Snipers Drop Season Opener Against Express

SNIPERS DROP SEASON OPENER AGAINST EXPRESS

By Sam Laskaris

Darcy Powless was relatively pleased with the efforts of his players who showed up for the Six Nations Snipers’ regular season opener.

But he wasn’t thrilled with several others who did not show up for the Snipers’ road contest on Friday against the host Brampton Express.

Six Nations was downed 17-13 by the Express in the Arena Lacrosse League contest held at the Brampton Memorial Arena.

Earlier in the week Powless had submitted his 25-man roster to the league of those eligible to play in the season opener.

The Snipers’ bench boss said several players then notified him on Thursday and game day Friday that they would be unable to attend.

As a result, the Snipers dressed 16 runners – two under the maximum allotment of 18 – for Friday’s outing. And one of those athletes, goaltender Jaxon Longboat, dressed as a runner just to give the club an extra body playing out. 

The Snipers and Express were deadlocked at 10-10 at halftime. And Brampton held a slim 14-13 lead heading into the final quarter.

“I think we ran out of gas,” Powless said, trying to explain how his side failed to score a goal in the fourth quarter while the Express added three goals.

Powless didn’t mind voicing his displeasure where he felt it was deserved.

“The guys not showing up really hurt us,” he said. “I don’t really mind it when they say they’ve got stuff going on. It’s the last-minute stuff that drives me up the wall.”

Powless added he will be stressing the need to get a commitment on players’ availability well in advance of game day during team practice this week.

And he’s not going to fret over Friday’s result.

“We’ve got a solid team on paper,” he said.

The Express capitalized on the efforts of their specialty teams on Friday. The Brampton club scored six powerplay goals. And the Express also had a shorthanded marker.

As for the Snipers, they managed to score three times while enjoying a man advantage. And they also added a pair of shorthanded goals.

Rookie Avery Steinbach-Parker led the Six Nations offence by racking up seven points (three goals and four assists).

Briley Maxwell and Bryson Staats also registered hat tricks for the Snipers. Providing singles were Tye Argent, Mitch Zulian, Andrew Vradenburg and Travis Staats.

The Snipers are back in action this Sunday, Dec. 15, hosting the Oshawa Outlaws in their home opener.

The opening faceoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena.