 28. If the Rock lose the Monday tilt they’ll be on the floor June 27.
The Westlock Bantam Rock lost their first playoff game 2-1 to the Edmonton Warriors in overtime, but dominated the weekend tilts.
“I told the boys to rest up and get focused, have a short memory and move on,” said boys head coach Kyle Schram.
“It was a good game. As a fan of lacrosse it was fun to watch. There was just two minutes left in the overtime.”
Schram credited his goaltender, Eric LeBlanc, with keeping the Rock in the game under pressure.
“He had 41 shots and only let in two goals, which is pretty much unheard of in lacrosse,” he added.
“He’s definitely our go-to. He’s our rock back there, no pun intended.”
The boys went on to destroy the Edmonton Blues 8-2 on June 23, then crushed the Parkland Posse 7-1 June 24.
The boys followed that with a 2-1 shootout win over the St. Albert Rams June 25.
“It’s game after game for the rest of the playoffs now,” said Schram. “We have to win out to make it to provincials.”
The boys are running non-stop with a match against the one of the Sherwood Park Titans scheduled for June 26. If the Rock can best them, they will keep on battling for the championship June 27.
• With files from Olivia Bako
