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Game 6 Overtime Thriller Ends in Heartbreak for Whitby
August 11, 2025
Whitby ON- Dylan Sanderson sent the visiting Orangeville Northmen into a frenzy, and the Minto Cup, with a low shot from outside to beat Tyden Redlick and secure an improbable 8-7 victory.
Just as Game 4 was a heart-stopping finish with two goals in the last 33 seconds, plus an overtime winner, for Whitby, Game 6 produced even more dramatics. With Whitby leading 7-5 and less than 30 seconds to play, Aaron Toguri scored to give Orangeville a chance to tie up the game late. The ensuing faceoff was a scrum lasting 19 seconds, and Whitby’s Nicholas Belmonte, who has preformed admirably at the faceoff dot in the absence of faceoff specialist Jack Oldman, just missed corralling the loose ball. Trey Deere did possess it for Orangeville, who promptly called a Timeout. Off the whistle, Orangeville ran their play, Max Kruger found a shooting lane and potted the equalizing goal with only 1 second left on the game clock. A quick conversation among the officials confirmed it was a good goal.
Overtime was quick. Orangeville secured the ball off a Jake Spallina draw win, Sanderson found a shooting lane again, and ripped a low shot which beat Redlick.
Whitby controlled the game from the opening, with a goal from Matt Ford just under 3 minutes into the game. The previous two games, Whitby had not registered a goal in the first period. Tonight they notched three and held a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes of play. Whitby’s offence was led by Nolan Byrne, Julien Belair, and Matthew Ford, each with two goals. Eddy Ferrede, with his first point in his Junior A career, added a helper with a stop-on-rip-it shot around a defender which completely fooled Evan Constantopolous.
With a 5-3 lead after two periods of play, and Whitby responding to any attack Orangeville presented, including a wild sequence of 4 goals in the first 3 minutes of the third period, two goals for each team, this looked to be heading to a Game 7, as neither side could score again until the last minute of play. As so often happens in sport, plenty can happen in a less than a minute.
For Whitby, who graduate 11 players, this one stings. For those who watched the game online, the reaction by the entire team on the Ferrede goals speaks to the close-knit nature of this group. With the World Championships being played at the same time, and having three players attend those games, the group continued to find ways to compete and produce. For all four losses in this series to be one-goal losses, and three of those losses in Overtime, one cannot help but wonder what might have been. Full marks to Orangeville, for as the saying goes, no one asks how, just how many. They played with competitiveness, discipline, and got some timely scoring. They earned their berth to the Minto Cup. Best of luck to you in the Championships.
The Minto Cup runs from August 16-23 in St. Catherines ON.
Whitby Warriors Junior A Lacrosse Club would like to thank all the fans and sponsors this season for their continued support. We look forward to having everyone back again next season.
Redlick Outstanding Again in Loss
August 9, 2025
Orangeville ON- Game Five started for Whitby the same as Game Four, with a shutout performance by Orangeville's defence and goaltending. Whitby trailed 2-0 after the first 20 minutes again as the Northmen received goals from Dylan Sanderson and Trey Deere to lead the home side into the first intermission.
Whitby would get on the board at the 6:18 mark of the second frame following a Max Kruger power play goal for Orangeville after Whitby was called for Too Many Players. Julien Belair added a second goal for Whitby with 1:36 remaining at make it a 3-2 game after two periods of play and leave the hometown fans hoping for another home win.
The third period saw Nolan Byrne land another outside bomb to tie the game at 3's at the midway point of the period. The goaltending, again, of Evan Constantopolous for Orangeville and Tyden Redlick for Whitby, performed exceptionally well (Constantopolous has posted at .944 save percentage and Redlick has posted a .921). They would hold their forts until 6:17 when Liam Matthews, playing in his first game this series, potted the the game winner on an outside shot under Redlick's left glove. A final push by Whitby through the final minutes would not produce the same heart-stopping excitement seen at the end of Game Four, as the Northmen held on for the 4-3 victory.
Now trailing 3-2 in the series, Whitby hosts an elimination Game Six on Monday night. In the 2025 playoffs, Whitby has won all of its elimination games. In those games, they are +4 in goal differential, while successfully defending home floor twice. Orangeville has been the leading team in the league all season and now have the pressure of proving they are deserving of the their current position as the number one ranked team in the nation. Whitby is without three players currently at the U20 World Championships, including OJLL Bobby Allan Award Winner (League Leading Scorer) Lucas Littlejohn, while Orangeville has a full roster. Closing out any series is one of the hardest things to do in sport, and one of these teams gets its first chance of this series on Monday.
Game time on Monday is 8:00 PM at IPSC in Whitby. Follow us online for details.
August 11, 2025
Whitby ON- Dylan Sanderson sent the visiting Orangeville Northmen into a frenzy, and the Minto Cup, with a low shot from outside to beat Tyden Redlick and secure an improbable 8-7 victory.
Just as Game 4 was a heart-stopping finish with two goals in the last 33 seconds, plus an overtime winner, for Whitby, Game 6 produced even more dramatics. With Whitby leading 7-5 and less than 30 seconds to play, Aaron Toguri scored to give Orangeville a chance to tie up the game late. The ensuing faceoff was a scrum lasting 19 seconds, and Whitby’s Nicholas Belmonte, who has preformed admirably at the faceoff dot in the absence of faceoff specialist Jack Oldman, just missed corralling the loose ball. Trey Deere did possess it for Orangeville, who promptly called a Timeout. Off the whistle, Orangeville ran their play, Max Kruger found a shooting lane and potted the equalizing goal with only 1 second left on the game clock. A quick conversation among the officials confirmed it was a good goal.
Overtime was quick. Orangeville secured the ball off a Jake Spallina draw win, Sanderson found a shooting lane again, and ripped a low shot which beat Redlick.
Whitby controlled the game from the opening, with a goal from Matt Ford just under 3 minutes into the game. The previous two games, Whitby had not registered a goal in the first period. Tonight they notched three and held a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes of play. Whitby’s offence was led by Nolan Byrne, Julien Belair, and Matthew Ford, each with two goals. Eddy Ferrede, with his first point in his Junior A career, added a helper with a stop-on-rip-it shot around a defender which completely fooled Evan Constantopolous.
With a 5-3 lead after two periods of play, and Whitby responding to any attack Orangeville presented, including a wild sequence of 4 goals in the first 3 minutes of the third period, two goals for each team, this looked to be heading to a Game 7, as neither side could score again until the last minute of play. As so often happens in sport, plenty can happen in a less than a minute.
For Whitby, who graduate 11 players, this one stings. For those who watched the game online, the reaction by the entire team on the Ferrede goals speaks to the close-knit nature of this group. With the World Championships being played at the same time, and having three players attend those games, the group continued to find ways to compete and produce. For all four losses in this series to be one-goal losses, and three of those losses in Overtime, one cannot help but wonder what might have been. Full marks to Orangeville, for as the saying goes, no one asks how, just how many. They played with competitiveness, discipline, and got some timely scoring. They earned their berth to the Minto Cup. Best of luck to you in the Championships.
The Minto Cup runs from August 16-23 in St. Catherines ON.
Whitby Warriors Junior A Lacrosse Club would like to thank all the fans and sponsors this season for their continued support. We look forward to having everyone back again next season.
Redlick Outstanding Again in Loss
August 9, 2025
Orangeville ON- Game Five started for Whitby the same as Game Four, with a shutout performance by Orangeville's defence and goaltending. Whitby trailed 2-0 after the first 20 minutes again as the Northmen received goals from Dylan Sanderson and Trey Deere to lead the home side into the first intermission.
Whitby would get on the board at the 6:18 mark of the second frame following a Max Kruger power play goal for Orangeville after Whitby was called for Too Many Players. Julien Belair added a second goal for Whitby with 1:36 remaining at make it a 3-2 game after two periods of play and leave the hometown fans hoping for another home win.
The third period saw Nolan Byrne land another outside bomb to tie the game at 3's at the midway point of the period. The goaltending, again, of Evan Constantopolous for Orangeville and Tyden Redlick for Whitby, performed exceptionally well (Constantopolous has posted at .944 save percentage and Redlick has posted a .921). They would hold their forts until 6:17 when Liam Matthews, playing in his first game this series, potted the the game winner on an outside shot under Redlick's left glove. A final push by Whitby through the final minutes would not produce the same heart-stopping excitement seen at the end of Game Four, as the Northmen held on for the 4-3 victory.
Now trailing 3-2 in the series, Whitby hosts an elimination Game Six on Monday night. In the 2025 playoffs, Whitby has won all of its elimination games. In those games, they are +4 in goal differential, while successfully defending home floor twice. Orangeville has been the leading team in the league all season and now have the pressure of proving they are deserving of the their current position as the number one ranked team in the nation. Whitby is without three players currently at the U20 World Championships, including OJLL Bobby Allan Award Winner (League Leading Scorer) Lucas Littlejohn, while Orangeville has a full roster. Closing out any series is one of the hardest things to do in sport, and one of these teams gets its first chance of this series on Monday.
Game time on Monday is 8:00 PM at IPSC in Whitby. Follow us online for details.
Persistence Pays off for Byrne and Whitby in Wild Game Four
August 8, 2025
Whitby ON - For the third game this series, Overtime was required to determine a winner. This time. however, it was Whitby coming away with the win thanks to Nolan Byrne's outside shot winner at 4:29.
Byrne on his overtime winner: "I think our offence did a very good job tonight of just being persistent and sticking to the basics. We're working hard out there. "
The offences may have been working hard, on both sides of the ball, but success was coming at a premium. Orangeville netted two in the first, none in the second, and one in the third. Whitby was shutout until the 3:55 mark of the second period, then nothing again until the final minute of the third. Defence and goaltending ruled the evening, as both starters, Tyden Redlick of Whitby and Evan Constantopolous of Orangeville, protected their nets with some excellent and timely netminding.
It was a game that saw two uncommon events: a penalty shot and a shattered glass panel
Whitby was awarded a penalty shot midway through the second period when Orangeville was called for Too Many Players. Gabe Sorichetti was chosen to challenge Constantopolous, who was up to the task, turning aside Sorichetti's attempt to get Whitby on the board.
The Whitby offence looked to be unable to solve the Orangeville defence all evening, and after Ayden Matthews scored Orangeville's third goal of the game with 6:18 remaining in the third period, it looked dire for the home side. But Byrne and the offence remained persistent, and with just 33 seconds remaining, Max Wetherup scored to make it 3-2 Orangeville. The ensuring draw saw a scrum, a loose ball corralled by Owen Tapper, who then drove the floor, dragging a defender with him, and shot a behind-the-back bouncer between Constantopolous' right leg and stick to tie the game just 10 seconds after Wetherup's goal.
Then the glass shattered to the right of the Orangeville bench. It appeared to result from the excited fans pounding on the glass. The arena staff needed nearly 20 minutes to clean up the shards, and play resumed to conclude the final 23 seconds. In that short time both sides had scoring opportunities which had the crowd gasping for breath.
Overtime saw both sides get some scoring chances, then Byrne was able to get open following some help from Ryan Langille to find a shooting lane to net the winner past Constantopolous' left shoulder.
"Langer (Langille) was just in there banging bods for me, and I was able to find some space and take a one-on-one matchup and put the ball in the net. So I credit my teammates."
With the series tied 2-2, it now heads back to Orangeville tomorrow night for a crucial Game 5. A sixth game will be played in Whitby on Monday at IPSC. Please visit warriorslacrosse.com and the Whitby Warriors Jr A social media accounts for more playoff information.
August 8, 2025
Whitby ON - For the third game this series, Overtime was required to determine a winner. This time. however, it was Whitby coming away with the win thanks to Nolan Byrne's outside shot winner at 4:29.
Byrne on his overtime winner: "I think our offence did a very good job tonight of just being persistent and sticking to the basics. We're working hard out there. "
The offences may have been working hard, on both sides of the ball, but success was coming at a premium. Orangeville netted two in the first, none in the second, and one in the third. Whitby was shutout until the 3:55 mark of the second period, then nothing again until the final minute of the third. Defence and goaltending ruled the evening, as both starters, Tyden Redlick of Whitby and Evan Constantopolous of Orangeville, protected their nets with some excellent and timely netminding.
It was a game that saw two uncommon events: a penalty shot and a shattered glass panel
Whitby was awarded a penalty shot midway through the second period when Orangeville was called for Too Many Players. Gabe Sorichetti was chosen to challenge Constantopolous, who was up to the task, turning aside Sorichetti's attempt to get Whitby on the board.
The Whitby offence looked to be unable to solve the Orangeville defence all evening, and after Ayden Matthews scored Orangeville's third goal of the game with 6:18 remaining in the third period, it looked dire for the home side. But Byrne and the offence remained persistent, and with just 33 seconds remaining, Max Wetherup scored to make it 3-2 Orangeville. The ensuring draw saw a scrum, a loose ball corralled by Owen Tapper, who then drove the floor, dragging a defender with him, and shot a behind-the-back bouncer between Constantopolous' right leg and stick to tie the game just 10 seconds after Wetherup's goal.
Then the glass shattered to the right of the Orangeville bench. It appeared to result from the excited fans pounding on the glass. The arena staff needed nearly 20 minutes to clean up the shards, and play resumed to conclude the final 23 seconds. In that short time both sides had scoring opportunities which had the crowd gasping for breath.
Overtime saw both sides get some scoring chances, then Byrne was able to get open following some help from Ryan Langille to find a shooting lane to net the winner past Constantopolous' left shoulder.
"Langer (Langille) was just in there banging bods for me, and I was able to find some space and take a one-on-one matchup and put the ball in the net. So I credit my teammates."
With the series tied 2-2, it now heads back to Orangeville tomorrow night for a crucial Game 5. A sixth game will be played in Whitby on Monday at IPSC. Please visit warriorslacrosse.com and the Whitby Warriors Jr A social media accounts for more playoff information.
Whitby Stays Positive Despite OT Loss
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
August 1, 2025
ORANGEVILLE– Another one-goal game saw the Whitby Warriors fall to Orangeville 9-8 in overtime to take a 2-1 series lead at Tony Rose Arena on Wednesday Night.
“I think we are definitely the better team. It is really hard to win in this barn, but I think we're the better team. I think we just keep grinding out,” Ty Jesso said after Whitby’s second consecutive overtime loss in Orangeville. "We're better at skill and we outwork them every time. I think in our barn on Friday night, we'll take the win for sure.”
It didn’t take long for the Warriors to get on the scoreboard as Nolan Byrne netted his sixth goal of the playoffs less than 90 seconds into the game. Whitby’s defence has been one of the league's best all year in blocked shots, however, their penalty kill has struggled, allowing 52 on the season (compared to Orangeville's 35) and tonight was no different as Dylan Sanderson scored a power play marker to knot the game up at one.
Ty Jesso got one back when he found Treysen Stewart back door on the crease and was able to beat Northmen starting goaltender, Evan Constantopoulos. In 1:50, the Northmen would take their first lead of the game as Elijah Edwards ripped an outside shot past Warriors’ starting goaltender, Tyden Redlick and then rookie sensation Max Kruger was able to get a ball over the goal line that saw the Northmen take a 3-2 lead into the first intermission.
The second period became very physical. A scuffle near the benches saw a face-masking penalty against Trey Deere that Orangeville was able to kill off. Once teams were back to five-on-five, Gabe Sorichetti found a shooting lane inside to make it 3-3. Dylan Sanderson has been scoring all playoffs, but his brother, Cam, scored his second goal of the playoffs after Deere and Kruger found Sanderson up top and scored. With Orangeville up by one, they were looking to extend their lead and that’s when fireworks sparked.
As Owen Rahn was curling around the crease, a check sent him sprawling into the crease at the feet of Redlick and made contact with him; cue the fireworks. Redlick took exception and shoved Rahn while he was on the ground and Rahn did the same thing to Redlick which caused a major scrum at the Whitby net. Multiple players on both sides rushed to the protection of their teammates. Rahn lost his helmet in the pileup and after the show was over, Officials assessed only four minor penalties–two aside– and the teams played five-one-five again. But that scrum set the stage for the remainder of the game. Shortly after the scrum, Ayden Matthews fired a shot to make it 5-3, but less than a minute later Byrne potted his second of the night to make it 5-4 after 40 minutes of play.
In the third, the physicality ramped up. Teams were setting harder picks, finishing their hits, and finding ways to get under each other’s skin. Rahn bodied his way to the middle to make it a two-goal lead for Orangeville before Max Wetherup went underneath his defender and far side to cut the deficit to one. Unfortunately, due to the intensity of physicality, Whitby paid the price on this front. With less than five seconds left on the shot clock, Ethan Lee was penalized for an illegal cross-check on Trey Deere that sent the Northmen to the power play, where they capitalized on it. After the Northmen scored their second power-play goal of the night, Nicholas Belmonte picked up a loose ball off an Orangeville turnover and scored his first goal of the playoffs, giving the Whitby fans something to cheer about. Just over four minutes later, Orangeville found its momentum again. As Dylan Sanderson was receiving a pass, he put his head down just as Ethan Lee was about to cross-check him and accidentally hit Sanderson’s head, which resulted in Lee serving another minor penalty for an illegal cross-check. Despite the Northmen not scoring on that power-play, they were able to stay in control for almost the remainder of the game. Whitby took some of it back for a short time. In 15 seconds, Julien Belair and Sorichetti both scored to give Whitby the lead with two minutes left. However, Orangeville sent out Trey Deere with a minute left, and he took the ball off a pass from Dylan Sanderson and scored on Redlick, sending the game to overtime.
In the overtime period, Max Kruger was able to go underneath on his defender and right over the shoulder of Redlick, which sent the Northmen fans into a frenzy as they took a 2-1 series lead.
Despite the loss, Belmonte was pleased with his first goal of the playoffs and talked about taking faceoffs again.
“A little bit of a slow start, in the first period, but as the game went on, I started to get my feet under me a little bit more,” said Belmonte after not taking draws for several games. “I just picked up that loose ball, used my field game a little bit in terms of shooting on the run and making the goalie drop, and was able to score, thankfully.”
Game Four of the series goes Friday night at 8:00 pm at Iroquois Park Sports Complex, before Game Five will be back in Orangeville on Saturday at 8:00 pm at Tony Rose Arena.
Please visit warriorslacrosse.com and the Whitby Warriors Jr A social media accounts for more playoff information.
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
August 1, 2025
ORANGEVILLE– Another one-goal game saw the Whitby Warriors fall to Orangeville 9-8 in overtime to take a 2-1 series lead at Tony Rose Arena on Wednesday Night.
“I think we are definitely the better team. It is really hard to win in this barn, but I think we're the better team. I think we just keep grinding out,” Ty Jesso said after Whitby’s second consecutive overtime loss in Orangeville. "We're better at skill and we outwork them every time. I think in our barn on Friday night, we'll take the win for sure.”
It didn’t take long for the Warriors to get on the scoreboard as Nolan Byrne netted his sixth goal of the playoffs less than 90 seconds into the game. Whitby’s defence has been one of the league's best all year in blocked shots, however, their penalty kill has struggled, allowing 52 on the season (compared to Orangeville's 35) and tonight was no different as Dylan Sanderson scored a power play marker to knot the game up at one.
Ty Jesso got one back when he found Treysen Stewart back door on the crease and was able to beat Northmen starting goaltender, Evan Constantopoulos. In 1:50, the Northmen would take their first lead of the game as Elijah Edwards ripped an outside shot past Warriors’ starting goaltender, Tyden Redlick and then rookie sensation Max Kruger was able to get a ball over the goal line that saw the Northmen take a 3-2 lead into the first intermission.
The second period became very physical. A scuffle near the benches saw a face-masking penalty against Trey Deere that Orangeville was able to kill off. Once teams were back to five-on-five, Gabe Sorichetti found a shooting lane inside to make it 3-3. Dylan Sanderson has been scoring all playoffs, but his brother, Cam, scored his second goal of the playoffs after Deere and Kruger found Sanderson up top and scored. With Orangeville up by one, they were looking to extend their lead and that’s when fireworks sparked.
As Owen Rahn was curling around the crease, a check sent him sprawling into the crease at the feet of Redlick and made contact with him; cue the fireworks. Redlick took exception and shoved Rahn while he was on the ground and Rahn did the same thing to Redlick which caused a major scrum at the Whitby net. Multiple players on both sides rushed to the protection of their teammates. Rahn lost his helmet in the pileup and after the show was over, Officials assessed only four minor penalties–two aside– and the teams played five-one-five again. But that scrum set the stage for the remainder of the game. Shortly after the scrum, Ayden Matthews fired a shot to make it 5-3, but less than a minute later Byrne potted his second of the night to make it 5-4 after 40 minutes of play.
In the third, the physicality ramped up. Teams were setting harder picks, finishing their hits, and finding ways to get under each other’s skin. Rahn bodied his way to the middle to make it a two-goal lead for Orangeville before Max Wetherup went underneath his defender and far side to cut the deficit to one. Unfortunately, due to the intensity of physicality, Whitby paid the price on this front. With less than five seconds left on the shot clock, Ethan Lee was penalized for an illegal cross-check on Trey Deere that sent the Northmen to the power play, where they capitalized on it. After the Northmen scored their second power-play goal of the night, Nicholas Belmonte picked up a loose ball off an Orangeville turnover and scored his first goal of the playoffs, giving the Whitby fans something to cheer about. Just over four minutes later, Orangeville found its momentum again. As Dylan Sanderson was receiving a pass, he put his head down just as Ethan Lee was about to cross-check him and accidentally hit Sanderson’s head, which resulted in Lee serving another minor penalty for an illegal cross-check. Despite the Northmen not scoring on that power-play, they were able to stay in control for almost the remainder of the game. Whitby took some of it back for a short time. In 15 seconds, Julien Belair and Sorichetti both scored to give Whitby the lead with two minutes left. However, Orangeville sent out Trey Deere with a minute left, and he took the ball off a pass from Dylan Sanderson and scored on Redlick, sending the game to overtime.
In the overtime period, Max Kruger was able to go underneath on his defender and right over the shoulder of Redlick, which sent the Northmen fans into a frenzy as they took a 2-1 series lead.
Despite the loss, Belmonte was pleased with his first goal of the playoffs and talked about taking faceoffs again.
“A little bit of a slow start, in the first period, but as the game went on, I started to get my feet under me a little bit more,” said Belmonte after not taking draws for several games. “I just picked up that loose ball, used my field game a little bit in terms of shooting on the run and making the goalie drop, and was able to score, thankfully.”
Game Four of the series goes Friday night at 8:00 pm at Iroquois Park Sports Complex, before Game Five will be back in Orangeville on Saturday at 8:00 pm at Tony Rose Arena.
Please visit warriorslacrosse.com and the Whitby Warriors Jr A social media accounts for more playoff information.
Balanced Scoring Leads the Way for Whitby
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
August 1, 2025
WHITBY– Nine different players scored for the Whitby Warriors en route to a 10-5 win over the Orangeville Northmen of the OJLL Ontario Finals to tie the series up at one on Monday night at Iroquois Park Sports Complex.
“Team effort, just like how we played a full 60 like earlier in the year against them,” said Owen Tapper on what it takes to beat Orangeville. “It took a full 60 against St. Catherine's to close out that series. It took a full 60 against Beaches to close that one out, and it's going to take a full 60 to clear out Orangeville. So, I mean, we just keep playing how we're playing.”
For the first time since Game Three of the Toronto Beaches series, the Warriors scored the game's first goal 17 seconds in. Nolan Byrne was able to spot Owen Tapper alone in the middle and buried a shot to get the Whitby fans engaged early on. It would then be over 10 minutes of game time before the next goal as Trey Deere found a shooting lane to tie the game. Whitby took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission after Lucas Littlejohn found a streaking Max Wetherup and went low on Northmen starting goaltender, Zach Constantopoulos.
Deere scored his second of the game in transition after Carter Coffey had great floor vision to see Deere far side and scored past the Warriors’ starting goaltender, Tyden Redlick. Later on, a loose ball play near the benches saw Justin Hewitt scoop up the ball and was able to get a pass off to Ethan Lee, who scored to restore the one-goal lead. Less than three minutes after Whitby went up 3-2. Jack Oldman took matters into his own hands and sent a pass to Gabe Sorichetti, who found Littlejohn, who sent it right back to Oldman to give Whitby a two-goal lead after two periods of play.
In the third, Lee, Wetherup, and Ben Kromer were on a three-on-two and a textbook tic-tac-toe passing play saw Kromer score on a quickstick goal to widen the margin to three goals. Orangeville's Owen Tovell then saw a shooting lane and took advantage to narrow the gap to two. But after Whitby surrendered a third-period goal, they went on a three-goal run in just under three minutes. Former Northmen, Julien Belair, began the spree after a quick swing pass from Sorichetti. Byrne then found the back of the net, and Luke Robinson scored on an empty net.
However, Orangeville scored two goals in 14 seconds. Deere sniped a shot past Redlick that went top-corner to gain some momentum back, and it was Jaden Ciappara who scooped up a loose ball off a draw and scored to make it 8-5. But, with the Northmen searching for a comeback, they pulled their goaltender and allowed two more empty net goals as Owen Lee and Wethrup each scored to double up the Northmen 10-5.
Despite the win, for graduating players Lucas Littlejohn and Jack Oldman, they will be leaving the team to represent Canada at the Men’s U20 World Championships, and they knew it was a bittersweet game for both of them.
“I was very emotional after the game, obviously, like, I love these guys. I’ve been lucky to have played with them for five years, and some of them, with and against, for even longer, and I could not be more proud of what I’ve accomplished individually in junior box but I’m even more proud of what this team has accomplished this year and throughout my whole career,” said Oldman, reflecting on his junior box lacrosse career.
“Special is the word I’d use,” said Littlejohn, describing what he’ll leave behind. “Couldn't have been a better night to do it. All the fans here from provincials, just a packed house made it special, and just a good way to go out, and I'm confident in their [the team's] abilities to get the job done and win a Minto.”
Redlick credited his defence for their performance and highlighted what the team needs to keep doing to beat the Northmen.
“I think we need to play how we did in game one and game two,” said Redlick. “This is a group that plays the level that they need to play to, and I think we can work on our finishing games and stuff like that. We just need to bear down and push through here. We're almost at the finish line, no matter what. So go hard through the end here, and good things will happen for you.”
Game Three of the series will be played in Orangeville at Tony Rose Arena at 8:00 pm on Wednesday, August 6. Game Four is back at Iroquois Park Sports Complex on Friday, August 8, at 8:00 pm.
Please visit warriorslacrosse.com for more playoff information.
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
August 1, 2025
WHITBY– Nine different players scored for the Whitby Warriors en route to a 10-5 win over the Orangeville Northmen of the OJLL Ontario Finals to tie the series up at one on Monday night at Iroquois Park Sports Complex.
“Team effort, just like how we played a full 60 like earlier in the year against them,” said Owen Tapper on what it takes to beat Orangeville. “It took a full 60 against St. Catherine's to close out that series. It took a full 60 against Beaches to close that one out, and it's going to take a full 60 to clear out Orangeville. So, I mean, we just keep playing how we're playing.”
For the first time since Game Three of the Toronto Beaches series, the Warriors scored the game's first goal 17 seconds in. Nolan Byrne was able to spot Owen Tapper alone in the middle and buried a shot to get the Whitby fans engaged early on. It would then be over 10 minutes of game time before the next goal as Trey Deere found a shooting lane to tie the game. Whitby took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission after Lucas Littlejohn found a streaking Max Wetherup and went low on Northmen starting goaltender, Zach Constantopoulos.
Deere scored his second of the game in transition after Carter Coffey had great floor vision to see Deere far side and scored past the Warriors’ starting goaltender, Tyden Redlick. Later on, a loose ball play near the benches saw Justin Hewitt scoop up the ball and was able to get a pass off to Ethan Lee, who scored to restore the one-goal lead. Less than three minutes after Whitby went up 3-2. Jack Oldman took matters into his own hands and sent a pass to Gabe Sorichetti, who found Littlejohn, who sent it right back to Oldman to give Whitby a two-goal lead after two periods of play.
In the third, Lee, Wetherup, and Ben Kromer were on a three-on-two and a textbook tic-tac-toe passing play saw Kromer score on a quickstick goal to widen the margin to three goals. Orangeville's Owen Tovell then saw a shooting lane and took advantage to narrow the gap to two. But after Whitby surrendered a third-period goal, they went on a three-goal run in just under three minutes. Former Northmen, Julien Belair, began the spree after a quick swing pass from Sorichetti. Byrne then found the back of the net, and Luke Robinson scored on an empty net.
However, Orangeville scored two goals in 14 seconds. Deere sniped a shot past Redlick that went top-corner to gain some momentum back, and it was Jaden Ciappara who scooped up a loose ball off a draw and scored to make it 8-5. But, with the Northmen searching for a comeback, they pulled their goaltender and allowed two more empty net goals as Owen Lee and Wethrup each scored to double up the Northmen 10-5.
Despite the win, for graduating players Lucas Littlejohn and Jack Oldman, they will be leaving the team to represent Canada at the Men’s U20 World Championships, and they knew it was a bittersweet game for both of them.
“I was very emotional after the game, obviously, like, I love these guys. I’ve been lucky to have played with them for five years, and some of them, with and against, for even longer, and I could not be more proud of what I’ve accomplished individually in junior box but I’m even more proud of what this team has accomplished this year and throughout my whole career,” said Oldman, reflecting on his junior box lacrosse career.
“Special is the word I’d use,” said Littlejohn, describing what he’ll leave behind. “Couldn't have been a better night to do it. All the fans here from provincials, just a packed house made it special, and just a good way to go out, and I'm confident in their [the team's] abilities to get the job done and win a Minto.”
Redlick credited his defence for their performance and highlighted what the team needs to keep doing to beat the Northmen.
“I think we need to play how we did in game one and game two,” said Redlick. “This is a group that plays the level that they need to play to, and I think we can work on our finishing games and stuff like that. We just need to bear down and push through here. We're almost at the finish line, no matter what. So go hard through the end here, and good things will happen for you.”
Game Three of the series will be played in Orangeville at Tony Rose Arena at 8:00 pm on Wednesday, August 6. Game Four is back at Iroquois Park Sports Complex on Friday, August 8, at 8:00 pm.
Please visit warriorslacrosse.com for more playoff information.
Unlucky Bounce Gives Orangeville the Game One Overtime Win
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
August 1, 2025
ORANGEVILLE—An overtime goal from Owen Rahn lifted the Orangeville Northmen to a 7-6 win over the Whitby Warriors on Friday night at Tony Rose Arena.
The series’ first goal came off Rookie of the Year finalist, Max Kruger, to give the Hornheads an early lead. Not long after, former Northmen member, Julien Bélair found a shooting lane and faked out Orangeville starting goaltender, Zach Constantopoulos to tie the game at one apiece. Whitby’s first lead came off a great play. As the ball was rolling towards the centre line, Jack Oldman managed to save the ball to keep the possession alive. He then played a two-man game with Max Wetherup and after Oldman received the ball back from Wetherup, he spotted Ty Jesso who curled around the crease to make it 2-1. While on the power play, Kruger scored his second of the game as the two teams were tied at two after the first period.
Liam Matthews got on the score sheet after his brother and Kruger assisted on his 19th goal of the playoffs. A few minutes later is when Orangeville gained a two-goal lead courtesy of Kruger’s hat trick marker. Before the period ended, Whitby was looking to close the gap and Gabe Sorichetti sniped a shot past Constantopoulos to make it 4-3 heading into the third.
In the final frame, Matthew Ford continued his excellent playoffs by notching his seventh goal and shortly after that, Lucas Littlejohn gave Whitby the lead at 5-4. However, 32 seconds later Kruger scored his fourth of the game to tie the game at five. 1:04 after Kruger scored, Treysen Stewart fought his way around his defender and made it 6-5. The game had four goals scored in the first 3:05 of the third period and sent the remainder of the game into a goalie duel. Tyden Redlick for Whitby did everything he could to preserve the lead, and Zach Constantopoulos did everything he could to not give up any more goals. With 2:44 remaining, Matthews fired an outside shot past Redlick to tie the game and send it to overtime.
In the overtime period, Whitby won the ensuing faceoff and had numbers on offence, but Constantpopulous made one his 41 saves on the night to give the Northmen a chance to win. A shot from Owen Rahn got caught underneath the arm of Redlick and bounced over the goal line for the game winner to give Orangeville a 1-0 series lead.
Game 2 of the Ontario Finals will be on Monday August 4 at 8:00pm at Iroquois Park Sports Complex. Please visit warriorslacrosse.com for more playoff information.
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
August 1, 2025
ORANGEVILLE—An overtime goal from Owen Rahn lifted the Orangeville Northmen to a 7-6 win over the Whitby Warriors on Friday night at Tony Rose Arena.
The series’ first goal came off Rookie of the Year finalist, Max Kruger, to give the Hornheads an early lead. Not long after, former Northmen member, Julien Bélair found a shooting lane and faked out Orangeville starting goaltender, Zach Constantopoulos to tie the game at one apiece. Whitby’s first lead came off a great play. As the ball was rolling towards the centre line, Jack Oldman managed to save the ball to keep the possession alive. He then played a two-man game with Max Wetherup and after Oldman received the ball back from Wetherup, he spotted Ty Jesso who curled around the crease to make it 2-1. While on the power play, Kruger scored his second of the game as the two teams were tied at two after the first period.
Liam Matthews got on the score sheet after his brother and Kruger assisted on his 19th goal of the playoffs. A few minutes later is when Orangeville gained a two-goal lead courtesy of Kruger’s hat trick marker. Before the period ended, Whitby was looking to close the gap and Gabe Sorichetti sniped a shot past Constantopoulos to make it 4-3 heading into the third.
In the final frame, Matthew Ford continued his excellent playoffs by notching his seventh goal and shortly after that, Lucas Littlejohn gave Whitby the lead at 5-4. However, 32 seconds later Kruger scored his fourth of the game to tie the game at five. 1:04 after Kruger scored, Treysen Stewart fought his way around his defender and made it 6-5. The game had four goals scored in the first 3:05 of the third period and sent the remainder of the game into a goalie duel. Tyden Redlick for Whitby did everything he could to preserve the lead, and Zach Constantopoulos did everything he could to not give up any more goals. With 2:44 remaining, Matthews fired an outside shot past Redlick to tie the game and send it to overtime.
In the overtime period, Whitby won the ensuing faceoff and had numbers on offence, but Constantpopulous made one his 41 saves on the night to give the Northmen a chance to win. A shot from Owen Rahn got caught underneath the arm of Redlick and bounced over the goal line for the game winner to give Orangeville a 1-0 series lead.
Game 2 of the Ontario Finals will be on Monday August 4 at 8:00pm at Iroquois Park Sports Complex. Please visit warriorslacrosse.com for more playoff information.
Whitby Completes the Comeback!
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
July 31, 2025
WHITBY– Three goals from Julien Belair and six points from Lucas Littlejohn were the offence that the Whitby Warriors needed to win a decisive game 7, 10-9, to advance to the Ontario Finals in the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League.
“I’m just so proud of this group and all these young men, and this win is one for the memory books,” head coach Kevin Jenkins said after Whitby won its second do-or-die game of these 2025 playoffs. “I think we played...12 games in 15 nights. We battled through injuries, adversity and we bounced back from tough losses, and as a coach, you dream of players that we have in our locker room.”
Just like in Game 6, it was the Toronto Beaches who struck first. Cal Brennan scored his seventh goal of the playoffs off an assist from Willem Firth to take an early lead. Whitby’s first goal was from Ryan Langille after Lucas Littlejohn found him up top and scored. A penalty sent the Beaches to the power play, where it was Firth finding Liam Aston for a power play marker. Whitby would then go on a three-goal run in just under four minutes. Littlejohn got it going before Julien Belair snuck a shot across the line, and Gabe Sorchetti capped it off after he found a path to the inside of the Beaches' defence and gave Whitby a 4-2 lead after the first period.
Whitby picked up right where they left off and went on a four-goal run. Sorichetti wired a shot past Beaches starting goaltender, Thomas Kiazyk. Two minutes later, Sorichetti scored while on the man-advantage. Later on in the period, a shot from Belair was saved by Kiazyk and the ball became loose in front of the net, where Treysen Stewart was able to corral the loose ball and throw a no-look shovel-type shot on goal that bounced over the shoulder of Kiazyk, which brought the Whitby fans to their feet. The run was capped off after Warriors starting goaltender, Tyden Redlick, stopped a shot from Josh Mills, who then found Owen Tapper in transition, who spotted Max Wetherup and sniped a shot–while on his wrong side–top corner to give Whitby an 8-2 lead with eight and half minutes remaining in the second period. However, the Beaches would start to mount a comeback, and it started 24 seconds after Wetherup’s goal. Call Brennan scored a goal while shorthanded to cut the lead to five goals, and it was Firth who cut the deficit in half after an outside shot got past Redlick. Just before the middle frame ended, Mills received a pass from Firth back door for a quick-stick goal and made it 8-5 after two periods of play.
Lucas Littlejohn knows the Pickering Recreation Complex very well, as he won a conference and league championship in Junior A hockey in 2022 and used the experience to help his team to a Round 2 victory in Junior A lacrosse.
“This is where I won a hockey championship, it's kind of cool and I was able to use what I learned here four years ago tonight and help the team out,” Littlejohn said about using his veteran experience in the game and third period. “We were fortunate enough to have the support here from the crowd, and it was fun.”
And did Littlejohn use every ounce of experience and knowledge he had to close out a rocky third period for both sides. Littlejohn was able to chase down players in transitions, pick off passes record his fifth assist of the night, and play on the ball team to kill the clock when it mattered most. But that happened after Toronto continued its comeback. After Owen Tapper scooped up a ball and ripped an underhand shot in transition to make it 9-5 less than three minutes into the third, Toronto was not going to go down without a fight.
Cue the Beaches comeback. Hamish McPherson spotted Firth for his 19th of the playoffs to start the run. After both Redlick and Kiazyk made some stellar saves to keep their teams in the game, it was Kiazyk who floated a textbook outlet pass right into the stick of David Peterkin and went five-hole on Redlick to make it 9-7 with 10 minutes to play. After feeding Firth on his goal, McPherson scored one of his own to see the Whitby lead feed down to one goal. However, with Whitby being in control the majority of the game and forcing Beaches to chase them on the scoreboard, off-season acquisition Belair was on his wrong side when he found a loose ball and scored on Kiazyk that not only ended the run, but was an insurance marker that gave the Warriors some breathing room with time winding down.
With the clock ticking down and Beaches searching for that tying goal, Kiazyk was pulled for the extra attacker, and Aston found the back of the net that made it 10-9 with 76 seconds remaining in regulation.
Off the ensuing faceoff, Toronto won the draw and then called a timeout. After the timeout, Redlick made a great save on Firth. With Whitby in possession in the offensive zone, Littlejohn and Sorichetti got doubled-team from the Beaches defender when they had the ball and after a shot clock violation gave the Beaches the ball back with 12 seconds left, Aston had the ball in the stick and was smothered by the Warriors defence that caused the ball to become loose and Ethan Lee sent the ball down the floor and the Warriors celebrated series win.
All series long, Owen Lee was tasked with defending and shutting down Willem Firth, and spoke about the player he is and how he was able to handle the assignment.
“It all comes down to trust,” said Lee about defending the best player in Junior A lacrosse this season. “When I'm out on the floor, like whoever the other four guys are with me, I have 100% trust, and I'm just relying on them.”
For his brother and graduating player, Ethan Lee, he spoke about the performance Redlick had and the tight turnaround for Game 1 of the Ontario Finals.
“I think just having Ty back there, he's playing behind us, he's awesome, all the saves, all the outside shots, and we keep the inside ones out,” said Lee. “I think, keep the same mindset going, just playing hard and sticking to our defence and the offence will kind of figure it out, like they did all the time, all year. Got something to win.”
The Whitby Warriors will return to the OJLL Ontario Finals for the first time since 2022, where they advanced and won the Minto Cup that year, and this team is looking for the organization's ninth National title. They will be facing off against the Orangeville Northmen with Game 1 coming from Tony Rose Arena in Orangeville on Friday, August 1, at 8:00 pm.
Stay tuned to the Whitby Warriors Junior A social media accounts along with warriorslacrosse.com for the rest of the Finals schedule.
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
July 31, 2025
WHITBY– Three goals from Julien Belair and six points from Lucas Littlejohn were the offence that the Whitby Warriors needed to win a decisive game 7, 10-9, to advance to the Ontario Finals in the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League.
“I’m just so proud of this group and all these young men, and this win is one for the memory books,” head coach Kevin Jenkins said after Whitby won its second do-or-die game of these 2025 playoffs. “I think we played...12 games in 15 nights. We battled through injuries, adversity and we bounced back from tough losses, and as a coach, you dream of players that we have in our locker room.”
Just like in Game 6, it was the Toronto Beaches who struck first. Cal Brennan scored his seventh goal of the playoffs off an assist from Willem Firth to take an early lead. Whitby’s first goal was from Ryan Langille after Lucas Littlejohn found him up top and scored. A penalty sent the Beaches to the power play, where it was Firth finding Liam Aston for a power play marker. Whitby would then go on a three-goal run in just under four minutes. Littlejohn got it going before Julien Belair snuck a shot across the line, and Gabe Sorchetti capped it off after he found a path to the inside of the Beaches' defence and gave Whitby a 4-2 lead after the first period.
Whitby picked up right where they left off and went on a four-goal run. Sorichetti wired a shot past Beaches starting goaltender, Thomas Kiazyk. Two minutes later, Sorichetti scored while on the man-advantage. Later on in the period, a shot from Belair was saved by Kiazyk and the ball became loose in front of the net, where Treysen Stewart was able to corral the loose ball and throw a no-look shovel-type shot on goal that bounced over the shoulder of Kiazyk, which brought the Whitby fans to their feet. The run was capped off after Warriors starting goaltender, Tyden Redlick, stopped a shot from Josh Mills, who then found Owen Tapper in transition, who spotted Max Wetherup and sniped a shot–while on his wrong side–top corner to give Whitby an 8-2 lead with eight and half minutes remaining in the second period. However, the Beaches would start to mount a comeback, and it started 24 seconds after Wetherup’s goal. Call Brennan scored a goal while shorthanded to cut the lead to five goals, and it was Firth who cut the deficit in half after an outside shot got past Redlick. Just before the middle frame ended, Mills received a pass from Firth back door for a quick-stick goal and made it 8-5 after two periods of play.
Lucas Littlejohn knows the Pickering Recreation Complex very well, as he won a conference and league championship in Junior A hockey in 2022 and used the experience to help his team to a Round 2 victory in Junior A lacrosse.
“This is where I won a hockey championship, it's kind of cool and I was able to use what I learned here four years ago tonight and help the team out,” Littlejohn said about using his veteran experience in the game and third period. “We were fortunate enough to have the support here from the crowd, and it was fun.”
And did Littlejohn use every ounce of experience and knowledge he had to close out a rocky third period for both sides. Littlejohn was able to chase down players in transitions, pick off passes record his fifth assist of the night, and play on the ball team to kill the clock when it mattered most. But that happened after Toronto continued its comeback. After Owen Tapper scooped up a ball and ripped an underhand shot in transition to make it 9-5 less than three minutes into the third, Toronto was not going to go down without a fight.
Cue the Beaches comeback. Hamish McPherson spotted Firth for his 19th of the playoffs to start the run. After both Redlick and Kiazyk made some stellar saves to keep their teams in the game, it was Kiazyk who floated a textbook outlet pass right into the stick of David Peterkin and went five-hole on Redlick to make it 9-7 with 10 minutes to play. After feeding Firth on his goal, McPherson scored one of his own to see the Whitby lead feed down to one goal. However, with Whitby being in control the majority of the game and forcing Beaches to chase them on the scoreboard, off-season acquisition Belair was on his wrong side when he found a loose ball and scored on Kiazyk that not only ended the run, but was an insurance marker that gave the Warriors some breathing room with time winding down.
With the clock ticking down and Beaches searching for that tying goal, Kiazyk was pulled for the extra attacker, and Aston found the back of the net that made it 10-9 with 76 seconds remaining in regulation.
Off the ensuing faceoff, Toronto won the draw and then called a timeout. After the timeout, Redlick made a great save on Firth. With Whitby in possession in the offensive zone, Littlejohn and Sorichetti got doubled-team from the Beaches defender when they had the ball and after a shot clock violation gave the Beaches the ball back with 12 seconds left, Aston had the ball in the stick and was smothered by the Warriors defence that caused the ball to become loose and Ethan Lee sent the ball down the floor and the Warriors celebrated series win.
All series long, Owen Lee was tasked with defending and shutting down Willem Firth, and spoke about the player he is and how he was able to handle the assignment.
“It all comes down to trust,” said Lee about defending the best player in Junior A lacrosse this season. “When I'm out on the floor, like whoever the other four guys are with me, I have 100% trust, and I'm just relying on them.”
For his brother and graduating player, Ethan Lee, he spoke about the performance Redlick had and the tight turnaround for Game 1 of the Ontario Finals.
“I think just having Ty back there, he's playing behind us, he's awesome, all the saves, all the outside shots, and we keep the inside ones out,” said Lee. “I think, keep the same mindset going, just playing hard and sticking to our defence and the offence will kind of figure it out, like they did all the time, all year. Got something to win.”
The Whitby Warriors will return to the OJLL Ontario Finals for the first time since 2022, where they advanced and won the Minto Cup that year, and this team is looking for the organization's ninth National title. They will be facing off against the Orangeville Northmen with Game 1 coming from Tony Rose Arena in Orangeville on Friday, August 1, at 8:00 pm.
Stay tuned to the Whitby Warriors Junior A social media accounts along with warriorslacrosse.com for the rest of the Finals schedule.
The Second Round Goes the Distance
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
July 30, 2025
WHITBY– A four goal night from Gabe Sorichetti and seven points from Lucas Littlejohn helped the Whitby Warriors earn a deciding game 7 after a 10-7 win against the Toronto Beaches on Wednesday night at Iroquois Park Sports Complex.
“There's 12 overagers in that room and we knew this could be the last time we all played together, and we said that we want one more game,” said Gabe Sorichetti about the possibility of this being his final game of junior lacrosse. “LJ [Lucas Littlejohn] and I played with each other for four years, going up right through the COVID bubble in 2021 and then in 2022 where we won a Minto Cup together so it’s been great to play my junior career with him.”
It wasn’t the start that Whitby was hoping for as Josh Mills and Hunter Lubiniecki both scored less than five minutes into the game to jump out to a two-goal lead. Whitby’s first goal came off the stick of their FODE (Face Off Do Everything) player in Jack Oldman for his fifth goal of the playoffs. Newcomer and rookie offensive player, Matthew Ford then found a shooting lane on the inside to make it a two-all game. The tie would be short lived as Willem Firth scored his eighth goal in the last three games to take the lead back and it wasn’t until late in the period when the Warriors tied up the game again after Treysen Stewart scored, then less than 20 seconds later it was Sorichetti’s turn to rip one which gave Whitby a 4-3 lead after the opening 20 minutes.
Sorchetti scored the first period's last goal; and he scored the second period's first goal for his hat trick on the night as Littlejohn found him on the inside and fired a shot past Beaches starting goaltender, Thomas Kiazyk. The Beaches would then get two straight goals–including a powerplay goal. Their first one was scored by Seth Martineau in transition. Their next goal came courtesy of a 5-on-3 powerplay that saw Firth find Liam Aston cross-crease to get a shot past Whitby starting goaltender, Tyden Redlick. Near the end of the second, it was Whitby who found themselves on a 5-on-3 powerplay of their own and after Ford set a great pick for Sorichetti, Max Wetherup found Sorichetti all alone up top and made it a 6-5 Whitby lead after two periods of play.
In the third, Ty Jesso was getting triple teamed along the boards but somehow managed to get a pass off to Littlejohn who sent a no-look pass to a cutting Ford who went over the shoulder to beat Kiazyk. Not long after is when Mills scored to cut the deficit to one and take the momentum back, but it was the captain Littlejohn who sniped a shot to make it 9-7 for the dagger. With just under 12 minutes remaining and Beaches trailing, they took a careless penalty which sent the Warriors to the powerplay. On that powerplay, Stewart found Littlejohn whose shot was saved by Kiazyk as he fell to the turf, but rolled outside the crease where Wetherup was standing and scored on an empty net as Kiazyk was out of position, which nearly blew the roof off of Iroquois Park. Both teams would manage to score one more goal which included Sorichetti’s fourth of the night, and Hamish McPherson was able to notch his third of the playoffs.
With the Warriors playing in their second straight winner-takes-all game, Ford is ready for the challenge.
“I think we've got just to do exactly what we did out here today, and just keep firing on defense, offense, and goaltending,” said Ford about the lineup the Warriors have. “I think we've got all the horses to do it.
”
For a second straight series, the Whitby Warriors will be in the final game of a series. They won game 5 against the Minto Cup hosts, St. Catherines Athletics, and will look to defeat the Toronto Beaches in a win-or-go-home scenario.
Game 7 will be played at the Pickering Recreation Complex on Thursday, July 31, at 8:00 pm with the winner facing off against the Orangeville Northmen in the Ontario Finals of the OJLL. Please visit warriorslacrosse.com for more playoff information.
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
July 30, 2025
WHITBY– A four goal night from Gabe Sorichetti and seven points from Lucas Littlejohn helped the Whitby Warriors earn a deciding game 7 after a 10-7 win against the Toronto Beaches on Wednesday night at Iroquois Park Sports Complex.
“There's 12 overagers in that room and we knew this could be the last time we all played together, and we said that we want one more game,” said Gabe Sorichetti about the possibility of this being his final game of junior lacrosse. “LJ [Lucas Littlejohn] and I played with each other for four years, going up right through the COVID bubble in 2021 and then in 2022 where we won a Minto Cup together so it’s been great to play my junior career with him.”
It wasn’t the start that Whitby was hoping for as Josh Mills and Hunter Lubiniecki both scored less than five minutes into the game to jump out to a two-goal lead. Whitby’s first goal came off the stick of their FODE (Face Off Do Everything) player in Jack Oldman for his fifth goal of the playoffs. Newcomer and rookie offensive player, Matthew Ford then found a shooting lane on the inside to make it a two-all game. The tie would be short lived as Willem Firth scored his eighth goal in the last three games to take the lead back and it wasn’t until late in the period when the Warriors tied up the game again after Treysen Stewart scored, then less than 20 seconds later it was Sorichetti’s turn to rip one which gave Whitby a 4-3 lead after the opening 20 minutes.
Sorchetti scored the first period's last goal; and he scored the second period's first goal for his hat trick on the night as Littlejohn found him on the inside and fired a shot past Beaches starting goaltender, Thomas Kiazyk. The Beaches would then get two straight goals–including a powerplay goal. Their first one was scored by Seth Martineau in transition. Their next goal came courtesy of a 5-on-3 powerplay that saw Firth find Liam Aston cross-crease to get a shot past Whitby starting goaltender, Tyden Redlick. Near the end of the second, it was Whitby who found themselves on a 5-on-3 powerplay of their own and after Ford set a great pick for Sorichetti, Max Wetherup found Sorichetti all alone up top and made it a 6-5 Whitby lead after two periods of play.
In the third, Ty Jesso was getting triple teamed along the boards but somehow managed to get a pass off to Littlejohn who sent a no-look pass to a cutting Ford who went over the shoulder to beat Kiazyk. Not long after is when Mills scored to cut the deficit to one and take the momentum back, but it was the captain Littlejohn who sniped a shot to make it 9-7 for the dagger. With just under 12 minutes remaining and Beaches trailing, they took a careless penalty which sent the Warriors to the powerplay. On that powerplay, Stewart found Littlejohn whose shot was saved by Kiazyk as he fell to the turf, but rolled outside the crease where Wetherup was standing and scored on an empty net as Kiazyk was out of position, which nearly blew the roof off of Iroquois Park. Both teams would manage to score one more goal which included Sorichetti’s fourth of the night, and Hamish McPherson was able to notch his third of the playoffs.
With the Warriors playing in their second straight winner-takes-all game, Ford is ready for the challenge.
“I think we've got just to do exactly what we did out here today, and just keep firing on defense, offense, and goaltending,” said Ford about the lineup the Warriors have. “I think we've got all the horses to do it.
”
For a second straight series, the Whitby Warriors will be in the final game of a series. They won game 5 against the Minto Cup hosts, St. Catherines Athletics, and will look to defeat the Toronto Beaches in a win-or-go-home scenario.
Game 7 will be played at the Pickering Recreation Complex on Thursday, July 31, at 8:00 pm with the winner facing off against the Orangeville Northmen in the Ontario Finals of the OJLL. Please visit warriorslacrosse.com for more playoff information.
Beaches Take Game 4 in Whitby
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
July 27, 2025
WHITBY– A three goal run in the third period lifted the Toronto Beaches over the Whitby Warriors in Game 4 of the best-of-seven series and tied it up at two games. Despite Gabe Sorichetti scoring seven points in the game, it was Willem Firth’s 11 that helped even up the Beaches win their second game on the road.
Firth got the scoring started just 3:05 into the game to give the Beaches fans that made the trip something to cheer about early. Just over five minutes later, Sorichetti found a shooting lane on the power play and tied it up. Later on, it would be Matthew Ford who scored his third goal of the playoffs and filling in for the injured Nolan Byrne who is still battling a lower-body injury. Liam Aston then found the back of the net to make it a two-all game after the opening 20 minutes of play.
In the second, Max Wetherup found some space up top on the power play to take the lead back just 47 seconds in. Josh Mills was then able to score off a feed from Hunter Lubiniecki that made it a 3-3 game. Cue the Whitby run. Sorichetti, Wetherup and Ty Jesso all scored in under 60 seconds to open up a three-goal lead for the hometown. Cue the Toronto run. Firth scored twice while Hamish McPherson added one to steal the momentum right back from Whitby. With nine and half minutes left in the middle period, Ford and Sorichetti played a two-man game that freed up Ford on the backside and Lucas Littlejohn found him on the crease to go up 7-6. Littlejohn then followed suit as he came off the bench in transition and sniped a shot past Beaches starting goaltender, Thomas Kiazyk. However, just 47 seconds later Cal Brennan scored off an assist from Firth and with under a minute left in the period, Firth found Aston for the tie as the first and second periods saw both teams tied at the intermission.
A tied lacrosse game after two periods means there is room for error. Jack Oldman was dominant at the faceoff dot and was able to find his way onto the score sheet after Julien Belair spotted Oldman open and scored to make it 9-8. However, while Toronto was killing a penalty, Firth sent a long-range shot on net that got through the legs of Warriors starting goaltender, Tyden Redlick. A minute later–still on the same penalty kill-is when Aston scored to take a one goal lead with under 10 minutes to go. After Whitby called a timeout with 33 seconds remaining and drew up a play, their shot attempt missed the net with Redlick on the bench for the extra attacker, Beaches scored an empty netter to win 11-9.
Game 5 goes tomorrow night at the Pickering Recreation Complex at 8:00 pm and Game 6 will be back at Iroquois Park Sports Complex on Wednesday at 7:30 pm. Please visit warriorslacrosse.com for more playoff information.
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
July 27, 2025
WHITBY– A three goal run in the third period lifted the Toronto Beaches over the Whitby Warriors in Game 4 of the best-of-seven series and tied it up at two games. Despite Gabe Sorichetti scoring seven points in the game, it was Willem Firth’s 11 that helped even up the Beaches win their second game on the road.
Firth got the scoring started just 3:05 into the game to give the Beaches fans that made the trip something to cheer about early. Just over five minutes later, Sorichetti found a shooting lane on the power play and tied it up. Later on, it would be Matthew Ford who scored his third goal of the playoffs and filling in for the injured Nolan Byrne who is still battling a lower-body injury. Liam Aston then found the back of the net to make it a two-all game after the opening 20 minutes of play.
In the second, Max Wetherup found some space up top on the power play to take the lead back just 47 seconds in. Josh Mills was then able to score off a feed from Hunter Lubiniecki that made it a 3-3 game. Cue the Whitby run. Sorichetti, Wetherup and Ty Jesso all scored in under 60 seconds to open up a three-goal lead for the hometown. Cue the Toronto run. Firth scored twice while Hamish McPherson added one to steal the momentum right back from Whitby. With nine and half minutes left in the middle period, Ford and Sorichetti played a two-man game that freed up Ford on the backside and Lucas Littlejohn found him on the crease to go up 7-6. Littlejohn then followed suit as he came off the bench in transition and sniped a shot past Beaches starting goaltender, Thomas Kiazyk. However, just 47 seconds later Cal Brennan scored off an assist from Firth and with under a minute left in the period, Firth found Aston for the tie as the first and second periods saw both teams tied at the intermission.
A tied lacrosse game after two periods means there is room for error. Jack Oldman was dominant at the faceoff dot and was able to find his way onto the score sheet after Julien Belair spotted Oldman open and scored to make it 9-8. However, while Toronto was killing a penalty, Firth sent a long-range shot on net that got through the legs of Warriors starting goaltender, Tyden Redlick. A minute later–still on the same penalty kill-is when Aston scored to take a one goal lead with under 10 minutes to go. After Whitby called a timeout with 33 seconds remaining and drew up a play, their shot attempt missed the net with Redlick on the bench for the extra attacker, Beaches scored an empty netter to win 11-9.
Game 5 goes tomorrow night at the Pickering Recreation Complex at 8:00 pm and Game 6 will be back at Iroquois Park Sports Complex on Wednesday at 7:30 pm. Please visit warriorslacrosse.com for more playoff information.
Whitby Wins Another on the Road to Take Series Lead
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
July 23, 2025
PICKERING– A defensive battle saw the Whitby Warriors win Game Three against the Toronto Beaches by a final score of 9-6 at Pickering Recreation Complex on Friday night. Lucas Littlejohn recorded eight points while rookie Evan Barrett slotted into the lineup for his first career OJLL game.
“It was great. Good experience. The boys helped me a lot,” said Evan Barrett after joining the lineup in a big role in the playoffs. “Big step up from Junior B lacrosse. A lot quicker. But felt good to get out there.”
The first period was all Whitby. They were winning the loose ball battles, faceoffs and gaining secondary possessions which tired out the Beaches defence. Whitby’s first goal came from Ryan Langille for his sixth of the playoffs. Two minutes later is when Gabe Sorichetti scored to double the Warriors lead before Lucas Littlejohn found the back of the net. Langille scored his second of the night after Littlejohn found him all alone in front of the Beaches net to beat starting goaltender, Thomas Kiazyk.
The second period was a much different story. Beaches went full throttle. Cal Brennan scored less than a minute into the period to get Toronto on the board. Whitby struggled in the second period; dropping passes, miscommunication and difficulty with shot accuracy on offence. Those miscues allowed Liam Aston to get a shot past Warriors starting goaltender, Tyden Redlick. 40 seconds later is when B.C. native Josh Mills joined the scoresheet and he would later score his second of the game to tie the game up at four after two periods.
In the third, after Whitby found themselves killing a penalty, Owen Tapper found Max Wetherup who sniped a shot past Kiazyk to break the deadlock and take the lead back. Matthew Ford found a shooting lane to give Whitby its second two-goal lead of the night. But that was short lived as Willem Firth brought the hometown fans to their feet after a shot snuck past Redlick. A few minutes later is when Littlejohn recorded his second goal which stood as the game winner. With time remaining and Beaches starting to press, Sorichetti scored a quickstick goal for an insurance goal. After Whitby took back a three-goal lead, Beaches would pull their goalie and Littlejohn would record his hat trick with an Empty Net goal.
The defence was able to shut down the high-powered offence and play a physical game which was missing in Game 2.
“We like to play really physical. Know where our matchups are, get them early,” said Eddy Ferrede after the win. “We have certain principles that we stick to when we do that. No team really beats us.”
Ferrede also spoke about Barrett’s performance and having him in the lineup.
“He was zooming all over the place. He was fast. He was getting anywhere he needed to be. It's huge,” said Ferrede. “We have guys who can step up and fill some veteran spots when needed, especially in, you know, the grind of the season, the playoffs.”
Game 4 of the series will be played at Iroquois Park Sports Complex at 4:00 pm on Sunday, July 27. Please visit warriorslacrosse.com for more playoff information.
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
July 23, 2025
PICKERING– A defensive battle saw the Whitby Warriors win Game Three against the Toronto Beaches by a final score of 9-6 at Pickering Recreation Complex on Friday night. Lucas Littlejohn recorded eight points while rookie Evan Barrett slotted into the lineup for his first career OJLL game.
“It was great. Good experience. The boys helped me a lot,” said Evan Barrett after joining the lineup in a big role in the playoffs. “Big step up from Junior B lacrosse. A lot quicker. But felt good to get out there.”
The first period was all Whitby. They were winning the loose ball battles, faceoffs and gaining secondary possessions which tired out the Beaches defence. Whitby’s first goal came from Ryan Langille for his sixth of the playoffs. Two minutes later is when Gabe Sorichetti scored to double the Warriors lead before Lucas Littlejohn found the back of the net. Langille scored his second of the night after Littlejohn found him all alone in front of the Beaches net to beat starting goaltender, Thomas Kiazyk.
The second period was a much different story. Beaches went full throttle. Cal Brennan scored less than a minute into the period to get Toronto on the board. Whitby struggled in the second period; dropping passes, miscommunication and difficulty with shot accuracy on offence. Those miscues allowed Liam Aston to get a shot past Warriors starting goaltender, Tyden Redlick. 40 seconds later is when B.C. native Josh Mills joined the scoresheet and he would later score his second of the game to tie the game up at four after two periods.
In the third, after Whitby found themselves killing a penalty, Owen Tapper found Max Wetherup who sniped a shot past Kiazyk to break the deadlock and take the lead back. Matthew Ford found a shooting lane to give Whitby its second two-goal lead of the night. But that was short lived as Willem Firth brought the hometown fans to their feet after a shot snuck past Redlick. A few minutes later is when Littlejohn recorded his second goal which stood as the game winner. With time remaining and Beaches starting to press, Sorichetti scored a quickstick goal for an insurance goal. After Whitby took back a three-goal lead, Beaches would pull their goalie and Littlejohn would record his hat trick with an Empty Net goal.
The defence was able to shut down the high-powered offence and play a physical game which was missing in Game 2.
“We like to play really physical. Know where our matchups are, get them early,” said Eddy Ferrede after the win. “We have certain principles that we stick to when we do that. No team really beats us.”
Ferrede also spoke about Barrett’s performance and having him in the lineup.
“He was zooming all over the place. He was fast. He was getting anywhere he needed to be. It's huge,” said Ferrede. “We have guys who can step up and fill some veteran spots when needed, especially in, you know, the grind of the season, the playoffs.”
Game 4 of the series will be played at Iroquois Park Sports Complex at 4:00 pm on Sunday, July 27. Please visit warriorslacrosse.com for more playoff information.
Overtime Victory for Toronto Beaches Evens Up the Series
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
July 23, 2025
WHITBY–A third playoff overtime game for the Whitby Warriors saw them fall 6-5 to the Toronto Beaches at Iroquois Park Sports Complex Thursday night. Lucas Littlejohn recorded three points on the night, but it was Willem Firth’s five that led the way for the Beaches to tie the series up at one apiece.
“We have to be ready to go again in 24 hours,” Luke Robinson said after the overtime loss. “It’s all about hitting the reset button. We found ourselves in this spot against St. Catharine’s, and we found a way out, so we know what we’re capable of in the playoffs.”
In the first period, Whitby was a step behind Toronto. The Beaches were blocking shots, forcing turnovers, and outshooting Whitby. Firth kick-started the offence for Toronto less than four minutes into the game before Tyler Francis-Renner quickly made it a two-goal lead early in the first period. Whitby would get on the scoreboard courtesy of Littlejohn after Ryan Langille found him far side and ripped a shot bottom corner. Josh Mills added a third goal for the Beaches in the period as they carried a 3-1 lead into the first intermission.
Period number one belonged to Toronto; period number two belonged to Whitby. The Warriors came out faster and stronger, which saw them rattle off three goals in the middle frame. FODE (Face Off Do Everything) Jack Oldman scored the second goal after a pass from Whitby starting goaltender, Tyden Redlick, found Littlejohn at centre, who found Oldman running in transition and scored on Beaches starting goaltender, Thomas Kiazyk. Three minutes later, Gabe Sorichetti found the back of the net to tie the game at three before a shot from Langille hit Kiazyk, went up in the air, landed on the turf, and rolled across the goal line to give Whitby their first lead of the night.
The third period was close. Firth scored just 1:35 into the period to tie the game up once again. Later on, Liam Aston ripped a shot past Redlick to take the lead back. After the Beaches were able to gain multiple secondary possessions and tire out the Warriors' defence, they got their looks and shots off, but Redlick stood on his head. With just over five minutes remaining in the period and Whitby down by one, Ethan Lee found Luke Robinson in transition and ripped a shot far side on Kiazyk to tie the score at five, which sent the game to overtime.
Unfortunately, the Beaches would send the hometown fans home upset as Firth sent a pass to Hunter Lubiniecki, who squeaked a shot past Redlick for the game winner and tied the series up at one game apiece.
“Second period, we're really good and pressuring out and, you know, forcing them to make mistakes,” said Robinson on the defence’s performance. “We had our looks and they had theirs, so back at it tomorrow.”
Game 3 of the series will take place at Pickering Recreation Complex on Friday at 8:00 pm before the series shifts back to Whitby on Sunday afternoon at Iroquois Park Sports Complex at 4:00 pm. Visit warriorslacrosse.com for more playoff information.
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
July 23, 2025
WHITBY–A third playoff overtime game for the Whitby Warriors saw them fall 6-5 to the Toronto Beaches at Iroquois Park Sports Complex Thursday night. Lucas Littlejohn recorded three points on the night, but it was Willem Firth’s five that led the way for the Beaches to tie the series up at one apiece.
“We have to be ready to go again in 24 hours,” Luke Robinson said after the overtime loss. “It’s all about hitting the reset button. We found ourselves in this spot against St. Catharine’s, and we found a way out, so we know what we’re capable of in the playoffs.”
In the first period, Whitby was a step behind Toronto. The Beaches were blocking shots, forcing turnovers, and outshooting Whitby. Firth kick-started the offence for Toronto less than four minutes into the game before Tyler Francis-Renner quickly made it a two-goal lead early in the first period. Whitby would get on the scoreboard courtesy of Littlejohn after Ryan Langille found him far side and ripped a shot bottom corner. Josh Mills added a third goal for the Beaches in the period as they carried a 3-1 lead into the first intermission.
Period number one belonged to Toronto; period number two belonged to Whitby. The Warriors came out faster and stronger, which saw them rattle off three goals in the middle frame. FODE (Face Off Do Everything) Jack Oldman scored the second goal after a pass from Whitby starting goaltender, Tyden Redlick, found Littlejohn at centre, who found Oldman running in transition and scored on Beaches starting goaltender, Thomas Kiazyk. Three minutes later, Gabe Sorichetti found the back of the net to tie the game at three before a shot from Langille hit Kiazyk, went up in the air, landed on the turf, and rolled across the goal line to give Whitby their first lead of the night.
The third period was close. Firth scored just 1:35 into the period to tie the game up once again. Later on, Liam Aston ripped a shot past Redlick to take the lead back. After the Beaches were able to gain multiple secondary possessions and tire out the Warriors' defence, they got their looks and shots off, but Redlick stood on his head. With just over five minutes remaining in the period and Whitby down by one, Ethan Lee found Luke Robinson in transition and ripped a shot far side on Kiazyk to tie the score at five, which sent the game to overtime.
Unfortunately, the Beaches would send the hometown fans home upset as Firth sent a pass to Hunter Lubiniecki, who squeaked a shot past Redlick for the game winner and tied the series up at one game apiece.
“Second period, we're really good and pressuring out and, you know, forcing them to make mistakes,” said Robinson on the defence’s performance. “We had our looks and they had theirs, so back at it tomorrow.”
Game 3 of the series will take place at Pickering Recreation Complex on Friday at 8:00 pm before the series shifts back to Whitby on Sunday afternoon at Iroquois Park Sports Complex at 4:00 pm. Visit warriorslacrosse.com for more playoff information.
Warriors Execute All-Facets in Second Round Win
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
July 23, 2025
PICKERING– It was a four-facet game from the Whitby Warriors as they earned the game one victory against the Toronto Beaches 10-3 Monday night at Pickering Recreation Complex. A first career OJLL hat trick from Max Wetherup and a five-point night from Gabe Sorichetti led the offence, while Tyden Redlick made 33 saves for his fourth career OJLL playoff win.
“We just stuck to our plays and tested their goalie,” Julien Belair said about the offence’s success in game one. “We watched some film on Kiazyk, and we were able to use it to our advantage here tonight, and we think we can continue to do it for the rest of the series.”
A box lacrosse game is made up of four facets: offence, defence, goaltending, and transition. Whitby excelled in all four facets to claim a game one victory after not a lot of rest after their round one series went five games and Beaches had almost a week to recover.
The offence began with Wetherup getting the game's first goal after he ripped a shot low-glove while in transition. Sorichetti then snuck a shot past Beaches starting goaltender, Kiazyk, before Matthew Ford, who slotted into the lineup due to Nolan Byrne being injured, scored his first career OJLL goal. Cal Brennan quickly scored two goals for Toronto in under 45 seconds to make it a one-goal game after the first period.
Since returning to the lineup, Sorichetti has just been riding the wave and finding ways to score.
“I’ve just been picking up the energy that they're giving back,” Sorichetti said after jumping back into the box after recovering from a lower-body injury. “I’m not trying to do too much out there, and relying on my teammates and everybody's on the floor for a reason, and we just feed off each other, which makes it not only fun to play with, but hard to defend against.”
The second was all defence. Locking down shooters, playing tough physical defence, and blocking shots. The Warriors were able to lock down the likes of Willem Firth, Peyton Booth, and Kalab Tatarek for the majority of the game. Whitby added three goals in the period, which began when Ryan Langille was able to find the back of the net, Belair scored his only goal of the night on the power play, and Sorichetti had an underhand shot that got past Kiazyk.
With the Warriors leading by four after two periods, they wanted to continue pouring on the pressure, and they did, but they also knew that the Beaches would push back as much as they could. Redlick faced 11 shots in the period and stopped 10 of them as Firth was able to get one shot past Redlick, while Whitby countered with 18 shots in the period. However, Whitby scored their first goal in transition, and they used it again to score another one as Owen Lee scored in transition to widen the Whitby lead while the defence locked it down in the final frame to preserve the lead for the red, white, and blue. Wetherup scored his third goal late in the game in the power play for the dagger and defeated the Beaches on their home floor.
Wetherup was able to record his first career OJLL hat trick and talked about how versatile he’s been in his rookie year.
“Coming into this year, I was prepared to play offence, and my dad's on the bench, and said, ‘Why don't you come play defence?’ And I've found myself playing transition, and on the ball team. I was just trying to do everything I could,” Wetherup said about becoming a Swiss-Army Knife-like player. “I know all these last year boys are trying to make a push here, and I'm just trying to do the best I can to help out and make a deep playoff run.”
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series will be played on Thursday at 7:30 pm at Iroquois Park Sports Complex in Whitby. Please visit warriorslacrosse.com for more playoff information.
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
July 23, 2025
PICKERING– It was a four-facet game from the Whitby Warriors as they earned the game one victory against the Toronto Beaches 10-3 Monday night at Pickering Recreation Complex. A first career OJLL hat trick from Max Wetherup and a five-point night from Gabe Sorichetti led the offence, while Tyden Redlick made 33 saves for his fourth career OJLL playoff win.
“We just stuck to our plays and tested their goalie,” Julien Belair said about the offence’s success in game one. “We watched some film on Kiazyk, and we were able to use it to our advantage here tonight, and we think we can continue to do it for the rest of the series.”
A box lacrosse game is made up of four facets: offence, defence, goaltending, and transition. Whitby excelled in all four facets to claim a game one victory after not a lot of rest after their round one series went five games and Beaches had almost a week to recover.
The offence began with Wetherup getting the game's first goal after he ripped a shot low-glove while in transition. Sorichetti then snuck a shot past Beaches starting goaltender, Kiazyk, before Matthew Ford, who slotted into the lineup due to Nolan Byrne being injured, scored his first career OJLL goal. Cal Brennan quickly scored two goals for Toronto in under 45 seconds to make it a one-goal game after the first period.
Since returning to the lineup, Sorichetti has just been riding the wave and finding ways to score.
“I’ve just been picking up the energy that they're giving back,” Sorichetti said after jumping back into the box after recovering from a lower-body injury. “I’m not trying to do too much out there, and relying on my teammates and everybody's on the floor for a reason, and we just feed off each other, which makes it not only fun to play with, but hard to defend against.”
The second was all defence. Locking down shooters, playing tough physical defence, and blocking shots. The Warriors were able to lock down the likes of Willem Firth, Peyton Booth, and Kalab Tatarek for the majority of the game. Whitby added three goals in the period, which began when Ryan Langille was able to find the back of the net, Belair scored his only goal of the night on the power play, and Sorichetti had an underhand shot that got past Kiazyk.
With the Warriors leading by four after two periods, they wanted to continue pouring on the pressure, and they did, but they also knew that the Beaches would push back as much as they could. Redlick faced 11 shots in the period and stopped 10 of them as Firth was able to get one shot past Redlick, while Whitby countered with 18 shots in the period. However, Whitby scored their first goal in transition, and they used it again to score another one as Owen Lee scored in transition to widen the Whitby lead while the defence locked it down in the final frame to preserve the lead for the red, white, and blue. Wetherup scored his third goal late in the game in the power play for the dagger and defeated the Beaches on their home floor.
Wetherup was able to record his first career OJLL hat trick and talked about how versatile he’s been in his rookie year.
“Coming into this year, I was prepared to play offence, and my dad's on the bench, and said, ‘Why don't you come play defence?’ And I've found myself playing transition, and on the ball team. I was just trying to do everything I could,” Wetherup said about becoming a Swiss-Army Knife-like player. “I know all these last year boys are trying to make a push here, and I'm just trying to do the best I can to help out and make a deep playoff run.”
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series will be played on Thursday at 7:30 pm at Iroquois Park Sports Complex in Whitby. Please visit warriorslacrosse.com for more playoff information.
Warriors Complete the Comeback
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
July 19, 2025
WHITBY–Inside a packed Iroquois Park Sports Complex, the Whitby Warriors defeated the St. Catharines Athletics 11-10 in the first round of the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League playoffs Sunday night. A six-point night from Lucas Littlejohn and 36 saves from Tyden Redlick helped the Warriors advance past the first round for the first time since 2022.
Warriors’ Captain, Littlejohn, spoke about the competitive level of his team and how St. Catharines pushed them to the brink.
“Full 60 minutes. That’s what are entire coaching staff has been saying to us all along, and I think we showed we can do that tonight,” said Littlejohn after the series win. “They’re a great team and they’re built for the Minto Cup.”
The first period started with a bang. Ryan Langille lowered his shoulder and plowed his way to the net to score the game's first goal and record his third of the playoffs. Chuck Rawson has two quick goals to give the double-blue their first lead before Nolan Byrne and Julien Belair rattled off three goals in just under four minutes to take the momentum back and into the dressing room with a 4-2 lead after one.
With the series tied at two games apiece and both teams on the brink of elimination, whoever had the momentum had the upper hand, and Whitby had all of it in the second frame. Despite Zack Toll scoring the period’s first goal and making it a one-goal game, Langille ripped an outside shot past Athletic’s starting goaltender, Ty Wilson, and Byrne followed suit with the same shot. Jameson Bucktooth added a power-play marker for the Athletics to cut the deficit to two. However, with home-floor advantage on their side and Whitby still having gas in the tank, Littlejohn and Belair made the hometown fans come alive with two goals in quick succession to send Whitby to the third period with an 8-4 lead.
The Whitby defence has been locked down all season and series long when it matters, but unfortunately, it stumbled in the third period. Lukas Nielsen had a great goal in transition to make it 8-5, Littlejohn made it a 9-5 game, and then Ari Steenhius made it 9-6; all in under 3 minutes to make the majority of fans question "who will win this game?". Well, Gabe Sorichetti wanted to make sure it was the Warriors, as he caught a pass from Max Wetherup and, as he fell to the turf, fired a shot that got past Wilson to give the homeside a four-goal lead. Yet, Bucktooth sniped a shot past Redlick that silenced Pad 1 and gave St. Kitts some of the momentum back. But after Redlick made one of his 36 stops on the night, Wetherup stayed for an offensive set, and after assisting Sorichetti on a goal,
Sorichetti returned the assist favour as Wetherup whistled a shot low on Wilson.
With over eight minutes remaining and St. Catharines looking to book their ticket to Round 2, they began to claw their way back. Bucktooth started the run before Cody Inness scored shorthanded to make it 11-9. With time winding down, and a Whitby shot getting blocked, Trent Robertson found himself on a breakaway and scored to make it a one-goal game.
After an exchange of plays, a St. Catharines' Timeout and scoring attempt, followed by a Whitby Timeout, Whitby Head Coach Kevin Jenkins set up his team for it's final possession. Luke Robinson started with the ball behind his own net, facing a double-team defence. St. Catharines stripped him of the ball, quickly passing it out front. Josh Ford was all alone in front of Redlick, but Redlick stood tall, making the save of his season so far to preserve the lead and as the clock expired, Whitby celebrated a Round 1 win.
“We stuck to our principles and found a way to win,” said Max Taylor after a hard-fought game. “That’s a great team, and even though the defence slipped up a bit, we knew we were the better team and we showed it, and now we get Beaches.”
The round 2 schedule has yet to be released from the OJLL, but stay tuned to all Whitby Warriors Jr A social media accounts and visit warriorslacrosse.com for more playoff information as well.
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
July 19, 2025
WHITBY–Inside a packed Iroquois Park Sports Complex, the Whitby Warriors defeated the St. Catharines Athletics 11-10 in the first round of the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League playoffs Sunday night. A six-point night from Lucas Littlejohn and 36 saves from Tyden Redlick helped the Warriors advance past the first round for the first time since 2022.
Warriors’ Captain, Littlejohn, spoke about the competitive level of his team and how St. Catharines pushed them to the brink.
“Full 60 minutes. That’s what are entire coaching staff has been saying to us all along, and I think we showed we can do that tonight,” said Littlejohn after the series win. “They’re a great team and they’re built for the Minto Cup.”
The first period started with a bang. Ryan Langille lowered his shoulder and plowed his way to the net to score the game's first goal and record his third of the playoffs. Chuck Rawson has two quick goals to give the double-blue their first lead before Nolan Byrne and Julien Belair rattled off three goals in just under four minutes to take the momentum back and into the dressing room with a 4-2 lead after one.
With the series tied at two games apiece and both teams on the brink of elimination, whoever had the momentum had the upper hand, and Whitby had all of it in the second frame. Despite Zack Toll scoring the period’s first goal and making it a one-goal game, Langille ripped an outside shot past Athletic’s starting goaltender, Ty Wilson, and Byrne followed suit with the same shot. Jameson Bucktooth added a power-play marker for the Athletics to cut the deficit to two. However, with home-floor advantage on their side and Whitby still having gas in the tank, Littlejohn and Belair made the hometown fans come alive with two goals in quick succession to send Whitby to the third period with an 8-4 lead.
The Whitby defence has been locked down all season and series long when it matters, but unfortunately, it stumbled in the third period. Lukas Nielsen had a great goal in transition to make it 8-5, Littlejohn made it a 9-5 game, and then Ari Steenhius made it 9-6; all in under 3 minutes to make the majority of fans question "who will win this game?". Well, Gabe Sorichetti wanted to make sure it was the Warriors, as he caught a pass from Max Wetherup and, as he fell to the turf, fired a shot that got past Wilson to give the homeside a four-goal lead. Yet, Bucktooth sniped a shot past Redlick that silenced Pad 1 and gave St. Kitts some of the momentum back. But after Redlick made one of his 36 stops on the night, Wetherup stayed for an offensive set, and after assisting Sorichetti on a goal,
Sorichetti returned the assist favour as Wetherup whistled a shot low on Wilson.
With over eight minutes remaining and St. Catharines looking to book their ticket to Round 2, they began to claw their way back. Bucktooth started the run before Cody Inness scored shorthanded to make it 11-9. With time winding down, and a Whitby shot getting blocked, Trent Robertson found himself on a breakaway and scored to make it a one-goal game.
After an exchange of plays, a St. Catharines' Timeout and scoring attempt, followed by a Whitby Timeout, Whitby Head Coach Kevin Jenkins set up his team for it's final possession. Luke Robinson started with the ball behind his own net, facing a double-team defence. St. Catharines stripped him of the ball, quickly passing it out front. Josh Ford was all alone in front of Redlick, but Redlick stood tall, making the save of his season so far to preserve the lead and as the clock expired, Whitby celebrated a Round 1 win.
“We stuck to our principles and found a way to win,” said Max Taylor after a hard-fought game. “That’s a great team, and even though the defence slipped up a bit, we knew we were the better team and we showed it, and now we get Beaches.”
The round 2 schedule has yet to be released from the OJLL, but stay tuned to all Whitby Warriors Jr A social media accounts and visit warriorslacrosse.com for more playoff information as well.
Opening Round Goes the Distance
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
July 19, 2025
ST. CATHARINES– For the second straight game of the series, the Whitby Warriors and St. Catherine’s Athletics duked it out in overtime. However, just like Game 3, it was the road team that came away with the victory as the Whitby Warriors earned the 6-5 OT victory Saturday afternoon at Canada Games Park to tie up the series at 2 games apiece.
“We do what we did tonight. I think we'll be in good shape here,” said Redlick, crediting his defence’s performance tonight after a tough win on the road. “Offence is going to start rolling a bit more here, and stuff guys get offense and our defense right now is definitely helping out, but I think we just keep playing how we are, especially on the back end, we'll be good to go here.”
In the first period, it was all Whitby. Winning at the faceoff dot, loose ball battles and on the scoreboard. After a scoreless 10 minutes, Luke Robinson started the scoring burying his first goal of the playoffs before Jack Oldman made it a 2-0 game less than 30 seconds later. The homeside would get on the scoreboard after Gavin Howard was able to get a shot past Warriors starting goaltender, Tyden Redlick. After missing game three, Treysen Stewart slotted back into the lineup and found the back of the net off a feed from Lucas Littlejohn and Ryan Langille. Trade deadline acquisition Chuck Rawson answered back to make it a one-goal game and see the double-blue claw their way back. But with 12 seconds left in the period, Ty Jesso was able to rip a shot past Athletics’ starting goaltender Ty Wilson to give Whitby a 4-2 lead after the opening frame.
Goaltending was the storyline in the game and especially in the second period as teams combined for 44 shots on net and only two goals went in; one per side. Nolan Byrne had a powerplay marker while Zack Toll also scored on the powerplay. Both teams had their chances in the second period and both goalies stepped up to the task in what was a pivotal game for each club.
With Whitby hanging onto a two-goal lead heading into the final frame, St. Catharines wanted to show Whitby that they’re contenders for the Minto Cup and not just gaining entry to the tournament by virtue of being the hosts, and they did that. With just under seven minutes remaining, Logan Fletcher was able to get a ball past Redlick to make it 5-4 and get the fans involved. With under a minute left and a Whitby penalty expiring, St. Catharine’s fired a shot on net that resulted in a secondary possession and Zack Toll faked a shot and found Gavin Howard back door on the crease to tie the game up at five and send it to overtime.
With both teams knowing what was on the line in overtime, they knew there was no room for error, but Byrne had other ideas. After receiving a pass from Jack Oldman, Byrne went underneath his defender and bounced a shot past Wilson for the OT winner and to send the series back to Whitby.
“The defence was just focused on the right side, and I saw an opening and ducked under my defender, took a shot, and it went in,” said Byrne after scoring his second overtime winner of the season. “I put all my credit into the guys who set picks for me, and the defence holding down, and a great goaltender that keeps us in games.”
The final game of the series will be back in Whitby tomorrow at 7:30 pm at Iroquois Park Sports Complex in Whitby. The winner will advance to Round 2.
Visit warriorslacrosse.com for more information.
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
July 19, 2025
ST. CATHARINES– For the second straight game of the series, the Whitby Warriors and St. Catherine’s Athletics duked it out in overtime. However, just like Game 3, it was the road team that came away with the victory as the Whitby Warriors earned the 6-5 OT victory Saturday afternoon at Canada Games Park to tie up the series at 2 games apiece.
“We do what we did tonight. I think we'll be in good shape here,” said Redlick, crediting his defence’s performance tonight after a tough win on the road. “Offence is going to start rolling a bit more here, and stuff guys get offense and our defense right now is definitely helping out, but I think we just keep playing how we are, especially on the back end, we'll be good to go here.”
In the first period, it was all Whitby. Winning at the faceoff dot, loose ball battles and on the scoreboard. After a scoreless 10 minutes, Luke Robinson started the scoring burying his first goal of the playoffs before Jack Oldman made it a 2-0 game less than 30 seconds later. The homeside would get on the scoreboard after Gavin Howard was able to get a shot past Warriors starting goaltender, Tyden Redlick. After missing game three, Treysen Stewart slotted back into the lineup and found the back of the net off a feed from Lucas Littlejohn and Ryan Langille. Trade deadline acquisition Chuck Rawson answered back to make it a one-goal game and see the double-blue claw their way back. But with 12 seconds left in the period, Ty Jesso was able to rip a shot past Athletics’ starting goaltender Ty Wilson to give Whitby a 4-2 lead after the opening frame.
Goaltending was the storyline in the game and especially in the second period as teams combined for 44 shots on net and only two goals went in; one per side. Nolan Byrne had a powerplay marker while Zack Toll also scored on the powerplay. Both teams had their chances in the second period and both goalies stepped up to the task in what was a pivotal game for each club.
With Whitby hanging onto a two-goal lead heading into the final frame, St. Catharines wanted to show Whitby that they’re contenders for the Minto Cup and not just gaining entry to the tournament by virtue of being the hosts, and they did that. With just under seven minutes remaining, Logan Fletcher was able to get a ball past Redlick to make it 5-4 and get the fans involved. With under a minute left and a Whitby penalty expiring, St. Catharine’s fired a shot on net that resulted in a secondary possession and Zack Toll faked a shot and found Gavin Howard back door on the crease to tie the game up at five and send it to overtime.
With both teams knowing what was on the line in overtime, they knew there was no room for error, but Byrne had other ideas. After receiving a pass from Jack Oldman, Byrne went underneath his defender and bounced a shot past Wilson for the OT winner and to send the series back to Whitby.
“The defence was just focused on the right side, and I saw an opening and ducked under my defender, took a shot, and it went in,” said Byrne after scoring his second overtime winner of the season. “I put all my credit into the guys who set picks for me, and the defence holding down, and a great goaltender that keeps us in games.”
The final game of the series will be back in Whitby tomorrow at 7:30 pm at Iroquois Park Sports Complex in Whitby. The winner will advance to Round 2.
Visit warriorslacrosse.com for more information.
Warriors on the Brink
July 17, 2025
Whitby ON - On the heels of a series-opening win, Whitby dropped it's second straight game in two days, to now be on the brink of elimination by the Minto Cup Hosts. While Game Two was a one-sided affair with St. Catharines establishing an early lead at home and controlling the game to finish it with a 12-5 win, Game Two was a tight, physical contest requiring Overtime to settle the matter.
Just :18 seconds into the game, both teams displayed some emotion and physicality, earning penalties all around. This would be the theme of the first period, with both sides spending a combined 28 minutes in penalty box, all two-minute minor penalties. The only marker of the period came on a long outside shot by Tye Steenhuis which beat Whitby netminder Ty Redlick over the shoulder.
The second period was a more settle affair, as only five infractions were called, with Whitby capitalizing twice on the power play, and St. Catharines once. Along with two even-strength goals each, the end of the second period saw the game tied at 4's.
Whitby opened the third period scoring inside the opening 2 minutes to take the lead, then Zachary Toll and Lukas Nielsen of St. Catharines added goals three minutes apart to give the Athletics a 6-5 lead heading into the final minutes of the game. A strong defensive stand by Whitby enabled them the get the ball, call a timeout, and setup a final play to attempt to tie the game again.
OJLL Scoring Champion Lucas Littlejohn took a feed in the middle of the floor, in the 6-on-5 set up, from Gabe Sorichetti, and snapped home the tying goal past the St. Catharines netminder's right shoulder. With the score tied at 6 with :39 seconds to play, both teams were careful not to make a mistake, and prepared for overtime.
The Extra Frame saw Whitby win the opening draw, then St. Catharines starter Ty Wilson make three consecutive saves right on top of his crease. Wilson was the story for St. Catharines in this game, for while his team played well in front of him, he was outstanding on the evening.
His teammates rewarded his performance with the overtime winner at the 7:39 mark of overtime as Lukas Nielsen completed his Hat Trick on a cross-crease move, beating Ty Redlick and sending the visitors home with a road victory and a 2-1 series lead.
Whitby now has to avoid elimination with a win in St. Catherines on Saturday afternoon, to force a deciding game in Whitby Sunday afternoon.
July 17, 2025
Whitby ON - On the heels of a series-opening win, Whitby dropped it's second straight game in two days, to now be on the brink of elimination by the Minto Cup Hosts. While Game Two was a one-sided affair with St. Catharines establishing an early lead at home and controlling the game to finish it with a 12-5 win, Game Two was a tight, physical contest requiring Overtime to settle the matter.
Just :18 seconds into the game, both teams displayed some emotion and physicality, earning penalties all around. This would be the theme of the first period, with both sides spending a combined 28 minutes in penalty box, all two-minute minor penalties. The only marker of the period came on a long outside shot by Tye Steenhuis which beat Whitby netminder Ty Redlick over the shoulder.
The second period was a more settle affair, as only five infractions were called, with Whitby capitalizing twice on the power play, and St. Catharines once. Along with two even-strength goals each, the end of the second period saw the game tied at 4's.
Whitby opened the third period scoring inside the opening 2 minutes to take the lead, then Zachary Toll and Lukas Nielsen of St. Catharines added goals three minutes apart to give the Athletics a 6-5 lead heading into the final minutes of the game. A strong defensive stand by Whitby enabled them the get the ball, call a timeout, and setup a final play to attempt to tie the game again.
OJLL Scoring Champion Lucas Littlejohn took a feed in the middle of the floor, in the 6-on-5 set up, from Gabe Sorichetti, and snapped home the tying goal past the St. Catharines netminder's right shoulder. With the score tied at 6 with :39 seconds to play, both teams were careful not to make a mistake, and prepared for overtime.
The Extra Frame saw Whitby win the opening draw, then St. Catharines starter Ty Wilson make three consecutive saves right on top of his crease. Wilson was the story for St. Catharines in this game, for while his team played well in front of him, he was outstanding on the evening.
His teammates rewarded his performance with the overtime winner at the 7:39 mark of overtime as Lukas Nielsen completed his Hat Trick on a cross-crease move, beating Ty Redlick and sending the visitors home with a road victory and a 2-1 series lead.
Whitby now has to avoid elimination with a win in St. Catherines on Saturday afternoon, to force a deciding game in Whitby Sunday afternoon.
Veterans Set the Tone for Warriors in Game One
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
July 14, 2025
WHITBY– A hat-trick from both Owen Tapper and Lucas Littlejohn made the difference as the Whitby Warriors knocked off the St. Catharine’s Athletics 12-7 to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series at Iroquois Park Sports Complex on Monday Night.
“I’ve been chasing a hat trick my whole junior career, and glad to get one and help the team out tonight,” said Tapper after recording his first career OJLL hat trick. “It’s nice to get one, but it doesn’t come without the entire team playing a full 60-minute game, and we did that tonight.”
Whitby began their 2025 playoff campaign scoring first, courtesy of senior player Gabe Sorichetti from the outside. Later on in the period, St. Catharine’s got on the scoreboard after Keaton Zavitz picked up a loose ball whilst killing a penalty and went five-hole on the Warriors' starting goaltender, Tyden Redlick. 30 seconds later, while on the same powerplay, Julien Belair restored the one-goal lead for Whitby as a shot snuck through the legs of Athletics starting goaltender, Ty Wilson. After the first half of the first period saw Whitby having the majority of the offensive possessions, St. Kitts was looking to cash in on their shot attempts, and Jameson Bucktooth found the back of the net, followed by trade deadline acquisition Lukas Nielsen to tie the game up at three. Rookie Max Wetherup scored in transition to take back the lead, but Tye Steenhuis had other ideas as he made it a 4-4 game with 36 seconds left in the period.
With the game tied at 4 apiece after the opening period, both teams were looking to break the deadlock, and Gavin Howard was able to do so to silence Iroquois Park before 6’4”, 220-pound Ryan Langille bulldozed his way into the middle of the floor and tied the game back up at five-all. Bucktooth scored his second of the game to put the double-blue back on top, but after giving up a short-handed goal in the first, Whitby scored one of their goals courtesy of one of Tapper’s three goals on the night. Tapper and Ty Jesso came in on a 2-on-1, and Tapper went far side on Wilson. The Warriors then scored another shorthanded goal. With Tapper getting pressured and falling hard onto the turf and into the boards, Owen Lee was able to scoop up the loose ball and go in on Wilson all alone, and made it a 7-6 game. Late in the period during a change, the Athletics were penalized with a Too Many Players infraction, which sent the Warriors to the powerplay, and Tapper scored his second of the game to send Whitby to the locker room with an 8-6 lead after 40 minutes.
"Defence wins championships. " That’s what Ben Kromer said post-game, and Whitby showed why defence wins championships. In the third period alone, they recorded seven picked-off passes, over 10 loose-ball recoveries, and Redlick made 19 saves on 20 shots. The third is also where Whitby ran away with the game, and it started when Captain Lucas Littlejohn ripped an underhanded shot to get his first goal of the playoffs.
St. Catharine’s only third-period goal was from Howard, which Redlick wasn’t pleased with. However, after that miscue just four minutes into the period, Redlick locked down in the net, and the offence gave him some insurance, including two more goals from Littlejohn to finish with three, while Tapper earned his first OJLL hat-trick by adding an empty net goal to secure the Game 1 victory on their home floor.
“Preaching hard work, loose balls, and a lot of talk,” said Kromer on what Defensive Coordinator Jordi Jones-Smith was telling the defence before the game.
“It gets loud in this barn, and all we can do is talk with our guys out there on the floor; that’s what wins championships.”
The Warriors and Athletics will be back in action for Game 2 from Canada Games Park on Wednesday, July 16 at 8:00 pm, before Game 3 is back in Whitby on Thursday, July 17 at 7:30 pm.
Check warriorslacrosse.com for more playoff information.
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
July 14, 2025
WHITBY– A hat-trick from both Owen Tapper and Lucas Littlejohn made the difference as the Whitby Warriors knocked off the St. Catharine’s Athletics 12-7 to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series at Iroquois Park Sports Complex on Monday Night.
“I’ve been chasing a hat trick my whole junior career, and glad to get one and help the team out tonight,” said Tapper after recording his first career OJLL hat trick. “It’s nice to get one, but it doesn’t come without the entire team playing a full 60-minute game, and we did that tonight.”
Whitby began their 2025 playoff campaign scoring first, courtesy of senior player Gabe Sorichetti from the outside. Later on in the period, St. Catharine’s got on the scoreboard after Keaton Zavitz picked up a loose ball whilst killing a penalty and went five-hole on the Warriors' starting goaltender, Tyden Redlick. 30 seconds later, while on the same powerplay, Julien Belair restored the one-goal lead for Whitby as a shot snuck through the legs of Athletics starting goaltender, Ty Wilson. After the first half of the first period saw Whitby having the majority of the offensive possessions, St. Kitts was looking to cash in on their shot attempts, and Jameson Bucktooth found the back of the net, followed by trade deadline acquisition Lukas Nielsen to tie the game up at three. Rookie Max Wetherup scored in transition to take back the lead, but Tye Steenhuis had other ideas as he made it a 4-4 game with 36 seconds left in the period.
With the game tied at 4 apiece after the opening period, both teams were looking to break the deadlock, and Gavin Howard was able to do so to silence Iroquois Park before 6’4”, 220-pound Ryan Langille bulldozed his way into the middle of the floor and tied the game back up at five-all. Bucktooth scored his second of the game to put the double-blue back on top, but after giving up a short-handed goal in the first, Whitby scored one of their goals courtesy of one of Tapper’s three goals on the night. Tapper and Ty Jesso came in on a 2-on-1, and Tapper went far side on Wilson. The Warriors then scored another shorthanded goal. With Tapper getting pressured and falling hard onto the turf and into the boards, Owen Lee was able to scoop up the loose ball and go in on Wilson all alone, and made it a 7-6 game. Late in the period during a change, the Athletics were penalized with a Too Many Players infraction, which sent the Warriors to the powerplay, and Tapper scored his second of the game to send Whitby to the locker room with an 8-6 lead after 40 minutes.
"Defence wins championships. " That’s what Ben Kromer said post-game, and Whitby showed why defence wins championships. In the third period alone, they recorded seven picked-off passes, over 10 loose-ball recoveries, and Redlick made 19 saves on 20 shots. The third is also where Whitby ran away with the game, and it started when Captain Lucas Littlejohn ripped an underhanded shot to get his first goal of the playoffs.
St. Catharine’s only third-period goal was from Howard, which Redlick wasn’t pleased with. However, after that miscue just four minutes into the period, Redlick locked down in the net, and the offence gave him some insurance, including two more goals from Littlejohn to finish with three, while Tapper earned his first OJLL hat-trick by adding an empty net goal to secure the Game 1 victory on their home floor.
“Preaching hard work, loose balls, and a lot of talk,” said Kromer on what Defensive Coordinator Jordi Jones-Smith was telling the defence before the game.
“It gets loud in this barn, and all we can do is talk with our guys out there on the floor; that’s what wins championships.”
The Warriors and Athletics will be back in action for Game 2 from Canada Games Park on Wednesday, July 16 at 8:00 pm, before Game 3 is back in Whitby on Thursday, July 17 at 7:30 pm.
Check warriorslacrosse.com for more playoff information.
Redlick Red-Hot as Whitby Secures 13th victory of season
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
July 8, 2025
WHITBY– After dropping the first game of their head-to-head contests this season on the road, the Whitby Warriors (13-6) were able to split the series with the Orangeville Northmen (16-3) after a 12-7 win on Tuesday night at Iroquois Park Sports Complex. Senior offensive player, Nolan Byrne, had six points on the night but can’t take all the credit for his performance.
“Those first two goals shouldn’t have been scored by me,” Byrne said, praising the offence. “I just happened to be at the right place at the right time and I found the back of the net.”
From the opening whistle, Whitby was in control. Winning at the faceoff dot, playing physically, the offence was clicking, and the defence was shutting down shooters. Byrne kicked-started the offence, scoring 1:14 into the game before Dylan Sanderson was able to score a top corner to tie it up at one apiece early. Whitby then rattled off three goals, which included Luke Robinson scoring a full-floor goal. Robinson was able to pick off a pass and run 200 hundred feet the other way and bury a shot past Northmen starting goaltender, Evan Constantopoulos.
With Whitby showing their mettle and proving that they can be a serious contender, they added two more goals to contest Orangeville's Liam Matthews’ 39th and 40th goals of the season to make it a 6-3 game after the opening period.
Orangeville scored while on the power play just 13 seconds into the second frame to narrow the score, and rookie phenom Max Kruger made it a 6-5 game before Whitby scored two goals, including a bullet from the captain and senior player, Lucas Littlejohn, to go up by two after two.
However, the big moment in the game came with six seconds left in the second period when Orangeville called a timeout. After the play was blown in, Dylan Sanderson ran down the floor and took a shot after the buzzer, which drew a scrum. In the midst of it, Sanderson cross-checked a Whitby player in the head, which resulted in being ejected from the game.
While that was happening, Cohen Jennings was trying to rip the helmet off of Owen Tapper and convince Tapper to drop the gloves. After Jennings succeeded and threw a couple of punches, Tapper decided to throw some haymakers and ended up winning the fight to ignite the home crowd.
Up by two goals and wanting home-floor advantage through the first round of the playoffs on the line, Whitby knew that if they won the third period, they’d be in a good spot to control their destiny heading into their final regular-season game on Friday.
“We knew that if we played our game and fed off the crowd, we could win that game,” head coach Kevin Jenkins said after his team’s 13th win of the season. “Tapper’s fight got the whole team going, and we were able to shut them down and discipline ourselves to get the victory.”
It didn’t take long for Littlejohn to keep the Whitby crowd engaged in the third period as he threw multiple fakes before scoring his second on the night to chase Constantopoulos from the game.
Not long after, Byrne went airborne for his fifth of the game. Despite Cade Cordingley and Trey Deere scoring to make it a 10-7 game, Whitby was able to continue to make Orangeville pay in transition. It came off the stick of Cameron Maunders, who scored his first OJLL goal that nearly blew the roof off the building at Iroquois Park Sports Complex. With under five minutes to play and Orangeville pulling their goalie, Robinson ran down and buried the empty net goal to solidify the win.
Jenkins was pleased with the win, but knew it wouldn’t have been possible without Tyden Redlick playing ‘playoff style lacrosse’.
“Ty was great in net and made sure that he and the defence were on the same page,” said Jenkins.
For Redlick, he credits his entire defence and studying the Northmen shooters that helped him settle in.
“I was able to go back and watch videos on their guys like Trey Deere and Liam Matthews, and focus on where they like to shoot,” said Redlick on his prep for the game against Orangeville.
“After the Beaches game, we turned our attention to Peterborough and got that win, and then focused on Orangeville, and in the lead-up to the game, I was talking with my defence on what I wanted them to do, and let them allow me to see the shots I wanted to see and I think that when both the defence and goalie are working in sync, it’s tough to beat a team like that.”
Whitby will wrap up their regular season Friday night in Brampton before waiting to find out their first-round playoff opponent.
Check warriorslacrosse.com for more information on playoff updates as we chase our ninth Minto Cup title.
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
July 8, 2025
WHITBY– After dropping the first game of their head-to-head contests this season on the road, the Whitby Warriors (13-6) were able to split the series with the Orangeville Northmen (16-3) after a 12-7 win on Tuesday night at Iroquois Park Sports Complex. Senior offensive player, Nolan Byrne, had six points on the night but can’t take all the credit for his performance.
“Those first two goals shouldn’t have been scored by me,” Byrne said, praising the offence. “I just happened to be at the right place at the right time and I found the back of the net.”
From the opening whistle, Whitby was in control. Winning at the faceoff dot, playing physically, the offence was clicking, and the defence was shutting down shooters. Byrne kicked-started the offence, scoring 1:14 into the game before Dylan Sanderson was able to score a top corner to tie it up at one apiece early. Whitby then rattled off three goals, which included Luke Robinson scoring a full-floor goal. Robinson was able to pick off a pass and run 200 hundred feet the other way and bury a shot past Northmen starting goaltender, Evan Constantopoulos.
With Whitby showing their mettle and proving that they can be a serious contender, they added two more goals to contest Orangeville's Liam Matthews’ 39th and 40th goals of the season to make it a 6-3 game after the opening period.
Orangeville scored while on the power play just 13 seconds into the second frame to narrow the score, and rookie phenom Max Kruger made it a 6-5 game before Whitby scored two goals, including a bullet from the captain and senior player, Lucas Littlejohn, to go up by two after two.
However, the big moment in the game came with six seconds left in the second period when Orangeville called a timeout. After the play was blown in, Dylan Sanderson ran down the floor and took a shot after the buzzer, which drew a scrum. In the midst of it, Sanderson cross-checked a Whitby player in the head, which resulted in being ejected from the game.
While that was happening, Cohen Jennings was trying to rip the helmet off of Owen Tapper and convince Tapper to drop the gloves. After Jennings succeeded and threw a couple of punches, Tapper decided to throw some haymakers and ended up winning the fight to ignite the home crowd.
Up by two goals and wanting home-floor advantage through the first round of the playoffs on the line, Whitby knew that if they won the third period, they’d be in a good spot to control their destiny heading into their final regular-season game on Friday.
“We knew that if we played our game and fed off the crowd, we could win that game,” head coach Kevin Jenkins said after his team’s 13th win of the season. “Tapper’s fight got the whole team going, and we were able to shut them down and discipline ourselves to get the victory.”
It didn’t take long for Littlejohn to keep the Whitby crowd engaged in the third period as he threw multiple fakes before scoring his second on the night to chase Constantopoulos from the game.
Not long after, Byrne went airborne for his fifth of the game. Despite Cade Cordingley and Trey Deere scoring to make it a 10-7 game, Whitby was able to continue to make Orangeville pay in transition. It came off the stick of Cameron Maunders, who scored his first OJLL goal that nearly blew the roof off the building at Iroquois Park Sports Complex. With under five minutes to play and Orangeville pulling their goalie, Robinson ran down and buried the empty net goal to solidify the win.
Jenkins was pleased with the win, but knew it wouldn’t have been possible without Tyden Redlick playing ‘playoff style lacrosse’.
“Ty was great in net and made sure that he and the defence were on the same page,” said Jenkins.
For Redlick, he credits his entire defence and studying the Northmen shooters that helped him settle in.
“I was able to go back and watch videos on their guys like Trey Deere and Liam Matthews, and focus on where they like to shoot,” said Redlick on his prep for the game against Orangeville.
“After the Beaches game, we turned our attention to Peterborough and got that win, and then focused on Orangeville, and in the lead-up to the game, I was talking with my defence on what I wanted them to do, and let them allow me to see the shots I wanted to see and I think that when both the defence and goalie are working in sync, it’s tough to beat a team like that.”
Whitby will wrap up their regular season Friday night in Brampton before waiting to find out their first-round playoff opponent.
Check warriorslacrosse.com for more information on playoff updates as we chase our ninth Minto Cup title.
Hornheads Too Much for Whitby
ORANGEVILLE– A trip to Tony Rose Arena on a long weekend resulted in a long bus ride home as the Whitby Warriors (10-5) fell to the league-leading Orangeville
Northmen (15-2), 12-9 Sunday night. The Northmen were led offensively by Liam Matthews, who had five goals and three assists in the contest.
“It’s putting a full 60 minutes together,” said Jack Oldman after the loss. “If we’re able to get rolling on all levels, we know we’re the best team in the country and we just have to put it on display.”
It was Orangeville who scored the goal in the first game from Matthews to ignite the building, but that was short-lived as Ryan Langille scored 29 after Matthews to silence the crowd. After missing the first 14 games of the regular season recovering from surgery, Gabriel Sorichetti slotted back into the lineup and scored his first goal of the season. The rest of the period would be very fast-paced, as both teams knew it would be a tough battle to get the win. Whitby found themselves on a powerplay late in the first, and Sorichetti found himself with the ball at the top shooting position and scored to give the Warriors a 3-1 lead after the opening frame.
The second period started just like the first, with Matthews scoring the first goal, but that was also short-lived as Max Wetherup came down the floor in transition while killing a penalty and fired a bullet past Northmen starting goaltender Evan Constantopolous. Matthews would score again on a great feed from rookie Max Kruger and Dylan Sanderson to pull them within one. Just 17 seconds after it became a one-goal contest, as Julien Belair restored the two-goal lead for Whitby, and not long after that, it was Owen Tapper who scored on a great two-man game with Ryan Langille to make it 6-3.
Still in the second period, as Orangeville initiated a long line-change, Whitby unexpectedly out-numbered Orangeville in the offensive zone. With their shot being deflected, Orangeville sent the ball down the floor to the player coming off the bench, and Alex Messier was able to capitalize on Whitby's missed opportunity.
The turning point of the game came with 0.9 seconds left to go in the second period. After Whitby called a timeout and pulled their goalie to go 6-on-5, their shot missed the net and rolled back over centre, which resulted in an ‘over-and-back’ violation. With Whitby caught in a poor line change and Orangeville running down the floor to grab the ball with the net empty, Trey Deere picked up the ball and scored with 0.1 seconds left on the clock to tie the game up 6-6 heading into the third period.
Anybody in lacrosse knows that if the visiting team is not leading heading into the third period at Tony Rose Arena, the chances of winning are severely hindered. Orangeville's pace-of-play, discipline, talent, and unrelenting work ethic prove difficult to overcome at the best of times. On their home floor, they are close to unbeatable most nights. Tonight for Whitby, one of the objectives of the night would have had to be stay disciplined. In the third, discipline was questionable, in taking two penalties on the same play.
Whitby committed an illegal substitution penalty, and as Orangeville was running up the floor, a Whitby player committed another infraction, resulting in a 5-on-3 for the Northmen, and they made Whitby pay for it. Kruger scored on the first penalty to diminish any momentum Whitby had gained, and it was later taken away altogether after Orangeville went on a four-goal run in 4:49 to put the game out of hand. Trey Deere had two goals and three assists while
Constantopoulos made 41 saves on 50 shots. Whitby starting goaltender, Tyden Redlick, had 34 stops on 46 shots.
Despite recording five points in his return this season, Sorchetti knows that sticking to their offensive principles is key to winning as the regular season comes to a close. “Getting on the same page and playing with our heads more,” said Sorchetti, reflecting on the game. “When we’re on offence, we need to keep moving our feet and the ball and communicate more. It’s hard to get wins in this league, and it’s even harder if you’re not doing the fundamentals, so we just need to get back to those and hopefully that’ll result in wins for us as the calendar turns to July.”
The Warriors will now rest for three days before taking a trip to the TRAC to face off against the Oakville Buzz on Thursday. Whitby’s next home game will be Saturday, July 2 at 2:00 pm against the Toronto Beaches at Iroquois Park Sports Complex in Whitby.
Visit warriorslacrosse.com for more information.
ORANGEVILLE– A trip to Tony Rose Arena on a long weekend resulted in a long bus ride home as the Whitby Warriors (10-5) fell to the league-leading Orangeville
Northmen (15-2), 12-9 Sunday night. The Northmen were led offensively by Liam Matthews, who had five goals and three assists in the contest.
“It’s putting a full 60 minutes together,” said Jack Oldman after the loss. “If we’re able to get rolling on all levels, we know we’re the best team in the country and we just have to put it on display.”
It was Orangeville who scored the goal in the first game from Matthews to ignite the building, but that was short-lived as Ryan Langille scored 29 after Matthews to silence the crowd. After missing the first 14 games of the regular season recovering from surgery, Gabriel Sorichetti slotted back into the lineup and scored his first goal of the season. The rest of the period would be very fast-paced, as both teams knew it would be a tough battle to get the win. Whitby found themselves on a powerplay late in the first, and Sorichetti found himself with the ball at the top shooting position and scored to give the Warriors a 3-1 lead after the opening frame.
The second period started just like the first, with Matthews scoring the first goal, but that was also short-lived as Max Wetherup came down the floor in transition while killing a penalty and fired a bullet past Northmen starting goaltender Evan Constantopolous. Matthews would score again on a great feed from rookie Max Kruger and Dylan Sanderson to pull them within one. Just 17 seconds after it became a one-goal contest, as Julien Belair restored the two-goal lead for Whitby, and not long after that, it was Owen Tapper who scored on a great two-man game with Ryan Langille to make it 6-3.
Still in the second period, as Orangeville initiated a long line-change, Whitby unexpectedly out-numbered Orangeville in the offensive zone. With their shot being deflected, Orangeville sent the ball down the floor to the player coming off the bench, and Alex Messier was able to capitalize on Whitby's missed opportunity.
The turning point of the game came with 0.9 seconds left to go in the second period. After Whitby called a timeout and pulled their goalie to go 6-on-5, their shot missed the net and rolled back over centre, which resulted in an ‘over-and-back’ violation. With Whitby caught in a poor line change and Orangeville running down the floor to grab the ball with the net empty, Trey Deere picked up the ball and scored with 0.1 seconds left on the clock to tie the game up 6-6 heading into the third period.
Anybody in lacrosse knows that if the visiting team is not leading heading into the third period at Tony Rose Arena, the chances of winning are severely hindered. Orangeville's pace-of-play, discipline, talent, and unrelenting work ethic prove difficult to overcome at the best of times. On their home floor, they are close to unbeatable most nights. Tonight for Whitby, one of the objectives of the night would have had to be stay disciplined. In the third, discipline was questionable, in taking two penalties on the same play.
Whitby committed an illegal substitution penalty, and as Orangeville was running up the floor, a Whitby player committed another infraction, resulting in a 5-on-3 for the Northmen, and they made Whitby pay for it. Kruger scored on the first penalty to diminish any momentum Whitby had gained, and it was later taken away altogether after Orangeville went on a four-goal run in 4:49 to put the game out of hand. Trey Deere had two goals and three assists while
Constantopoulos made 41 saves on 50 shots. Whitby starting goaltender, Tyden Redlick, had 34 stops on 46 shots.
Despite recording five points in his return this season, Sorchetti knows that sticking to their offensive principles is key to winning as the regular season comes to a close. “Getting on the same page and playing with our heads more,” said Sorchetti, reflecting on the game. “When we’re on offence, we need to keep moving our feet and the ball and communicate more. It’s hard to get wins in this league, and it’s even harder if you’re not doing the fundamentals, so we just need to get back to those and hopefully that’ll result in wins for us as the calendar turns to July.”
The Warriors will now rest for three days before taking a trip to the TRAC to face off against the Oakville Buzz on Thursday. Whitby’s next home game will be Saturday, July 2 at 2:00 pm against the Toronto Beaches at Iroquois Park Sports Complex in Whitby.
Visit warriorslacrosse.com for more information.
New Warriors Make a Mark
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
June 23, 2025
WHITBY– A solid three-period performance lifted the Whitby Warriors (9-4) to a 12-7 victory over the K-W Lacrosse Club (5-9) on Tuesday night at Iroquois Park Sports Complex. Newly acquired goaltender, Tyden Redlick, made his Ontario Junior Lacrosse League debut for Whitby after being traded from the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League’s Edmonton Miners organization to Whitby, and had 50 saves on the night.
Senior defender and 2022 Minto Cup champion, Owen Tapper, spoke about the team’s defensive principles and how he was able to contribute on offence.
“We practiced yesterday and worked on a lot of new things,” Tapper said. “We were able to get the new guys used to how we play, and it was a good game for the whole defence.”
The game got off to a quick 3-0 lead for the Warriors, courtesy of Nolan Byrne scoring twice and Lucas Littlejohn starting the offence for the night. Byrne’s two quick goals were both courtesy of outside shots that managed to get past K-W starting goaltender Bryce Wismer. K-W was able to bounce back by scoring two goals to cut the deficit to one early, but off the ensuing faceoff, Ty Jesso scooped up a loose ball, found Julien Belair, who spotted Littlejohn up top, and ripped a shot past Wismer to restore the two-goal lead. Each team would get one more in the period to give Whitby a 5-3 lead after the opening 20 minutes of play.
A middle frame saw a very up-and-down game with the first goal of the period coming just before the midway mark of the period as both goalies stood their ground. Redlick was getting used to the shooters in the OJLL while Wismer was hoping to step up his game to give K-W a shot at securing a win, but Whitby showed they are becoming stronger as the season progesses. The Warriors rattled off three goals in 2:50, including a cross-crease quick-stick goal from Littlejohn.
With Whitby leading 8-5 after two periods of play, the game plan was simple for the third: ‘Don’t lose the third period and shut down their offence,’ and they were able to execute that plan. Whitby won the third period 4-2 and outshot K-W throughout the game, which was a big confidence boost for the team that had dropped three of its last four games coming into this game.
Former 2nd overall pick in the 2022 OJLL draft and first-year Whitby player, Ty Jesso, contributed on the offence tonight and was able to beat his former team for a second time this year.
“Just stuck to the game plan, and it’s a little different playing against them,” Jesso said. “It’s good, you know, it's a little bit grittier and more of a battle.”
The Warriors will now play their third of four back-to-backs on Wednesday when they head to play the 2025 Minto Cup hosts, St Catherine’s Athletics, on the road. With both teams making big acquisitions at the OJLL trade deadline and Whitby winning the first game of the season, the Athletics will be eager to defend their home floor and show they can compete for a Minto Cup.
Whitby’s next home game will be on Saturday, July 5 at 2:00 pm against the Toronto Beaches at Iroquois Park Sports Complex.
Please visit warriorslacrosse.com for more information.
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
June 23, 2025
WHITBY– A solid three-period performance lifted the Whitby Warriors (9-4) to a 12-7 victory over the K-W Lacrosse Club (5-9) on Tuesday night at Iroquois Park Sports Complex. Newly acquired goaltender, Tyden Redlick, made his Ontario Junior Lacrosse League debut for Whitby after being traded from the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League’s Edmonton Miners organization to Whitby, and had 50 saves on the night.
Senior defender and 2022 Minto Cup champion, Owen Tapper, spoke about the team’s defensive principles and how he was able to contribute on offence.
“We practiced yesterday and worked on a lot of new things,” Tapper said. “We were able to get the new guys used to how we play, and it was a good game for the whole defence.”
The game got off to a quick 3-0 lead for the Warriors, courtesy of Nolan Byrne scoring twice and Lucas Littlejohn starting the offence for the night. Byrne’s two quick goals were both courtesy of outside shots that managed to get past K-W starting goaltender Bryce Wismer. K-W was able to bounce back by scoring two goals to cut the deficit to one early, but off the ensuing faceoff, Ty Jesso scooped up a loose ball, found Julien Belair, who spotted Littlejohn up top, and ripped a shot past Wismer to restore the two-goal lead. Each team would get one more in the period to give Whitby a 5-3 lead after the opening 20 minutes of play.
A middle frame saw a very up-and-down game with the first goal of the period coming just before the midway mark of the period as both goalies stood their ground. Redlick was getting used to the shooters in the OJLL while Wismer was hoping to step up his game to give K-W a shot at securing a win, but Whitby showed they are becoming stronger as the season progesses. The Warriors rattled off three goals in 2:50, including a cross-crease quick-stick goal from Littlejohn.
With Whitby leading 8-5 after two periods of play, the game plan was simple for the third: ‘Don’t lose the third period and shut down their offence,’ and they were able to execute that plan. Whitby won the third period 4-2 and outshot K-W throughout the game, which was a big confidence boost for the team that had dropped three of its last four games coming into this game.
Former 2nd overall pick in the 2022 OJLL draft and first-year Whitby player, Ty Jesso, contributed on the offence tonight and was able to beat his former team for a second time this year.
“Just stuck to the game plan, and it’s a little different playing against them,” Jesso said. “It’s good, you know, it's a little bit grittier and more of a battle.”
The Warriors will now play their third of four back-to-backs on Wednesday when they head to play the 2025 Minto Cup hosts, St Catherine’s Athletics, on the road. With both teams making big acquisitions at the OJLL trade deadline and Whitby winning the first game of the season, the Athletics will be eager to defend their home floor and show they can compete for a Minto Cup.
Whitby’s next home game will be on Saturday, July 5 at 2:00 pm against the Toronto Beaches at Iroquois Park Sports Complex.
Please visit warriorslacrosse.com for more information.
Whitby Hangs on for Win over Oakville
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
June 17, 2025
WHITBY, ON– The Whitby Warriors (8-2) won a nail-biter over the Oakville Buzz (2-8) 13-12 on Tuesday at Iroquois Park Sports Centre. The offence was led by Lucas Littlejohn, who scored eight goals and added an assist for a nine-point performance.
Whitby welcomed Oakville for the first of two matchups on the season, and it ended in a one-goal game, something senior defender Ben Kromer said post-game about playing late in the third period to close out games.
“We can’t seem to play a full 60 minutes”, Kromer said after being outscored 7-5 in the third period. “It's something we're working on right now, and it will come. We just got to play 60 minutes hard, get the defence rolling.”
The Warriors were looking for a bounce-back win after losing the third period and ultimately the game against the Burlington Blaze on Sunday night, 11-10 in Overtime, having been shut out for the entire third period and overtime. Whitby came out angry and bitter about that loss against the Blaze, and it showed. They were pressuring the Buzz early in transition and getting repeat offensive possessions, which allowed Lucas Littlejohn to get into scoring areas and find the back of the net four straight times in the opening 20 minutes to give the home-side a 5-3 lead after 20 minutes.
The second period was slow. Both teams were scoring, but lowered the tempo in transition and were called a few times for Too Many Players due to the long change in the period. Littlejohn scored a hat trick in the period to make it seven so far in the game, but the Warriors defence started to slip. Oakville was getting their chances and getting on the inside while using the two-man system very effectively. Charlie Boon and John Logue scored for the Buzz to close the gap and be down 8-5 after two periods of play.
Games are won or lost in the third period, and for Whitby, they almost lost this game. Transition wasn’t working for them, making bad passes and shooting on the first possessions on offence all gave Oakville many chances to score, and they rattled off two goals in under 30 seconds twice. The defence wasn’t able to get out on the hands of shooters and Oakville took advantage of that by shooting from the outside to narrow the gap and try and claw their way back into the game. Everyone thought the game was over when Max Wetherup scored to make it 13-10 with 1:21 left in the third, but don’t count out this young, skilled Buzz offensive unit. With the extra attacker out, Liam Luzza and Finn Morgan each wired shots from the outside past Warriors starting goaltender Cooper Wilson to make it 13-12 with 13 seconds left in the game.
On the final face-off, Oakville was able to gain possession and had a great chance to tie the game, but Wilson threw up the shoulder to make a clutch save to close out the game and earn Whitby its eighth win of the season. Oakville starting goaltender, Zach Constantopoulous, made 59 saves on 72 shots while
Wilson had 39 saves on 51 shots.
Captain Lucas Littlejohn was pleased with eight goals on the night, but that came at a high price, and he hopes to learn from this game and use it to prepare for a tough back-to-back at the end of the week.
“[We have to] find a maturity level, and find a way to close out games. And I think we'll find that here soon,” Littlejohn said sombrely. “It's going to be a battle [against Beaches and Mimico]. We just have to find our legs and play our game against two tough teams who are hoping to make the top eight.”
Whitby’s next home will be on June 24 at 7:30 pm when they host K-W Lacrosse Club.
Visit https://www.warriorslacrosse.com/#/ for more information.
Lucas Argier - @largiersports
June 17, 2025
WHITBY, ON– The Whitby Warriors (8-2) won a nail-biter over the Oakville Buzz (2-8) 13-12 on Tuesday at Iroquois Park Sports Centre. The offence was led by Lucas Littlejohn, who scored eight goals and added an assist for a nine-point performance.
Whitby welcomed Oakville for the first of two matchups on the season, and it ended in a one-goal game, something senior defender Ben Kromer said post-game about playing late in the third period to close out games.
“We can’t seem to play a full 60 minutes”, Kromer said after being outscored 7-5 in the third period. “It's something we're working on right now, and it will come. We just got to play 60 minutes hard, get the defence rolling.”
The Warriors were looking for a bounce-back win after losing the third period and ultimately the game against the Burlington Blaze on Sunday night, 11-10 in Overtime, having been shut out for the entire third period and overtime. Whitby came out angry and bitter about that loss against the Blaze, and it showed. They were pressuring the Buzz early in transition and getting repeat offensive possessions, which allowed Lucas Littlejohn to get into scoring areas and find the back of the net four straight times in the opening 20 minutes to give the home-side a 5-3 lead after 20 minutes.
The second period was slow. Both teams were scoring, but lowered the tempo in transition and were called a few times for Too Many Players due to the long change in the period. Littlejohn scored a hat trick in the period to make it seven so far in the game, but the Warriors defence started to slip. Oakville was getting their chances and getting on the inside while using the two-man system very effectively. Charlie Boon and John Logue scored for the Buzz to close the gap and be down 8-5 after two periods of play.
Games are won or lost in the third period, and for Whitby, they almost lost this game. Transition wasn’t working for them, making bad passes and shooting on the first possessions on offence all gave Oakville many chances to score, and they rattled off two goals in under 30 seconds twice. The defence wasn’t able to get out on the hands of shooters and Oakville took advantage of that by shooting from the outside to narrow the gap and try and claw their way back into the game. Everyone thought the game was over when Max Wetherup scored to make it 13-10 with 1:21 left in the third, but don’t count out this young, skilled Buzz offensive unit. With the extra attacker out, Liam Luzza and Finn Morgan each wired shots from the outside past Warriors starting goaltender Cooper Wilson to make it 13-12 with 13 seconds left in the game.
On the final face-off, Oakville was able to gain possession and had a great chance to tie the game, but Wilson threw up the shoulder to make a clutch save to close out the game and earn Whitby its eighth win of the season. Oakville starting goaltender, Zach Constantopoulous, made 59 saves on 72 shots while
Wilson had 39 saves on 51 shots.
Captain Lucas Littlejohn was pleased with eight goals on the night, but that came at a high price, and he hopes to learn from this game and use it to prepare for a tough back-to-back at the end of the week.
“[We have to] find a maturity level, and find a way to close out games. And I think we'll find that here soon,” Littlejohn said sombrely. “It's going to be a battle [against Beaches and Mimico]. We just have to find our legs and play our game against two tough teams who are hoping to make the top eight.”
Whitby’s next home will be on June 24 at 7:30 pm when they host K-W Lacrosse Club.
Visit https://www.warriorslacrosse.com/#/ for more information.
Warriors Hold On to Defeat St. Catherines
June 10, 2025
Whitby ON - Cooper Wilson won the battle, and Whitby won the war.
Cooper Wilson for Whitby and Ty Wilson for St. Catherines got the start in their respective nets in the matchup of two teams each with five wins on the season. While Cooper Wilson would allow the first and third goals of the game, that would be all he would allow during the head-to-head match-up. Ty Wilson allowed six goals in the first period, then three more in the second period before being substituted by Oliver Vanyo at the 13:18 minute mark of the period. The seven goal run by Whitby looked like they were in the driver's seat and on cruise control, headed to another comfortable home victory. Vanyo and the A's had other ideas.
Treysen's Stewart marker at 13:18 of the second would be the final goal scored by the home side, and would hold on to be the game winner. Balance was restored to the game as the A's and Whitby tallied goals through out the second period, each recording three.
Vanyo shut the door on the Warriors for the remainder of the game, making some highlight reel saves, as well as getting some help from him posts, to hold his side in the contest. Penalties troubled the Warriors as a 5-minute Major penalty to Nick Belmonte allowed the A's to earn two goals on the Power Play. A double-minor to Owen Lee in the third period gave the A's another Power Play opportunity which they converted making it a three-goal game. Two more goals by St. Catherine's made the finish for the last 3:35 a tense one. Wilson and the Warrior defence was able to stem the A's momentum and collect the win.
Whitby now holds a record of 5-1, good enough for third in the standings, and tied with Orangeville and Six Nations with only one loss on the season.
The next home game is this Friday June versus Six Nations, who Whitby lost to on June 8 in Six Nations. Get out to the game if you are able. Game time is 7:30PM
June 10, 2025
Whitby ON - Cooper Wilson won the battle, and Whitby won the war.
Cooper Wilson for Whitby and Ty Wilson for St. Catherines got the start in their respective nets in the matchup of two teams each with five wins on the season. While Cooper Wilson would allow the first and third goals of the game, that would be all he would allow during the head-to-head match-up. Ty Wilson allowed six goals in the first period, then three more in the second period before being substituted by Oliver Vanyo at the 13:18 minute mark of the period. The seven goal run by Whitby looked like they were in the driver's seat and on cruise control, headed to another comfortable home victory. Vanyo and the A's had other ideas.
Treysen's Stewart marker at 13:18 of the second would be the final goal scored by the home side, and would hold on to be the game winner. Balance was restored to the game as the A's and Whitby tallied goals through out the second period, each recording three.
Vanyo shut the door on the Warriors for the remainder of the game, making some highlight reel saves, as well as getting some help from him posts, to hold his side in the contest. Penalties troubled the Warriors as a 5-minute Major penalty to Nick Belmonte allowed the A's to earn two goals on the Power Play. A double-minor to Owen Lee in the third period gave the A's another Power Play opportunity which they converted making it a three-goal game. Two more goals by St. Catherine's made the finish for the last 3:35 a tense one. Wilson and the Warrior defence was able to stem the A's momentum and collect the win.
Whitby now holds a record of 5-1, good enough for third in the standings, and tied with Orangeville and Six Nations with only one loss on the season.
The next home game is this Friday June versus Six Nations, who Whitby lost to on June 8 in Six Nations. Get out to the game if you are able. Game time is 7:30PM
Warriors Collect First Road Win
June 4, 2025
Kitchener-Waterloo, ON - Cooper Wilson made 32 saves, Julien Belair, Nolan Byrne, and Lucas Littlejohn each had three points, and the Defence held the hosts to 6 goals as Whitby recorded it's first road victory of the season. In doing so, they also keep their perfect record intact.
A quick start again helped the Warriors set the pace as they recorded two goals before KW would get on the board, then record two more to take a three goal lead into the dressing room for the intermission. Whitby has outscored its opponents 32-14 in the first period this season, allowing the goaltending and defence to settle into the game and make the opposition chase the game.
The second and third periods were more even, 3-2 for Whitby and 3-3 in the third, as Whitby controlled the scoresheet and forcing KW to take some chances. As such, Oldman recorded an Empty Net goal with over 5 minutes to play in the third.
Whitby enjoyed some depth scoring as well tonight, as Easton McCafferty, Max Wetherup, and Owen Tapper all recorded goals, with Max Taylor adding a couple of assists in the winning effort. In all, twelve different players earned at least one point on the night.
Whitby will look to continue their winning ways as their next game is in Six Nations on Sunday June 8 at 7:00 PM.
June 4, 2025
Kitchener-Waterloo, ON - Cooper Wilson made 32 saves, Julien Belair, Nolan Byrne, and Lucas Littlejohn each had three points, and the Defence held the hosts to 6 goals as Whitby recorded it's first road victory of the season. In doing so, they also keep their perfect record intact.
A quick start again helped the Warriors set the pace as they recorded two goals before KW would get on the board, then record two more to take a three goal lead into the dressing room for the intermission. Whitby has outscored its opponents 32-14 in the first period this season, allowing the goaltending and defence to settle into the game and make the opposition chase the game.
The second and third periods were more even, 3-2 for Whitby and 3-3 in the third, as Whitby controlled the scoresheet and forcing KW to take some chances. As such, Oldman recorded an Empty Net goal with over 5 minutes to play in the third.
Whitby enjoyed some depth scoring as well tonight, as Easton McCafferty, Max Wetherup, and Owen Tapper all recorded goals, with Max Taylor adding a couple of assists in the winning effort. In all, twelve different players earned at least one point on the night.
Whitby will look to continue their winning ways as their next game is in Six Nations on Sunday June 8 at 7:00 PM.
Byrne and Littlejohn lead Whitby to Fourth Straight Win
Tuesday June 3, 2025
Whitby ON - After being traded to Whitby this past off-season, Nolan Byrne may be finding his rhythm with his new team, as he exploded for 12 points in Whitby's 19-15 win over the visiting Brampton Excelsiors. Aided by 11 points from Lucas Littlejohn, 10 of which were assists, these two handled the bulk of the scoring for the home side. Lucas Johnston faced 48 shots in the win, while Whitby sent 70 shots toward the Brampton net. Whitby keeps its win streak going to make it 4 wins to open the season, and will face their first road game in Kitchener-Waterloo tomorrow night.
Ryan Langille opened a 10-goal first period for Whitby just :21 seconds into the game, and Brampton leading scorer Marcelo Carreiro would answer less than a minute later. Carreiro had a night of his own, notching 9 points for the visitors, with help from Nate Renaud (3G, 4A), and Caiden Merritt (3G, 3A) in a losing effort. Brampton now falls to 0-7 on the season.
Jack Oldman had a big night on the stats sheet (3G 4A), and Langille finished the night with 2G and 3A.
The night belonged to Byrne and Littlejohn. A combined 23 points proved too much for the Excelsiors to overcome, as the lead earned in the first period enabled the hosts to keep Brampton at arms-length, as they finished the first period ahead by 6. Despite losing the second period 7-4, they still led after two periods 14-11, then won the final period 5-4 to close out the game. Littlejohn was in on all five third-period goals for Whitby, with Byrne in on three.
Tomorrow night Kitchener-Waterloo (2-2) host Whitby. K-W season so far has been win-one, lose-one see-saw battle, so they will be looking to put another in the win column. Lucas Littlejohn leads Whitby's offence this year with 34 points, while Max Frattaroli leads K-W with 14.
Whitby's next home game is Tuesday June 10 at 7:30 versus the St. Catharines Athletics at IPSC.
Tuesday June 3, 2025
Whitby ON - After being traded to Whitby this past off-season, Nolan Byrne may be finding his rhythm with his new team, as he exploded for 12 points in Whitby's 19-15 win over the visiting Brampton Excelsiors. Aided by 11 points from Lucas Littlejohn, 10 of which were assists, these two handled the bulk of the scoring for the home side. Lucas Johnston faced 48 shots in the win, while Whitby sent 70 shots toward the Brampton net. Whitby keeps its win streak going to make it 4 wins to open the season, and will face their first road game in Kitchener-Waterloo tomorrow night.
Ryan Langille opened a 10-goal first period for Whitby just :21 seconds into the game, and Brampton leading scorer Marcelo Carreiro would answer less than a minute later. Carreiro had a night of his own, notching 9 points for the visitors, with help from Nate Renaud (3G, 4A), and Caiden Merritt (3G, 3A) in a losing effort. Brampton now falls to 0-7 on the season.
Jack Oldman had a big night on the stats sheet (3G 4A), and Langille finished the night with 2G and 3A.
The night belonged to Byrne and Littlejohn. A combined 23 points proved too much for the Excelsiors to overcome, as the lead earned in the first period enabled the hosts to keep Brampton at arms-length, as they finished the first period ahead by 6. Despite losing the second period 7-4, they still led after two periods 14-11, then won the final period 5-4 to close out the game. Littlejohn was in on all five third-period goals for Whitby, with Byrne in on three.
Tomorrow night Kitchener-Waterloo (2-2) host Whitby. K-W season so far has been win-one, lose-one see-saw battle, so they will be looking to put another in the win column. Lucas Littlejohn leads Whitby's offence this year with 34 points, while Max Frattaroli leads K-W with 14.
Whitby's next home game is Tuesday June 10 at 7:30 versus the St. Catharines Athletics at IPSC.
Whitby Stays Perfect on the Season
Saturday May 31, 2025
Whitby, ON - Powered by a seven-goal first period, Whitby stayed perfect to open the season with a tight 11-10 win over Mimico in Whitby.
Nolan Byrne led Whitby with six points on the night, helped by six points from Lucas Littlejohn and four points from Julien Belair. Ethan Lee recorded the unassisted Game Winning Goal with just under 3 minutes remaining in the third period, and then Whitby closed the door on the Mountaineers to secure the win. Cooper Wilson got his first start, and win, in the Whitby net this season, and backstopped his team as the Warriors continue to take advantage of a four-game home stand to open the season.
With the struggling Brampton Excelsiors set to visit on Tuesday evening, Whitby will be looking to keep their no-loss record intact, and hand Brampton their seventh loss of the year (0-6 to open the season, with two overtime losses). Whitby are outscoring Brampton by 2.7 goals per game, give up 2.5 goals less per game so far this season, though Whitby is averaging more penalty minutes per game. If Brampton can get Whitby into penalty trouble, there may be an opportunity for them to notch win number one of the season.
Tuesday marks the first meeting between the two teams who made some waves in the off-season trade market. Byrne and Nick Belmonte were acquired in return for Riley Knox, Whitby's 8th overall draft pick in 2021 and member of their 2022 Minto Cup Championship team, Drew Cairns, Liam McKendrick, and five draft picks over the next four years. Interestingly, both Knox and Belmonte currently lead their respective teams in penalty minutes.
Game time on Tuesday June 3 is 7:30 at IPSC.
Saturday May 31, 2025
Whitby, ON - Powered by a seven-goal first period, Whitby stayed perfect to open the season with a tight 11-10 win over Mimico in Whitby.
Nolan Byrne led Whitby with six points on the night, helped by six points from Lucas Littlejohn and four points from Julien Belair. Ethan Lee recorded the unassisted Game Winning Goal with just under 3 minutes remaining in the third period, and then Whitby closed the door on the Mountaineers to secure the win. Cooper Wilson got his first start, and win, in the Whitby net this season, and backstopped his team as the Warriors continue to take advantage of a four-game home stand to open the season.
With the struggling Brampton Excelsiors set to visit on Tuesday evening, Whitby will be looking to keep their no-loss record intact, and hand Brampton their seventh loss of the year (0-6 to open the season, with two overtime losses). Whitby are outscoring Brampton by 2.7 goals per game, give up 2.5 goals less per game so far this season, though Whitby is averaging more penalty minutes per game. If Brampton can get Whitby into penalty trouble, there may be an opportunity for them to notch win number one of the season.
Tuesday marks the first meeting between the two teams who made some waves in the off-season trade market. Byrne and Nick Belmonte were acquired in return for Riley Knox, Whitby's 8th overall draft pick in 2021 and member of their 2022 Minto Cup Championship team, Drew Cairns, Liam McKendrick, and five draft picks over the next four years. Interestingly, both Knox and Belmonte currently lead their respective teams in penalty minutes.
Game time on Tuesday June 3 is 7:30 at IPSC.
Whitby Moves to 2-0 on the Season
Thursday May 29, 2025
Whitby, Ont. – Another four-goal night from Lucas Littlejohn helped the Whitby Warriors earn their second straight win of the season Thursday night against the Burlington Blaze at Iroquois Park Sports Complex.
In Whitby’s first game of the season, they came out slow and inefficient against a Peterborough Lakers squad that made some key offensive adjustments in the offseason. Whitby and Peterborough were tied at the end of the first and second periods before the Warriors scored five straight goals in the third period to earn a 10–5 win.
Tonight, after more than a week's worth of rest and practice, the Warriors’ offence erupted for eight goals in the first frame. Whitby found themselves down 1–0 before Ryan Langille, Blake Mason, Treysen Stewart, Ethan Lee, and newcomer Nolan Byrne all found the back of the net to take a 5–1 lead.
After allowing five straight goals on 13 shots, Blaze starting goaltender and affiliate player Sam Forbes was pulled and replaced by Griffin Bakker, who finished the rest of the first period but allowed three more goals—including a worm-burner from Lucas Littlejohn—to give the Warriors a five-goal lead after 20 minutes of play.
The second period was all Burlington. They outworked, outshot, outhustled, and outdefended Whitby in the middle frame. The Blaze were winning loose-ball battles, securing long possessions, and playing more fluidly in all facets of the game. As a result of those advantages, they scored three goals in just 54 seconds to rattle Warriors starting goaltender Lucas Johnston and prompt a stoppage.
With both goaltenders new to Junior ‘A’ lacrosse—Johnston having spent last season with the Orangeville Junior ‘B’ Northmen and Forbes with the Elora Hawks Junior ‘B’—it became a battle of the netminders. As they continue to learn the pace, skill and focus of the Junior A level, it was anyone’s game heading into the final period. Burlington’s offence, led by Assistant Captain Chuck Rawson, who finished with four goals and an assist, managed to claw back to within four, trailing 13–9 after two periods.
However, with Whitby holding a “Minto or bust” mentality and aiming to beat any team in their path, they knew what needed to be done. But just because a team has a game plan doesn’t mean they’ll always stick to it—Burlington had other ideas. Scoring three goals in the first ten minutes of the third period, they cut the lead to 15–12. Nate Watson made it a two-goal game before 2023 fifth-overall pick Treysen Stewart fired a laser from the outside to restore Whitby’s four-goal cushion.
After Justin Hill scored to bring Burlington back within two, the Blaze pulled their goalie for an extra attacker in hopes of tying the game. But Whitby's defence—courtesy of Max Taylor, Owen Tapper, Justin Hewitt, Ethan Lee, and Ben Kromer—stepped up by knocking down passes, blocking shots, and securing loose balls when it mattered most. With Littlejohn adding an empty-netter for his fourth goal of the night, Whitby walked away with a 17–14 win and improved to 2–0 on the season.
Whitby will be back in action on Saturday, May 31, at IPSC at 7 PM when they host the Mimico Mountaineers.
Visit https://www.warriorslacrosse.com/#/ for more information.
Thursday May 29, 2025
Whitby, Ont. – Another four-goal night from Lucas Littlejohn helped the Whitby Warriors earn their second straight win of the season Thursday night against the Burlington Blaze at Iroquois Park Sports Complex.
In Whitby’s first game of the season, they came out slow and inefficient against a Peterborough Lakers squad that made some key offensive adjustments in the offseason. Whitby and Peterborough were tied at the end of the first and second periods before the Warriors scored five straight goals in the third period to earn a 10–5 win.
Tonight, after more than a week's worth of rest and practice, the Warriors’ offence erupted for eight goals in the first frame. Whitby found themselves down 1–0 before Ryan Langille, Blake Mason, Treysen Stewart, Ethan Lee, and newcomer Nolan Byrne all found the back of the net to take a 5–1 lead.
After allowing five straight goals on 13 shots, Blaze starting goaltender and affiliate player Sam Forbes was pulled and replaced by Griffin Bakker, who finished the rest of the first period but allowed three more goals—including a worm-burner from Lucas Littlejohn—to give the Warriors a five-goal lead after 20 minutes of play.
The second period was all Burlington. They outworked, outshot, outhustled, and outdefended Whitby in the middle frame. The Blaze were winning loose-ball battles, securing long possessions, and playing more fluidly in all facets of the game. As a result of those advantages, they scored three goals in just 54 seconds to rattle Warriors starting goaltender Lucas Johnston and prompt a stoppage.
With both goaltenders new to Junior ‘A’ lacrosse—Johnston having spent last season with the Orangeville Junior ‘B’ Northmen and Forbes with the Elora Hawks Junior ‘B’—it became a battle of the netminders. As they continue to learn the pace, skill and focus of the Junior A level, it was anyone’s game heading into the final period. Burlington’s offence, led by Assistant Captain Chuck Rawson, who finished with four goals and an assist, managed to claw back to within four, trailing 13–9 after two periods.
However, with Whitby holding a “Minto or bust” mentality and aiming to beat any team in their path, they knew what needed to be done. But just because a team has a game plan doesn’t mean they’ll always stick to it—Burlington had other ideas. Scoring three goals in the first ten minutes of the third period, they cut the lead to 15–12. Nate Watson made it a two-goal game before 2023 fifth-overall pick Treysen Stewart fired a laser from the outside to restore Whitby’s four-goal cushion.
After Justin Hill scored to bring Burlington back within two, the Blaze pulled their goalie for an extra attacker in hopes of tying the game. But Whitby's defence—courtesy of Max Taylor, Owen Tapper, Justin Hewitt, Ethan Lee, and Ben Kromer—stepped up by knocking down passes, blocking shots, and securing loose balls when it mattered most. With Littlejohn adding an empty-netter for his fourth goal of the night, Whitby walked away with a 17–14 win and improved to 2–0 on the season.
Whitby will be back in action on Saturday, May 31, at IPSC at 7 PM when they host the Mimico Mountaineers.
Visit https://www.warriorslacrosse.com/#/ for more information.
July 2, 2024
Kitchener-Waterloo Prevails in Whitby
With the season approaching its closing games, the Warriors find themselves in a battle to secure a playoff spot. A turn in their fortunes has them mired in a late-season string of games where they struggled to put points on the board. Coupled with the League's decision to uphold the forfeiture of eight games by the Toronto Beaches, the Warriors were passed by several teams who benefited from the Beaches’ change in the standings. Whitby went from being securely in the middle of the pack, to being on the outside looking in headed into tonight’s game.
KW entered the game with a possibility of making the playoffs, but they must win all their remaining games, and get some help from other teams. Whitby needs to win out as well, which would give them 11 wins on the season. They would also need to see what happens with the Beaches, St. Catherines, and Six Nations, all fighting for the final playoff spots. KW would be looking to exact some revenge for losing to Whitby in KW at the end of May.
The first and second periods saw the teams effectively trading goals, with either side falling behind then taking the lead, resulting in nine lead changes. They entered the third period with KW ahead by two, 8-6.
Brendan Marino lead the visitors offensively with six assists, while Gabriel Sorichetti and Luke Robinson each netted Hat Tricks for Whitby. Ethan Harwood got the start in goal for Whitby. KW outscored the Warriors in the final frame of the game 3-2 to make the final score 11-8. The loss now puts Whitby into a difficult spot, having to defeat three teams ahead of them in the standings, just to have a chance of making the playoffs.
Their next game is tomorrow night in Burlington, then back home for a rare Saturday night game versus St. Catherines.
Kitchener-Waterloo Prevails in Whitby
With the season approaching its closing games, the Warriors find themselves in a battle to secure a playoff spot. A turn in their fortunes has them mired in a late-season string of games where they struggled to put points on the board. Coupled with the League's decision to uphold the forfeiture of eight games by the Toronto Beaches, the Warriors were passed by several teams who benefited from the Beaches’ change in the standings. Whitby went from being securely in the middle of the pack, to being on the outside looking in headed into tonight’s game.
KW entered the game with a possibility of making the playoffs, but they must win all their remaining games, and get some help from other teams. Whitby needs to win out as well, which would give them 11 wins on the season. They would also need to see what happens with the Beaches, St. Catherines, and Six Nations, all fighting for the final playoff spots. KW would be looking to exact some revenge for losing to Whitby in KW at the end of May.
The first and second periods saw the teams effectively trading goals, with either side falling behind then taking the lead, resulting in nine lead changes. They entered the third period with KW ahead by two, 8-6.
Brendan Marino lead the visitors offensively with six assists, while Gabriel Sorichetti and Luke Robinson each netted Hat Tricks for Whitby. Ethan Harwood got the start in goal for Whitby. KW outscored the Warriors in the final frame of the game 3-2 to make the final score 11-8. The loss now puts Whitby into a difficult spot, having to defeat three teams ahead of them in the standings, just to have a chance of making the playoffs.
Their next game is tomorrow night in Burlington, then back home for a rare Saturday night game versus St. Catherines.
June 21, 2024
Beaches Top Warriors
For the second time in two nights, the league-leading Toronto Beaches outpaced the Warriors to take the season series 2-0. On Thursday night the Warriors fell 14-11 in Toronto, and Friday came up just short in a 9-7 loss.
Willem Firth did the damage for Toronto, registering 7 goals in the two games, and Gabriel Sorichetti led Whitby with 6. The Beaches are leading the league in goal differential, and Thursday they outscored the Warriors 9-4 in the final two periods, and 7-4 Friday night. With the loss the Warriors drop their season record to 7-6.
Currently in 4th place, Whitby is firmly in a playoff position. With 7 games remaining in the Regular Season, four are played at home, and all seven games are against teams with a current record at .500 or below. Their next game is versus Six Nations on the road on Sunday, then host Brampton on Tuesday June 25.
Beaches Top Warriors
For the second time in two nights, the league-leading Toronto Beaches outpaced the Warriors to take the season series 2-0. On Thursday night the Warriors fell 14-11 in Toronto, and Friday came up just short in a 9-7 loss.
Willem Firth did the damage for Toronto, registering 7 goals in the two games, and Gabriel Sorichetti led Whitby with 6. The Beaches are leading the league in goal differential, and Thursday they outscored the Warriors 9-4 in the final two periods, and 7-4 Friday night. With the loss the Warriors drop their season record to 7-6.
Currently in 4th place, Whitby is firmly in a playoff position. With 7 games remaining in the Regular Season, four are played at home, and all seven games are against teams with a current record at .500 or below. Their next game is versus Six Nations on the road on Sunday, then host Brampton on Tuesday June 25.
June 11, 2024
Whitby Evens Season Series with Mimico
Ethan Harwood and his Defence provided the foundation needed to lead Whitby to the win over Mimico, levelling the season series at one win each, moving Whitby to 5-3 on the season and third place in the standings. Whitby shut out Mimico in the first and third periods, as they notched three goals per period themselves, en route to a 9-3 final score.
Lucas Littlejohn and Treyson Stewart led the Whitby offence, with Owen Tapper adding two goals as helpers. The strong transition play of Tapper, Jake Darlison, Owen Lee and Max Taylor gave the Warriors an edge in this one, as the game play itself was unsettled with numerous missed passes, turnovers and ground ball chances. This enabled both offences to get good, and better, scoring opportunities. Harwood and Mimico starter Nate Whittom were both required to make saves of all types, including several breakaway attempts, all of which were turned away.
Whitby now has the second-best Goal Differential in the league (+15) and the third best Goals Against record (60). They will look to continue their strong defensive play June 12 in St. Catherines, who currently last in the league. They then travel to Orangeville June 14 to try and level that season series, having dropped the season opener to Orangeville in Whitby.
The next Home Game is Tuesday June 18 at 7:30 PM against Six Nations.
Whitby Evens Season Series with Mimico
Ethan Harwood and his Defence provided the foundation needed to lead Whitby to the win over Mimico, levelling the season series at one win each, moving Whitby to 5-3 on the season and third place in the standings. Whitby shut out Mimico in the first and third periods, as they notched three goals per period themselves, en route to a 9-3 final score.
Lucas Littlejohn and Treyson Stewart led the Whitby offence, with Owen Tapper adding two goals as helpers. The strong transition play of Tapper, Jake Darlison, Owen Lee and Max Taylor gave the Warriors an edge in this one, as the game play itself was unsettled with numerous missed passes, turnovers and ground ball chances. This enabled both offences to get good, and better, scoring opportunities. Harwood and Mimico starter Nate Whittom were both required to make saves of all types, including several breakaway attempts, all of which were turned away.
Whitby now has the second-best Goal Differential in the league (+15) and the third best Goals Against record (60). They will look to continue their strong defensive play June 12 in St. Catherines, who currently last in the league. They then travel to Orangeville June 14 to try and level that season series, having dropped the season opener to Orangeville in Whitby.
The next Home Game is Tuesday June 18 at 7:30 PM against Six Nations.
June 4, 2024
Fast Start for Whitby Spurs Win
For Whitby, this season has had some offensive struggles, as it averaged just over eight goals per game this season. Tonight they posted seven in the first period to stake themselves a 7-1 lead at the end of the first period. The value of this scoring outburst cannot be overstated. For a team challenged to put up big numbers, a start like this is a magical thing.
Whitby has shown that part of their offence strategy is get shots on net. Tonight they posted 47 through the first two periods. The second period did not produce same results as the first period, scoring only twice on 23 shots. Oakville, on the other hand, netted four in the second frame to close the gap to 9-5 at the end of two periods of play.
The third period saw Whitby begin in on the power play but were unable to capitalize on several chances. The magic started wearing off. Oakville was determined to not go quietly, mounting a steady comeback, led by Will Sheehan’s five goals. The Buzz narrowed the lead to 10-9 with just over a minute play, but Jack Oldman had a little bit of magic of his own, and secured the win with a goal with 1:19 remaining. Whitby levels its season record at 3-3 with the win.
The next game for the Warriors is Friday June 7 in Brampton.
Fast Start for Whitby Spurs Win
For Whitby, this season has had some offensive struggles, as it averaged just over eight goals per game this season. Tonight they posted seven in the first period to stake themselves a 7-1 lead at the end of the first period. The value of this scoring outburst cannot be overstated. For a team challenged to put up big numbers, a start like this is a magical thing.
Whitby has shown that part of their offence strategy is get shots on net. Tonight they posted 47 through the first two periods. The second period did not produce same results as the first period, scoring only twice on 23 shots. Oakville, on the other hand, netted four in the second frame to close the gap to 9-5 at the end of two periods of play.
The third period saw Whitby begin in on the power play but were unable to capitalize on several chances. The magic started wearing off. Oakville was determined to not go quietly, mounting a steady comeback, led by Will Sheehan’s five goals. The Buzz narrowed the lead to 10-9 with just over a minute play, but Jack Oldman had a little bit of magic of his own, and secured the win with a goal with 1:19 remaining. Whitby levels its season record at 3-3 with the win.
The next game for the Warriors is Friday June 7 in Brampton.
June 3, 2024
Thomson Earns First Junior A Win
The Warriors captured their first road win on the season in Kitchener-Waterloo Friday night with an 11-5 win. Powered by Gabriel Sorichetti's nine points and Garrett Thomson's first Junior A victory in net, the Warriors' set an early pace to the scoring which KW could not match.
Sorichetti scored once in the first period, but then netted 3 in the middle frame, and added another in the third, to go along with four assists. Thomson, getting his first win in his first start, made 45 saves to continue the Warriors win streak, following up on their home win against Burlington on the previous Tuesday night. Veterans Lucas Littlejohn, Jake Darlison, Jack Oldman and Michael White added depth scoring to aid in the victory.
The victory moved the Warriors to 2-2 on the season.
Mimico Edges Out Whitby in Mimico
Despite outshooting the Mimico Mountaineers 59-39, the Warriors could not outscore the hosts on Sunday night and took their third loss of the season. Starter Ethan Harwood had the assignment to keep the win streak going, but the Mountaineers' Finn Thomson tallied 8 points and Mark Watters had 6 to power the Mimico offence and break the streak. Jake Darlison led Whitby scoring with five points (2+3), Jack Oldman had four (2+2) and Lucas Littlejohn had three points (2+1) on the night.
Whitby look to get back into the win column against Oakville Tuesday June 4 at 7:30 PM at IPSC.
Thomson Earns First Junior A Win
The Warriors captured their first road win on the season in Kitchener-Waterloo Friday night with an 11-5 win. Powered by Gabriel Sorichetti's nine points and Garrett Thomson's first Junior A victory in net, the Warriors' set an early pace to the scoring which KW could not match.
Sorichetti scored once in the first period, but then netted 3 in the middle frame, and added another in the third, to go along with four assists. Thomson, getting his first win in his first start, made 45 saves to continue the Warriors win streak, following up on their home win against Burlington on the previous Tuesday night. Veterans Lucas Littlejohn, Jake Darlison, Jack Oldman and Michael White added depth scoring to aid in the victory.
The victory moved the Warriors to 2-2 on the season.
Mimico Edges Out Whitby in Mimico
Despite outshooting the Mimico Mountaineers 59-39, the Warriors could not outscore the hosts on Sunday night and took their third loss of the season. Starter Ethan Harwood had the assignment to keep the win streak going, but the Mountaineers' Finn Thomson tallied 8 points and Mark Watters had 6 to power the Mimico offence and break the streak. Jake Darlison led Whitby scoring with five points (2+3), Jack Oldman had four (2+2) and Lucas Littlejohn had three points (2+1) on the night.
Whitby look to get back into the win column against Oakville Tuesday June 4 at 7:30 PM at IPSC.
May 28, 2024
Harwood Posts First Victory of the Season
The Whitby Warriors welcomed the Burlington Blaze tonight and rewarded them to a steady diet of defence and goaltending. In his best start this season, Ethan Harwood allowed just two goals through two periods of play as he and the Warriors played inspired defence, disrupting the Burlington offence on repetitive possessions. Ethan Harwood made 29 saves for his first win of the year as the Warriors improve their record to 1-2. Numerous deflected and intercepted passes, and solid loose ball play, allowed the Warriors to extend their 3-1 opening period lead a 7-2 lead at the end of two periods.
Ryan Langille led all scorers with 4 goals, including a sidewinder short-handed goal mid way through the second frame which seemed to fool Burlington netminder Calum Leaver-Preyra. Jack Oldman, along with his regular dominant faceoff prowess, added a goal and an assist. The story of the night, however, was the Whitby defence and transition game. Burlington was prevented from generating good scoring looks as the Whitby defence continuously interfered with Burlington's passes, causing loose ball situations which Whitby were able to win more often than not. Once these opportunities appeared, the transition game hit high gear, forcing Burlington to play chase and play defence from an unsettled position. Harwood does owe some thanks to his goal posts, as at least four shots rang off the iron behind him, but none found their way into the net. Whitby will look for their next victory this Friday night in Kitchener.
Harwood Posts First Victory of the Season
The Whitby Warriors welcomed the Burlington Blaze tonight and rewarded them to a steady diet of defence and goaltending. In his best start this season, Ethan Harwood allowed just two goals through two periods of play as he and the Warriors played inspired defence, disrupting the Burlington offence on repetitive possessions. Ethan Harwood made 29 saves for his first win of the year as the Warriors improve their record to 1-2. Numerous deflected and intercepted passes, and solid loose ball play, allowed the Warriors to extend their 3-1 opening period lead a 7-2 lead at the end of two periods.
Ryan Langille led all scorers with 4 goals, including a sidewinder short-handed goal mid way through the second frame which seemed to fool Burlington netminder Calum Leaver-Preyra. Jack Oldman, along with his regular dominant faceoff prowess, added a goal and an assist. The story of the night, however, was the Whitby defence and transition game. Burlington was prevented from generating good scoring looks as the Whitby defence continuously interfered with Burlington's passes, causing loose ball situations which Whitby were able to win more often than not. Once these opportunities appeared, the transition game hit high gear, forcing Burlington to play chase and play defence from an unsettled position. Harwood does owe some thanks to his goal posts, as at least four shots rang off the iron behind him, but none found their way into the net. Whitby will look for their next victory this Friday night in Kitchener.
May 23, 2024
Oakville holds off Whitby
Lucas Littlejohn is setting the pace as the Whitby's Leading Scorer again this season as he posted 5 goals and 2 assists in Oakville Thursday night, taking him to 10 points in two games. Unfortunately the effort was not quite enough, as the Buzz posted a 10-8 victory over the visiting Warriors.
The Warriors had an improved first period compared to Game One of the season, as they finished tied with Oakville 3-3. In Game One they trailed 2-0 to Orangeville as they worked to find their game. Period Two of the Oakville game, however, saw the Warriors trailing 7-4 by the end of it as they were outscored 4-1 in the middle frame. The final period saw Whitby win the period 4-3 but it was not quite enough, and start the season winless in two starts.
This game saw the first start of the year for Gabriel Sorichetti, who immediately contributed to the offence by adding a goal and an assist. Last season he posted 61 points in 16 games, second on the team only to Littlejohn, and will be looked upon for similar numbers or more again this year. Jake Darlison, last season's OJLL Transition Player of the Year Finalist, added two points, while Riley Knox added four points and is second in team scoring this season.
The next game for the Warriors Tuesday May 28 @ 7:30 PM at home against the 2023 Minto Cup Champion Burlington Blaze.
Oakville holds off Whitby
Lucas Littlejohn is setting the pace as the Whitby's Leading Scorer again this season as he posted 5 goals and 2 assists in Oakville Thursday night, taking him to 10 points in two games. Unfortunately the effort was not quite enough, as the Buzz posted a 10-8 victory over the visiting Warriors.
The Warriors had an improved first period compared to Game One of the season, as they finished tied with Oakville 3-3. In Game One they trailed 2-0 to Orangeville as they worked to find their game. Period Two of the Oakville game, however, saw the Warriors trailing 7-4 by the end of it as they were outscored 4-1 in the middle frame. The final period saw Whitby win the period 4-3 but it was not quite enough, and start the season winless in two starts.
This game saw the first start of the year for Gabriel Sorichetti, who immediately contributed to the offence by adding a goal and an assist. Last season he posted 61 points in 16 games, second on the team only to Littlejohn, and will be looked upon for similar numbers or more again this year. Jake Darlison, last season's OJLL Transition Player of the Year Finalist, added two points, while Riley Knox added four points and is second in team scoring this season.
The next game for the Warriors Tuesday May 28 @ 7:30 PM at home against the 2023 Minto Cup Champion Burlington Blaze.
May 22, 2024
Orangeville Spoils Whitby Home Opener
The first game of the season for the Whitby Warriors was also their Home Opener, and the Orangeville Northmen decided they wanted to spoil the night.
Powered by Dylan Sanderson's five points, the Northmen built a 6-1 lead half-way through the second period, and looked set to run away with the game. However, following a Whitby time-out, the Warriors to settled down, scoring four times in the last half of the second period to tie the second period scoring at five goals each, reducing the deficit back to two goals heading into the third period.
Lucas Littlejohn scored early in the final frame to put the Warriors down by only one goal, but that would be as close as they would get as Orangeville outscored them 4-3 in third period, including an empty-netter, to secure an 11-8 win.
Both sides were missing several players to school commitments and injuries. Being the first game of the year, the players took some time to find a rhythm to their play, making the second half of the game more settled and dynamic. The teams can come away from this game with numerous positives to work with as the season progresses.
Whitby next faces Oakville on the road on May 23 at 8:00PM.
Orangeville Spoils Whitby Home Opener
The first game of the season for the Whitby Warriors was also their Home Opener, and the Orangeville Northmen decided they wanted to spoil the night.
Powered by Dylan Sanderson's five points, the Northmen built a 6-1 lead half-way through the second period, and looked set to run away with the game. However, following a Whitby time-out, the Warriors to settled down, scoring four times in the last half of the second period to tie the second period scoring at five goals each, reducing the deficit back to two goals heading into the third period.
Lucas Littlejohn scored early in the final frame to put the Warriors down by only one goal, but that would be as close as they would get as Orangeville outscored them 4-3 in third period, including an empty-netter, to secure an 11-8 win.
Both sides were missing several players to school commitments and injuries. Being the first game of the year, the players took some time to find a rhythm to their play, making the second half of the game more settled and dynamic. The teams can come away from this game with numerous positives to work with as the season progresses.
Whitby next faces Oakville on the road on May 23 at 8:00PM.
June 19, 2023
Warriors in the middle of a tough part of the schedule
The weekend has been a tough one for the Warriors as lost two games, Friday night at home to the Orangeville Northmen, and tonight on the road in Peterborough. No one has beaten the Northmen this season, so the loss Friday, despite the positive outlook of Head Coach Mitch Wilde, was a lesson in consistency for the younger Warriors. The loss tonight to the now 3-8 Lakers is one the Warriors will want back. As a team in the middle of the standing fighting for a playoff position and home floor advantage in Round One, the Warriors cannot afford to lose to the team sitting below them in the standings.
The loss puts them at 6-7 on the season in fifth place. They welcome the St. Catherines Athletics tomorrow night in Whitby, and will look to repeat their strong performance from their win in St. Catherines last week. As the Warriors continue their search for consistency, the top four spots in the standings are beginning to take shape. Orangeville, Burlington, Oakville, and Mimico are beginning to separate from the rest of the league. If the Warriors want to host a round in the playoffs, they will need to find that consistency sooner rather than later.
Catch the game live Tuesday June 20 @ 7:30 in Whitby.
Warriors in the middle of a tough part of the schedule
The weekend has been a tough one for the Warriors as lost two games, Friday night at home to the Orangeville Northmen, and tonight on the road in Peterborough. No one has beaten the Northmen this season, so the loss Friday, despite the positive outlook of Head Coach Mitch Wilde, was a lesson in consistency for the younger Warriors. The loss tonight to the now 3-8 Lakers is one the Warriors will want back. As a team in the middle of the standing fighting for a playoff position and home floor advantage in Round One, the Warriors cannot afford to lose to the team sitting below them in the standings.
The loss puts them at 6-7 on the season in fifth place. They welcome the St. Catherines Athletics tomorrow night in Whitby, and will look to repeat their strong performance from their win in St. Catherines last week. As the Warriors continue their search for consistency, the top four spots in the standings are beginning to take shape. Orangeville, Burlington, Oakville, and Mimico are beginning to separate from the rest of the league. If the Warriors want to host a round in the playoffs, they will need to find that consistency sooner rather than later.
Catch the game live Tuesday June 20 @ 7:30 in Whitby.
June 16, 2023
Whitby Faces the Number One Ranked Team in the Nation
Following a well-earned win on the road in St. Catherines on Wednesday night, and facing Orangeville for their third game in four nights, the Warriors are now 6-5 on the season. The road to the playoffs really begins to heat up now as the second half of the schedule gets underway. Head Coach Mitch Wilde, in the his first year in the role (previously an Assistant Coach under Shawn Williams), shared his thoughts on the season so far.
“The season has been a lot of fun. I’m a new Head Coach, so I am learning as much as the players are. Every day is about the growth process. I ask the guys to get better with every opportunity.” In the wake of the Minto Cup win last year and the graduation of so many players, Wilde is most surprised, and impressed, with the number of players who have stepped up into leadership roles. The veterans, whether in the final year, or their second season, have shown they are willing to be the next group who want to guide this group forward. In under five seconds Wilde rattled off the names of players who are the ones taking the reigns from the graduating players of the championship team. “We are facing the strongest team in the league tonight. I see the guys are taking their roles seriously, the team is gelling, and we will see what happens tonight. But I believe we can do it.”
Wilde notes all teams like this will have peaks and valleys in their season, so the goal is to work toward consistency. The focus is to peak in July, then see where the season goes from there. This is a young team but with some depth, and almost half the team was part of the Championship team from a year ago. This group will be the leaders who determine how far the Warriors can go this season.
Game time is 7:30 PM.
Whitby Faces the Number One Ranked Team in the Nation
Following a well-earned win on the road in St. Catherines on Wednesday night, and facing Orangeville for their third game in four nights, the Warriors are now 6-5 on the season. The road to the playoffs really begins to heat up now as the second half of the schedule gets underway. Head Coach Mitch Wilde, in the his first year in the role (previously an Assistant Coach under Shawn Williams), shared his thoughts on the season so far.
“The season has been a lot of fun. I’m a new Head Coach, so I am learning as much as the players are. Every day is about the growth process. I ask the guys to get better with every opportunity.” In the wake of the Minto Cup win last year and the graduation of so many players, Wilde is most surprised, and impressed, with the number of players who have stepped up into leadership roles. The veterans, whether in the final year, or their second season, have shown they are willing to be the next group who want to guide this group forward. In under five seconds Wilde rattled off the names of players who are the ones taking the reigns from the graduating players of the championship team. “We are facing the strongest team in the league tonight. I see the guys are taking their roles seriously, the team is gelling, and we will see what happens tonight. But I believe we can do it.”
Wilde notes all teams like this will have peaks and valleys in their season, so the goal is to work toward consistency. The focus is to peak in July, then see where the season goes from there. This is a young team but with some depth, and almost half the team was part of the Championship team from a year ago. This group will be the leaders who determine how far the Warriors can go this season.
Game time is 7:30 PM.
June 13, 2022
Brampton holds off Whitby comeback for road win.
The first period started with a bang as the visitors scored with the first offensive possession right off the faceoff. The quick start was short lived however, as the next goal would not come until Whitby scored with five minutes to play in the period.
This was in large part to Brampton’s excellent interior defence, which forced Whitby to take perimeter shots for the majority of the period. Their only goal came off a very nice three-way passing play, finished by Owen tapper off of a cross-crease feed. Ethan Harwood got the start tonight and had plenty to do in the first period, facing numerous quality chances by Brampton. Harwood also had some help from his best friends the goal posts on several occasions.
The first period ended in a flurry with Brampton on the power play, generating several shots on Harwood, but to no avail. They continued their power play into the second frame with :14 seconds to play.
The second period saw the intensity ramp up to a boiling point. Brampton opened the scoring 4:32 into the frame, and continued their intense interior defence to hold the Warriors to no goals until later in the frame. Along the way, the physicality increased with numerous extra slashes, helmet grabs, open floor cross checks well away from the ball, and plenty of talking. Owen Tapper was assessed a four-minute penalty for roughing as a Brampton player completed a fast break breakaway. This pushed the intensity to the next level, as neither teams’ players were backing down. As the period drew to a close, Tapper and Lucas Littlejohn were in the box for Whitby, and Trent Robertson and Riley Delill for Brampton were also serving penalties. After the final whistle Littlejohn and Delill exchanged more words, enough for each to earn 10 minute misconducts. Brampton, along with increased intensity and physicality, also added four more goals to Whitby's one, to end the period with a 5-2 lead.
The third period saw Whitby struggle to get anything going offensively until the last half of the frame. Brampton began to get into penalty trouble, in particular by Captain Riley Delill, and Whitby capitalized with three powerplay markers, but also surrendered two short-handed goals. The last short-handed goal was Dante Kulas' second of the night with :22 seconds remaining while Whitby had a full-floor press in effect. Brampton's Robertson earned himself a 5 minute major for roughing and a 10 minute misconduct for trying to start a fight with Owen Tapper, who refused the invitation. In the third period, Brampton was assessed 45 minutes in penalties, and still came away with a 7-5 victory.
Whitby's next game is Wednesday on the road in St. Catherines, followed by a game Friday night in Whitby against Orangeville at 7:30.
Brampton holds off Whitby comeback for road win.
The first period started with a bang as the visitors scored with the first offensive possession right off the faceoff. The quick start was short lived however, as the next goal would not come until Whitby scored with five minutes to play in the period.
This was in large part to Brampton’s excellent interior defence, which forced Whitby to take perimeter shots for the majority of the period. Their only goal came off a very nice three-way passing play, finished by Owen tapper off of a cross-crease feed. Ethan Harwood got the start tonight and had plenty to do in the first period, facing numerous quality chances by Brampton. Harwood also had some help from his best friends the goal posts on several occasions.
The first period ended in a flurry with Brampton on the power play, generating several shots on Harwood, but to no avail. They continued their power play into the second frame with :14 seconds to play.
The second period saw the intensity ramp up to a boiling point. Brampton opened the scoring 4:32 into the frame, and continued their intense interior defence to hold the Warriors to no goals until later in the frame. Along the way, the physicality increased with numerous extra slashes, helmet grabs, open floor cross checks well away from the ball, and plenty of talking. Owen Tapper was assessed a four-minute penalty for roughing as a Brampton player completed a fast break breakaway. This pushed the intensity to the next level, as neither teams’ players were backing down. As the period drew to a close, Tapper and Lucas Littlejohn were in the box for Whitby, and Trent Robertson and Riley Delill for Brampton were also serving penalties. After the final whistle Littlejohn and Delill exchanged more words, enough for each to earn 10 minute misconducts. Brampton, along with increased intensity and physicality, also added four more goals to Whitby's one, to end the period with a 5-2 lead.
The third period saw Whitby struggle to get anything going offensively until the last half of the frame. Brampton began to get into penalty trouble, in particular by Captain Riley Delill, and Whitby capitalized with three powerplay markers, but also surrendered two short-handed goals. The last short-handed goal was Dante Kulas' second of the night with :22 seconds remaining while Whitby had a full-floor press in effect. Brampton's Robertson earned himself a 5 minute major for roughing and a 10 minute misconduct for trying to start a fight with Owen Tapper, who refused the invitation. In the third period, Brampton was assessed 45 minutes in penalties, and still came away with a 7-5 victory.
Whitby's next game is Wednesday on the road in St. Catherines, followed by a game Friday night in Whitby against Orangeville at 7:30.
June 12, 2023
Whitby moves back above .500
Whitby improved their season record to 5-4 and jumped up to 4th place in the standings. With the two wins, over KW on June 9 and Six Nations on June 11, the Warriors currently hold a playoff spot with home floor advantage in the first round. At only the mid-way point of the season, there remains a long way to go and things can change quickly. When any organization graduates nine players, especially following a National Championship season, the outlook for the next season can be very questionable as the new players find their roles and the team begins to mature together. To be above .500 at this point would be considered a success so far.
The rest of the schedule is a challenge for the Warriors, however. They have yet to face Orangeville, currently the number 1-ranked team in the nation, as well St. Catherines, and have one game remaining against Burlington, Oakville, and Mimico, all of whom have at least five wins also. The other games of the remaining eleven to go are against teams below Whitby in the standings, Six Nations, two with Peterborough, and Brampton.
The Warriors do not lack for talent, and the journey continues to add experience to that talent. Next game is tomorrow night in Whitby versus Brampton. Game time is 7:30 at Iroquois Park Sports Centre.
Whitby moves back above .500
Whitby improved their season record to 5-4 and jumped up to 4th place in the standings. With the two wins, over KW on June 9 and Six Nations on June 11, the Warriors currently hold a playoff spot with home floor advantage in the first round. At only the mid-way point of the season, there remains a long way to go and things can change quickly. When any organization graduates nine players, especially following a National Championship season, the outlook for the next season can be very questionable as the new players find their roles and the team begins to mature together. To be above .500 at this point would be considered a success so far.
The rest of the schedule is a challenge for the Warriors, however. They have yet to face Orangeville, currently the number 1-ranked team in the nation, as well St. Catherines, and have one game remaining against Burlington, Oakville, and Mimico, all of whom have at least five wins also. The other games of the remaining eleven to go are against teams below Whitby in the standings, Six Nations, two with Peterborough, and Brampton.
The Warriors do not lack for talent, and the journey continues to add experience to that talent. Next game is tomorrow night in Whitby versus Brampton. Game time is 7:30 at Iroquois Park Sports Centre.
June 6, 2023
Warriors earn win over second place Burlington
Riley Knox had four goals and Kaleb Martin made 50 save to lead the Warriors back into the win column over the previously 5-1 Burlington Blaze at IPSC. In what may have been one of the most complete games of the season by the Warriors, they won or tied each period in goals, won each period in shots, and only took one penalty (a bench minor for Too Many Players) the entire game.
This was a tight affair for the first two periods. It took the Warriors almost 12 minutes to score their first goal, then followed that up with a second two and a half minutes later to secure a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. Burlington opened the second period with two goals to hold a 3-2 lead halfway through the frame, then would add two late, the second coming with only one second on the clock scored on a solo effort by Owen Tapper. At the end of two periods it was Whitby with a 4-3 lead.
Burlington opened the scoring of the third period just as they did the first period, with a marker within the first 2 minutes of the period. Whitby notched two more, the second being Riley Knox's third of the night and the eventual Game Winning Goal, matched by a Blaze tally, then Whitby would close out the win with three straight goals. The final score: 9-5.
The win moves Whitby to a 3-4 record, after losing to Mimico on the weekend on the road. They now face the winless KW Lacrosse Club, followed by the eighth-place Six Nations Arrows. These are games the Warriors will be looking gain four points from to boost their position in the standings.
The next home game is Tuesday June 13 at 7:30 versus Brampton at Iroquois Park Sports Centre.
Warriors earn win over second place Burlington
Riley Knox had four goals and Kaleb Martin made 50 save to lead the Warriors back into the win column over the previously 5-1 Burlington Blaze at IPSC. In what may have been one of the most complete games of the season by the Warriors, they won or tied each period in goals, won each period in shots, and only took one penalty (a bench minor for Too Many Players) the entire game.
This was a tight affair for the first two periods. It took the Warriors almost 12 minutes to score their first goal, then followed that up with a second two and a half minutes later to secure a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. Burlington opened the second period with two goals to hold a 3-2 lead halfway through the frame, then would add two late, the second coming with only one second on the clock scored on a solo effort by Owen Tapper. At the end of two periods it was Whitby with a 4-3 lead.
Burlington opened the scoring of the third period just as they did the first period, with a marker within the first 2 minutes of the period. Whitby notched two more, the second being Riley Knox's third of the night and the eventual Game Winning Goal, matched by a Blaze tally, then Whitby would close out the win with three straight goals. The final score: 9-5.
The win moves Whitby to a 3-4 record, after losing to Mimico on the weekend on the road. They now face the winless KW Lacrosse Club, followed by the eighth-place Six Nations Arrows. These are games the Warriors will be looking gain four points from to boost their position in the standings.
The next home game is Tuesday June 13 at 7:30 versus Brampton at Iroquois Park Sports Centre.
May 30, 2023
Whitby uses experience to earn another win
Tonight in Whitby, the experience of a strong defensive core, up-floor pressure to snuff out transition opportunities, and the ability to create offensive opportunities proved too much for a Kitchener-Waterloo team which has a young offensive core of it's own, though was just not able to match Whitby's offensive output.
Whitby put 72 shots on KW netminders Bryce Wismer and Markus Madill. After trading goals early in the game to get to 2-2, Whitby began to pull away and not look back, finishing the game with a 16-7 win to bring their season record to 2-3-0. This was a game which Whitby needed to have a good performance in, as they head in to a couple of games with the 2-2 Mimico Mountaineers, and the 3-0 Burlington Blaze. The middle of the standings, and the playoff picture, may be greatly affected by the outcome of these games.
At the quarter-mark of the season, Whitby has a below-.500 record, but the team stats suggest they should be higher than this. They are +10 goal differential, a respectable 6 power play goals allowed, and an average of 8 penalty minutes per game, which is second only to Beaches for teams who have played at least 4 games. Whitby does need some help on their power play unit, however, as they have the lowest PP goal production in the league. The return of Gabriel Sorichetti and Jack Budway from school commitments may help them in this department going forward.
Whitby travels to Mimico this Saturday, June 3 at 7:00 PM.
Whitby uses experience to earn another win
Tonight in Whitby, the experience of a strong defensive core, up-floor pressure to snuff out transition opportunities, and the ability to create offensive opportunities proved too much for a Kitchener-Waterloo team which has a young offensive core of it's own, though was just not able to match Whitby's offensive output.
Whitby put 72 shots on KW netminders Bryce Wismer and Markus Madill. After trading goals early in the game to get to 2-2, Whitby began to pull away and not look back, finishing the game with a 16-7 win to bring their season record to 2-3-0. This was a game which Whitby needed to have a good performance in, as they head in to a couple of games with the 2-2 Mimico Mountaineers, and the 3-0 Burlington Blaze. The middle of the standings, and the playoff picture, may be greatly affected by the outcome of these games.
At the quarter-mark of the season, Whitby has a below-.500 record, but the team stats suggest they should be higher than this. They are +10 goal differential, a respectable 6 power play goals allowed, and an average of 8 penalty minutes per game, which is second only to Beaches for teams who have played at least 4 games. Whitby does need some help on their power play unit, however, as they have the lowest PP goal production in the league. The return of Gabriel Sorichetti and Jack Budway from school commitments may help them in this department going forward.
Whitby travels to Mimico this Saturday, June 3 at 7:00 PM.
May 26, 2023
Brampton get first win of the season in victory over Whitby
Dante Kulas and Bowie Horsman each had seven points tonight in another two-goal game for Brampton, 11-9, this time in victory at the expense of the Warriors. Connor O'Toole faced 54 shots to backstop the home side, while Ethan Harwood is now 1-1 on the season, as he faced 40 shots in the loss.
The final score was essentially the story of the game, in that it was a tight and even affair the entire time. The game was 10-9 for Brampton until an empty-net goal was added by Brampton with seconds to play in regulation time. The teams traded goals through the game, with neither having a lead larger than three goals, and the first period ending with Brampton leading 3-2, while the second ending tied 7-7.
Whitby lost their first third period of the year despite out-shooting Brampton 15-10, and now fall to three losses on the season.
Whitby's next game is Tuesday May 30 at home versus Kitchener-Waterloo at 7:30 PM.
Brampton get first win of the season in victory over Whitby
Dante Kulas and Bowie Horsman each had seven points tonight in another two-goal game for Brampton, 11-9, this time in victory at the expense of the Warriors. Connor O'Toole faced 54 shots to backstop the home side, while Ethan Harwood is now 1-1 on the season, as he faced 40 shots in the loss.
The final score was essentially the story of the game, in that it was a tight and even affair the entire time. The game was 10-9 for Brampton until an empty-net goal was added by Brampton with seconds to play in regulation time. The teams traded goals through the game, with neither having a lead larger than three goals, and the first period ending with Brampton leading 3-2, while the second ending tied 7-7.
Whitby lost their first third period of the year despite out-shooting Brampton 15-10, and now fall to three losses on the season.
Whitby's next game is Tuesday May 30 at home versus Kitchener-Waterloo at 7:30 PM.
May 26, 2023
Warriors on the road in Brampton
The young season for the Warriors heads into Brampton tonight to take on the Excelsiors, who sit one spot behind the Warriors in the standings, in eighth position. Brampton is 0-2 on the season, having lost game one to the first place Oakville Buzz, and last night to the Toronto Beaches. They lost both games by only two goals, so while Brampton is winless on the year, they are competitive. Whitby may be able to grab a win here if Brampton is yet to find its form and has a good night of its own.
Whitby so far this season is led in scoring by Lucas Littlejohn and rookie Treysen Stewart, but the defence is quietly going about its business with similar efficiency to last season. Despite a 1-2 record, the Warriors are +3 on goal differential on the season, and like last year, have yet to lose a third period. Kaleb Martin has struggled in his two starts in goal, and Ethan Harwood was very solid in his first start. Given Martin's performance in the Minto Cup run last year, his track record would indicate this is a just a slow start for the keeper. Once his performance reaches the level he expects it to be, he and Harwood will be adding even more support to the defence in front of them.
Bowie Horsman and Dante Kulas lead Brampton in scoring so look for them to be active on the score sheet, but also look for the Warriors to perhaps have some power play time. The Excelsiors average four minutes per game on the penalty kill more than do the Warriors, so if the trend continues, Special Teams may be the difference in the outcome of tonight's tilt.
Game time is 8:00 PM at the Brampton Memorial Arena.
Warriors on the road in Brampton
The young season for the Warriors heads into Brampton tonight to take on the Excelsiors, who sit one spot behind the Warriors in the standings, in eighth position. Brampton is 0-2 on the season, having lost game one to the first place Oakville Buzz, and last night to the Toronto Beaches. They lost both games by only two goals, so while Brampton is winless on the year, they are competitive. Whitby may be able to grab a win here if Brampton is yet to find its form and has a good night of its own.
Whitby so far this season is led in scoring by Lucas Littlejohn and rookie Treysen Stewart, but the defence is quietly going about its business with similar efficiency to last season. Despite a 1-2 record, the Warriors are +3 on goal differential on the season, and like last year, have yet to lose a third period. Kaleb Martin has struggled in his two starts in goal, and Ethan Harwood was very solid in his first start. Given Martin's performance in the Minto Cup run last year, his track record would indicate this is a just a slow start for the keeper. Once his performance reaches the level he expects it to be, he and Harwood will be adding even more support to the defence in front of them.
Bowie Horsman and Dante Kulas lead Brampton in scoring so look for them to be active on the score sheet, but also look for the Warriors to perhaps have some power play time. The Excelsiors average four minutes per game on the penalty kill more than do the Warriors, so if the trend continues, Special Teams may be the difference in the outcome of tonight's tilt.
Game time is 8:00 PM at the Brampton Memorial Arena.
May 18, 2023
Warriors Split Season Series with Toronto Beaches
Whitby was perfect through two periods of lacrosse and led 6-0 at the second intermission last night on the road at Toronto Beaches. Ethan Harwood made his first start of the season in goal, finishing with three goals against. Facing 46 shots (against 44 on Toronto's goal), Harwood out-duelled Toronto starter Andrew Kidd, allowing the offence to provide balanced scoring throughout the game with three goals per period. Riley Knox and Treysen Stewart each scored twice, with Lucas Littlejohn, Owen Tapper, Julien Mosier, Jack Oldman and John Wheller adding singles. At the end the end the final was 9-3 for Whitby.
Notes: Mitch Wilde earned his first win as Head Coach with the victory. Warriors next game is at home Tuesday at home versus the Oakville Buzz, start time 7:30 PM.
Warriors Split Season Series with Toronto Beaches
Whitby was perfect through two periods of lacrosse and led 6-0 at the second intermission last night on the road at Toronto Beaches. Ethan Harwood made his first start of the season in goal, finishing with three goals against. Facing 46 shots (against 44 on Toronto's goal), Harwood out-duelled Toronto starter Andrew Kidd, allowing the offence to provide balanced scoring throughout the game with three goals per period. Riley Knox and Treysen Stewart each scored twice, with Lucas Littlejohn, Owen Tapper, Julien Mosier, Jack Oldman and John Wheller adding singles. At the end the end the final was 9-3 for Whitby.
Notes: Mitch Wilde earned his first win as Head Coach with the victory. Warriors next game is at home Tuesday at home versus the Oakville Buzz, start time 7:30 PM.
May 16, 2023
Whitby falls to Toronto Beaches in Season Opener
The opening night of the season for the defending National champs ended with the 2022 Ontario finalists exacting a small measure of revenge. The Toronto Beaches lost last year's Ontario Finals in two straight games, and their Minto Cup Round Robin match up. The season opens with the two temas playing back to back, and Toronto will be looking to ensure they win both. They completed half the task tonight by opening the scoring two-and-a-half minutes into the game and never trailed at any time during the night.
Led by Willem Firth and Greg Palmer with four goals apiece, Toronto relied on timely scoring and solid defence. Backed up by a solid performance in net by Andrew Kidd, Toronto showed balance in all areas of the game. The closest Whitby would get during the match was 5-5 just past the mid way point of the second frame. This was achieved with a quick three goal spurt, answered just as quickly by Toronto four goals to end the period and headed into the second intermission up 9-5.
Kaleb Martin, Whitby's starting netminder, appeared to have some frustrations picking up the shots from Toronto early on. He wasn’t alone in his frustrations, however. Whitby struggled offensively through the first frame. The ball was moving well enough, but Kidd was able to find the shots easily, in part because Whitby was being forced to use the entire shot clock duration. The Warriors trailed 4-2 at the end of the first period.
The third period saw the beaches keep Whitby at arms length. Though they out-scored Toronto 4-2 in the third, the four goal deficit at the start of the period proved too large of a hole to overcome. Final score 11-9 Toronto.
Notes: Whitby rookies Treysen Stewart, Robert Baxter and Ryan Langille all notched their first goals of the season. Lucas Littlejohn, Riley Knox and Jake Darlison provided the other scoring....Jack Budway and Gabriel Sorichetti remain away with school commitments.....Mitch Wilde will seek his first Head Coach win on Thursday night in the back half of the season series.
Note the game is being played at the Pickering Rec Centre not Scarborough Centennial Arena. Address is 1867 Valley Farm Rd, Pickering, ON L1V 6K7
Game time is 8:00 PM May 18
Whitby falls to Toronto Beaches in Season Opener
The opening night of the season for the defending National champs ended with the 2022 Ontario finalists exacting a small measure of revenge. The Toronto Beaches lost last year's Ontario Finals in two straight games, and their Minto Cup Round Robin match up. The season opens with the two temas playing back to back, and Toronto will be looking to ensure they win both. They completed half the task tonight by opening the scoring two-and-a-half minutes into the game and never trailed at any time during the night.
Led by Willem Firth and Greg Palmer with four goals apiece, Toronto relied on timely scoring and solid defence. Backed up by a solid performance in net by Andrew Kidd, Toronto showed balance in all areas of the game. The closest Whitby would get during the match was 5-5 just past the mid way point of the second frame. This was achieved with a quick three goal spurt, answered just as quickly by Toronto four goals to end the period and headed into the second intermission up 9-5.
Kaleb Martin, Whitby's starting netminder, appeared to have some frustrations picking up the shots from Toronto early on. He wasn’t alone in his frustrations, however. Whitby struggled offensively through the first frame. The ball was moving well enough, but Kidd was able to find the shots easily, in part because Whitby was being forced to use the entire shot clock duration. The Warriors trailed 4-2 at the end of the first period.
The third period saw the beaches keep Whitby at arms length. Though they out-scored Toronto 4-2 in the third, the four goal deficit at the start of the period proved too large of a hole to overcome. Final score 11-9 Toronto.
Notes: Whitby rookies Treysen Stewart, Robert Baxter and Ryan Langille all notched their first goals of the season. Lucas Littlejohn, Riley Knox and Jake Darlison provided the other scoring....Jack Budway and Gabriel Sorichetti remain away with school commitments.....Mitch Wilde will seek his first Head Coach win on Thursday night in the back half of the season series.
Note the game is being played at the Pickering Rec Centre not Scarborough Centennial Arena. Address is 1867 Valley Farm Rd, Pickering, ON L1V 6K7
Game time is 8:00 PM May 18
August 29, 2022
Whitby Captures it's Eighth Minto Cup Title!
As would be expected, Game Three was an even tighter defensive battle than Game Two, as both teams had to scrape and claw for every inch of floor space and territory on their way to a thrilling 6-5 final score.
Parker Pipher scored the eventual game and Cup clinching winner with 9:48 to play in the third period, and Edmonton missed a penalty shot with under 30 seconds remaining in the third period to tie the game and potentially force overtime. Brock Haley and Adam Poitras each had three points, Pipher had an assist to go along with his goal, and Whitby got help from depth scoring which they have not seen in some time from Owen Tapper and Jack Budway. Poitras was named the MVP of the tournament after finishing tied for second in tournament scoring with Brock Haley at 29 points in six games.
Defence was the story tonight, and even with the loss in Game 2, Whitby still had not lost a third period since the second game of the first round of the Ontario playoffs. This was a shut-down core of defenders and great team defence.
Congratulations to all the players and staff of the team!
Whitby Captures it's Eighth Minto Cup Title!
As would be expected, Game Three was an even tighter defensive battle than Game Two, as both teams had to scrape and claw for every inch of floor space and territory on their way to a thrilling 6-5 final score.
Parker Pipher scored the eventual game and Cup clinching winner with 9:48 to play in the third period, and Edmonton missed a penalty shot with under 30 seconds remaining in the third period to tie the game and potentially force overtime. Brock Haley and Adam Poitras each had three points, Pipher had an assist to go along with his goal, and Whitby got help from depth scoring which they have not seen in some time from Owen Tapper and Jack Budway. Poitras was named the MVP of the tournament after finishing tied for second in tournament scoring with Brock Haley at 29 points in six games.
Defence was the story tonight, and even with the loss in Game 2, Whitby still had not lost a third period since the second game of the first round of the Ontario playoffs. This was a shut-down core of defenders and great team defence.
Congratulations to all the players and staff of the team!
August 28, 2022
Edmonton Wins 9-8 in Overtime to Force a Deciding Game Three
The Edmonton Miners made sure the Whitby faithful went home disappointed that the Minto Cup was not hoisted tonight with what has to be considered their best game of the tournament so far. With a determined display of aggressiveness, formidable defence, solid goaltending from Keegan Melenychuk, and timely scoring, Edmonton gave themselves the chance to hoist the Cup themselves Monday night.
This one was a tense, terse game. The largest leads of the game was Whitby's at 3-1 in the first period and 6-4 in the second. Edmonton bent at times but didn't break, battling back to even the score each time they trailed. Although Whitby still did not lose the third period, they didn't win it either, despite a frantic final 12 seconds of regulation time as they tried for the Cup winning goal following a timeout. As the teams entered the third period tied 6-6, they would trade goals to get to Overtime at 8-8.
The overtime period was Edmonton's best 10 minutes. Their defence prevented Whitby from getting inside on almost every possession, and Melenychuk was able to stop anything shot from the outside. Offensively, the only goal of overtime came just past the 5 minute mark, on a nice spin move off the Whitby check and slick finish to beat Kaleb Martin on the short side. During overtime, one thing which was noticeable was the noise level in the crowd. There wasn't one. Not because the game was boring, but because the fans were so engrossed in the game they didn't make a sound. Coupled with artificial turf naturally absorbing sound off the floor, it was like the game was being played in a library. The tension was palpable and the Edmonton fans could finally exhale as they controlled the ball in the final thirty second after calling a timeout, beat the Whitby press, and managed to run out the clock.
The final game of the 2022 season and the presentation of the Minto Cup starts at 8:00 PM Monday night.
Edmonton Wins 9-8 in Overtime to Force a Deciding Game Three
The Edmonton Miners made sure the Whitby faithful went home disappointed that the Minto Cup was not hoisted tonight with what has to be considered their best game of the tournament so far. With a determined display of aggressiveness, formidable defence, solid goaltending from Keegan Melenychuk, and timely scoring, Edmonton gave themselves the chance to hoist the Cup themselves Monday night.
This one was a tense, terse game. The largest leads of the game was Whitby's at 3-1 in the first period and 6-4 in the second. Edmonton bent at times but didn't break, battling back to even the score each time they trailed. Although Whitby still did not lose the third period, they didn't win it either, despite a frantic final 12 seconds of regulation time as they tried for the Cup winning goal following a timeout. As the teams entered the third period tied 6-6, they would trade goals to get to Overtime at 8-8.
The overtime period was Edmonton's best 10 minutes. Their defence prevented Whitby from getting inside on almost every possession, and Melenychuk was able to stop anything shot from the outside. Offensively, the only goal of overtime came just past the 5 minute mark, on a nice spin move off the Whitby check and slick finish to beat Kaleb Martin on the short side. During overtime, one thing which was noticeable was the noise level in the crowd. There wasn't one. Not because the game was boring, but because the fans were so engrossed in the game they didn't make a sound. Coupled with artificial turf naturally absorbing sound off the floor, it was like the game was being played in a library. The tension was palpable and the Edmonton fans could finally exhale as they controlled the ball in the final thirty second after calling a timeout, beat the Whitby press, and managed to run out the clock.
The final game of the 2022 season and the presentation of the Minto Cup starts at 8:00 PM Monday night.
August 27, 2022
Whitby One Win Away From The Title
The Whitby Warriors are within one game of winning the National Championship following a solid performance in all categories, led by goalie Kaleb Martin's 37 saves and Gabriel Sorichetti's five points, and a 12-8 victory. The Warriors are now positioned to close out the Minto Cup with a win tomorrow evening and finish the tournament with a perfect 5-0 record.
For the Edmonton Miners, the task of defeating Whitby became an increased struggle as starting goaltender Keegan Melenychuk allowed five goals in just under fifteen minutes, and was replaced by Jace Simington-Lesanko for the duration of the game. Just as Toronto Beaches' Will Johnston struggled in the Semi-Final game, Melenychuk seemed to have difficulty with Whitby's offence at an inopportune time. For Edmonton, it was only Game One and Melenychuk has been perhaps their best player throughout this tournament. It would seem unlikely, unless he is injured, that he doesn't start tomorrow night and perform at his typically high level.
Whitby led the game in all statistical categories, but perhaps the most important one is rest. The team with the bye into the Finals is 11-4 in those Finals in the last fifteen contests, and the Warriors appeared to be fresher than the Miners. As has been Whitby's signature, certainly in the last half of the regular season and throughout the playoffs, they improve their team defence as each game gets further along. The only third period they have lost during the Ontario Playoffs and Minto Cup Tournament and Finals was Game Two of the opening round of the Ontario playoffs versus St. Catherines. That takes a lot of pressure off their offence knowing the defence, made up of Scott Reed, Kobe Handsor, Ben Macdonnell, Carter Schott, Owen Tapper, Jake Darlison, Peytin Wallace, Jake Doolittle and Michael White can shut down the opponents in high-leverage minutes.
Edmonton has shown they can score in bunches, and Melenychuk has shown he can be a shutout-style goaltender. Can they force a third and deciding Game Three? Get out to the CAA Centre in Brampton or watch online on YouTube or the TSN App to see. Game starts at 7:00PM EST.
Whitby One Win Away From The Title
The Whitby Warriors are within one game of winning the National Championship following a solid performance in all categories, led by goalie Kaleb Martin's 37 saves and Gabriel Sorichetti's five points, and a 12-8 victory. The Warriors are now positioned to close out the Minto Cup with a win tomorrow evening and finish the tournament with a perfect 5-0 record.
For the Edmonton Miners, the task of defeating Whitby became an increased struggle as starting goaltender Keegan Melenychuk allowed five goals in just under fifteen minutes, and was replaced by Jace Simington-Lesanko for the duration of the game. Just as Toronto Beaches' Will Johnston struggled in the Semi-Final game, Melenychuk seemed to have difficulty with Whitby's offence at an inopportune time. For Edmonton, it was only Game One and Melenychuk has been perhaps their best player throughout this tournament. It would seem unlikely, unless he is injured, that he doesn't start tomorrow night and perform at his typically high level.
Whitby led the game in all statistical categories, but perhaps the most important one is rest. The team with the bye into the Finals is 11-4 in those Finals in the last fifteen contests, and the Warriors appeared to be fresher than the Miners. As has been Whitby's signature, certainly in the last half of the regular season and throughout the playoffs, they improve their team defence as each game gets further along. The only third period they have lost during the Ontario Playoffs and Minto Cup Tournament and Finals was Game Two of the opening round of the Ontario playoffs versus St. Catherines. That takes a lot of pressure off their offence knowing the defence, made up of Scott Reed, Kobe Handsor, Ben Macdonnell, Carter Schott, Owen Tapper, Jake Darlison, Peytin Wallace, Jake Doolittle and Michael White can shut down the opponents in high-leverage minutes.
Edmonton has shown they can score in bunches, and Melenychuk has shown he can be a shutout-style goaltender. Can they force a third and deciding Game Three? Get out to the CAA Centre in Brampton or watch online on YouTube or the TSN App to see. Game starts at 7:00PM EST.
August 25, 2022
Edmonton Miners Advance to First Ever Minto Cup Final
A seven-goal run stretching from the first into the second period was the difference in the game as the Miners turned a 3-1 deficit into an 8-3 lead then quickly to a 10-4 lead, and chasing Toronto Beaches starting net minder Will Johnston from the game.
Led by Mathieu Gauthier's nine points and Keegan Melenychuk's 48 saves, the Miners led at the end of all three periods, 4-3 after one, 13-9 after two, and a final score of 20-12 to make history for the Alberta Junior A lacrosse programs. The Miners focused on playing five-on-five lacrosse in the final game of the Round Robin against Victoria, and again tonight against Toronto after having some early penalty troubles in the first two games of the tournament. Showing some excellent ball movement and shooting, coupled with a troubling night for Johnston who had his roughest start of the tournament, Edmonton made the most of their opportunities and once they opened up their lead in the second period they simply kept Toronto at arms length the rest of the way.
Toronto was led in scoring by Willem Firth and Cam Acchione with eight and five points, respectively, and Andrew Kidd stopped 11 of 12 shots in relief in net. The Beaches first visit to the Minto Cup was an excellent one. As the results of the Round Robin games showed, all these teams were so closely matched any of them could be winless or undefeated. For Head Coach Reilly O'Connor and staff, this sets a new bar for the Beaches organization, and they will look to return to the Minto Cup tournament as soon as possible.
The Finals begin Saturday at 7:00 PM EST.
Edmonton Miners Advance to First Ever Minto Cup Final
A seven-goal run stretching from the first into the second period was the difference in the game as the Miners turned a 3-1 deficit into an 8-3 lead then quickly to a 10-4 lead, and chasing Toronto Beaches starting net minder Will Johnston from the game.
Led by Mathieu Gauthier's nine points and Keegan Melenychuk's 48 saves, the Miners led at the end of all three periods, 4-3 after one, 13-9 after two, and a final score of 20-12 to make history for the Alberta Junior A lacrosse programs. The Miners focused on playing five-on-five lacrosse in the final game of the Round Robin against Victoria, and again tonight against Toronto after having some early penalty troubles in the first two games of the tournament. Showing some excellent ball movement and shooting, coupled with a troubling night for Johnston who had his roughest start of the tournament, Edmonton made the most of their opportunities and once they opened up their lead in the second period they simply kept Toronto at arms length the rest of the way.
Toronto was led in scoring by Willem Firth and Cam Acchione with eight and five points, respectively, and Andrew Kidd stopped 11 of 12 shots in relief in net. The Beaches first visit to the Minto Cup was an excellent one. As the results of the Round Robin games showed, all these teams were so closely matched any of them could be winless or undefeated. For Head Coach Reilly O'Connor and staff, this sets a new bar for the Beaches organization, and they will look to return to the Minto Cup tournament as soon as possible.
The Finals begin Saturday at 7:00 PM EST.
August 24, 2022
Warriors will play for their Eighth Minto Cup Championship
Kaleb Martin made 45 saves on 50 shots, Parker Pipher had a four point night and Player of the Game honours, and the defence shut out the Toronto Beaches in the third period. The Whitby Warriors now have the right to rest for two nights and watch the Semi-Final between the Edmonton Miners and the Toronto Beaches tomorrow night. On Saturday they begin the process of adding to the legacy of this franchise with their first Minto Cup victory since 2013.
With the victory the Warriors are 3-0 in the Round Robin, 6-0 in their last six games going back to Game 5 of the second round of the playoffs, and 11-2 in the Playoffs overall.
The Finals begin Saturday night at 7:00PM, with Game 2 of the Final Sunday at 7:00 PM, and Game 3 on Monday at 8:00 PM if necessary.
Warriors will play for their Eighth Minto Cup Championship
Kaleb Martin made 45 saves on 50 shots, Parker Pipher had a four point night and Player of the Game honours, and the defence shut out the Toronto Beaches in the third period. The Whitby Warriors now have the right to rest for two nights and watch the Semi-Final between the Edmonton Miners and the Toronto Beaches tomorrow night. On Saturday they begin the process of adding to the legacy of this franchise with their first Minto Cup victory since 2013.
With the victory the Warriors are 3-0 in the Round Robin, 6-0 in their last six games going back to Game 5 of the second round of the playoffs, and 11-2 in the Playoffs overall.
The Finals begin Saturday night at 7:00PM, with Game 2 of the Final Sunday at 7:00 PM, and Game 3 on Monday at 8:00 PM if necessary.
August 24, 2022
Minto Cup Playoff Teams Finalized Tonight
The final games of the Round Robin should be the most meaningful games of the Round Robin format at the Minto Cup. This year they set up to be absolute gems. The first four games of the tournament have been nail-biters, with two of the outcomes determined in Overtime, and the other two by one goal differentials. The teams are all so evenly matched the standings could easily be flipped at this point, or all teams could hold the exact same record.
Game #5: Edmonton versus Victoria
As it happens, the Toronto Beaches and the Whitby Warriors have both punched their tickets to at least the Semi-Finals, and await the winner of the Victoria-Edmonton game at 5:00 PM tonight in Game #5 of the tournament. The winner moves onto the Semi-Finals, the loser sees it's Minto Cup hopes end this evening. The motivation level for both sides will be through the roof as both have every right to say they deserve to be in the Semis.
Edmonton has been the front-runner all season in the RMLL posting impressive numbers of a .800 winning percentage in the Regular Season and .888 in the Playoffs, with an 8-1 Playoff record. Victoria also led their Regular and Playoff Seasons, going 11-3 in the Regular Season and 7-4 in the Playoffs. Both squads have the talent and experience to advance to the Semi-Finals, and perhaps win it all, but tonight they have to figure out the other one. Unlike the final Game of the Round Robin between Toronto and Whitby, who have played one another four times already this season, Edmonton and Victoria will be facing one another for the first time, and in a loser-goes-home sweepstakes.
Based on the two games played so far, Special Teams may be the key to the outcome headed into the tilt: Edmonton leads the tournament in penalty minutes with 42, have the lowest Power Play output with two goals, and have allowed the most Short-Handed Goals. If Edmonton can play the majority of the game five-on-five, they may just be playing on Thursday night. Victoria is powered by Casey Wilson and Captain Patrick Dodds who sit third and sixth, respectively, in tournament scoring. If Victoria is to advance, these two have to continue their offensive production.
These two are fighting for their lacrosse lives tonight. This game could give lacrosse fans chills.
Game #6: Toronto versus Whitby
The battle for first place in the Round Robin and the coveted Bye into the Minto Cup Finals will be decided starting at 8:00 PM tonight when The Beaches and the Warriors square off for the fifth time this season. They split the Regular Season series 1-1, with Whitby winning in Overtime in Whitby and Beaches winning in regulation time on their home floor, and Whitby sweeping the Best-of-Three Ontario Final 2-0.
Ontario Finals MVP Adam Poitras continues to roll as he leads the tournament scoring with 13 points, and Brock Haley has 10 points, while the Beaches are led again by Willem Firth and Matt Collison. All four players are averaging at least five points per game. The balance of the rosters, then, are the deciding factors. Jack Oldman has been dominant at the face-off dot for Whitby, and Will Johnston has been excellent in net for Beaches. Lucas Littlejohn has seen his play improve more and more as the playoffs have advanced this summer for Whitby, and David Anderson has added great depth and support scoring for the Beaches.
Nothing gives a team more confidence than to say they beat everyone in the tournament and earned the pass directly to the Final. The extra rest and the right to just watch the Semi-Finals and await their opponent goes to the victor. The losing team plays tomorrow night in the Semi-Final, and their fourth game in four nights. Toronto and Whitby could put on a show tonight.
Get to the CAA Centre in Brampton if you can tonight, or watch live online on YouTube or the TSN App. This could be a special evening of Junior Lacrosse.
Minto Cup Playoff Teams Finalized Tonight
The final games of the Round Robin should be the most meaningful games of the Round Robin format at the Minto Cup. This year they set up to be absolute gems. The first four games of the tournament have been nail-biters, with two of the outcomes determined in Overtime, and the other two by one goal differentials. The teams are all so evenly matched the standings could easily be flipped at this point, or all teams could hold the exact same record.
Game #5: Edmonton versus Victoria
As it happens, the Toronto Beaches and the Whitby Warriors have both punched their tickets to at least the Semi-Finals, and await the winner of the Victoria-Edmonton game at 5:00 PM tonight in Game #5 of the tournament. The winner moves onto the Semi-Finals, the loser sees it's Minto Cup hopes end this evening. The motivation level for both sides will be through the roof as both have every right to say they deserve to be in the Semis.
Edmonton has been the front-runner all season in the RMLL posting impressive numbers of a .800 winning percentage in the Regular Season and .888 in the Playoffs, with an 8-1 Playoff record. Victoria also led their Regular and Playoff Seasons, going 11-3 in the Regular Season and 7-4 in the Playoffs. Both squads have the talent and experience to advance to the Semi-Finals, and perhaps win it all, but tonight they have to figure out the other one. Unlike the final Game of the Round Robin between Toronto and Whitby, who have played one another four times already this season, Edmonton and Victoria will be facing one another for the first time, and in a loser-goes-home sweepstakes.
Based on the two games played so far, Special Teams may be the key to the outcome headed into the tilt: Edmonton leads the tournament in penalty minutes with 42, have the lowest Power Play output with two goals, and have allowed the most Short-Handed Goals. If Edmonton can play the majority of the game five-on-five, they may just be playing on Thursday night. Victoria is powered by Casey Wilson and Captain Patrick Dodds who sit third and sixth, respectively, in tournament scoring. If Victoria is to advance, these two have to continue their offensive production.
These two are fighting for their lacrosse lives tonight. This game could give lacrosse fans chills.
Game #6: Toronto versus Whitby
The battle for first place in the Round Robin and the coveted Bye into the Minto Cup Finals will be decided starting at 8:00 PM tonight when The Beaches and the Warriors square off for the fifth time this season. They split the Regular Season series 1-1, with Whitby winning in Overtime in Whitby and Beaches winning in regulation time on their home floor, and Whitby sweeping the Best-of-Three Ontario Final 2-0.
Ontario Finals MVP Adam Poitras continues to roll as he leads the tournament scoring with 13 points, and Brock Haley has 10 points, while the Beaches are led again by Willem Firth and Matt Collison. All four players are averaging at least five points per game. The balance of the rosters, then, are the deciding factors. Jack Oldman has been dominant at the face-off dot for Whitby, and Will Johnston has been excellent in net for Beaches. Lucas Littlejohn has seen his play improve more and more as the playoffs have advanced this summer for Whitby, and David Anderson has added great depth and support scoring for the Beaches.
Nothing gives a team more confidence than to say they beat everyone in the tournament and earned the pass directly to the Final. The extra rest and the right to just watch the Semi-Finals and await their opponent goes to the victor. The losing team plays tomorrow night in the Semi-Final, and their fourth game in four nights. Toronto and Whitby could put on a show tonight.
Get to the CAA Centre in Brampton if you can tonight, or watch live online on YouTube or the TSN App. This could be a special evening of Junior Lacrosse.
August 23, 2022
Warriors win second game of Round Robin play to clinch spot in the Semi-Finals
Tonight the Whitby Warriors moved another step closer to the ultimate goal of securing the Minto Cup with a hard-fought win over the Victoria Shamrocks 11-10 in Regulation Time to secure a berth in at least the Semi-Finals on Thursday night. Whitby is tied with the Toronto Beaches atop the standings, each with perfect 2-0 records. The team with the best Round Robin record gets a bye to the Finals while the second and third place teams battle in a one-game Semi-Final. Whitby can finish no lower than second place in the Round Robin standings, so the play at least on Thursday, but ideally not play at all until Saturday when the Finals begin, as the number one seed.
The score line from each of games one and two show two very evenly matched teams and competitive lacrosse at its best. The overall standings emphasize that point as no one team has separated itself from the pack, nor has one team fallen off the pace of the pack. The differences in the outcomes of the games is the timing of the goals when needed the most. The balance of the teams is immediately noticeable, with the top two teams being only +3 in goal differential, and the bottom two (winless) only -3. Some key points so far further is that only three Short-Handed Goals have been given up by the teams collectively, which means they don't lessen the success of the power play by allowing the penalized team to score. Whitby leads the pack in Power Play efficiency, going 7/12 (.583). Victoria is 4/10 (.400), Beaches 4/11 (.363) and the Miners so far are 2/11 (.181).
Adam Poitras currently leads the Minto scoring race with 13 points, while Will Johnston of Toronto leads goalies with 7.19 Goals Against Average. The final day of the Round Robin play should prove to be spectacular lacrosse. Watch is on Youtube or on the TSN App.
Warriors win second game of Round Robin play to clinch spot in the Semi-Finals
Tonight the Whitby Warriors moved another step closer to the ultimate goal of securing the Minto Cup with a hard-fought win over the Victoria Shamrocks 11-10 in Regulation Time to secure a berth in at least the Semi-Finals on Thursday night. Whitby is tied with the Toronto Beaches atop the standings, each with perfect 2-0 records. The team with the best Round Robin record gets a bye to the Finals while the second and third place teams battle in a one-game Semi-Final. Whitby can finish no lower than second place in the Round Robin standings, so the play at least on Thursday, but ideally not play at all until Saturday when the Finals begin, as the number one seed.
The score line from each of games one and two show two very evenly matched teams and competitive lacrosse at its best. The overall standings emphasize that point as no one team has separated itself from the pack, nor has one team fallen off the pace of the pack. The differences in the outcomes of the games is the timing of the goals when needed the most. The balance of the teams is immediately noticeable, with the top two teams being only +3 in goal differential, and the bottom two (winless) only -3. Some key points so far further is that only three Short-Handed Goals have been given up by the teams collectively, which means they don't lessen the success of the power play by allowing the penalized team to score. Whitby leads the pack in Power Play efficiency, going 7/12 (.583). Victoria is 4/10 (.400), Beaches 4/11 (.363) and the Miners so far are 2/11 (.181).
Adam Poitras currently leads the Minto scoring race with 13 points, while Will Johnston of Toronto leads goalies with 7.19 Goals Against Average. The final day of the Round Robin play should prove to be spectacular lacrosse. Watch is on Youtube or on the TSN App.
August 3, 2022
Whitby Sweeps Beaches to win Ontario Junior A Title; Poitras named Finals MVP
With a berth in the Minto Cup National Finals already secured by both Whitby and Toronto, the rights to claim the Ontario title were still to be determined. Game One in Pickering on Tuesday night resulted in a Whitby win and offered them the chance to close it out on home floor, and push their season record to 15-1.
The first period saw the home side open up a 3-1 lead by the first intermission with goals by Brock Haley (2) and Adam Poitras (1) for Whitby, and Willem Firth for Toronto. The defences were the stars of the period as both sides were limited in the opportunities and the goal tenders were up to task, so a low scoring opening frame was an expected result.
The second period was a different story. With goals from Whitby's Parker Pipher and Lucas Littlejohn to make it a 5-1 lead, it looked like perhaps this was going to be a one-sided affair. Toronto is not in the Finals by accident, answering Whitby's goals with three of their own, then four more after Whitby scored twice again. In total eleven goals were scored in the period, Whitby starter Kaleb Martin was chased from the game, and Toronto held an 8-7 lead headed into the dressing room.
The final frame saw the return of defence normalcy as the Beaches were held to only one goal, and the four added (one empty-netter) by Whitby's offence was more like the typical Beaches defence of the series and the season.
Adam Poitras was selected as Finals MVP and now looks to continue his playoff form into the Minto Cup Finals in Brampton August 22-29.
With a berth in the Minto Cup National Finals already secured by both Whitby and Toronto, the rights to claim the Ontario title were still to be determined. Game One in Pickering on Tuesday night resulted in a Whitby win and offered them the chance to close it out on home floor, and push their season record to 15-1.
The first period saw the home side open up a 3-1 lead by the first intermission with goals by Brock Haley (2) and Adam Poitras (1) for Whitby, and Willem Firth for Toronto. The defences were the stars of the period as both sides were limited in the opportunities and the goal tenders were up to task, so a low scoring opening frame was an expected result.
The second period was a different story. With goals from Whitby's Parker Pipher and Lucas Littlejohn to make it a 5-1 lead, it looked like perhaps this was going to be a one-sided affair. Toronto is not in the Finals by accident, answering Whitby's goals with three of their own, then four more after Whitby scored twice again. In total eleven goals were scored in the period, Whitby starter Kaleb Martin was chased from the game, and Toronto held an 8-7 lead headed into the dressing room.
The final frame saw the return of defence normalcy as the Beaches were held to only one goal, and the four added (one empty-netter) by Whitby's offence was more like the typical Beaches defence of the series and the season.
Adam Poitras was selected as Finals MVP and now looks to continue his playoff form into the Minto Cup Finals in Brampton August 22-29.
July 29, 2022
Whitby defeats Orangeville to Advance in Playoffs
If anyone ever wonders whether fans of Junior A lacrosse are paying attention, tonight in Whitby over 1000 people packed into Pad #1 of IPSC to witness the deciding game of what has been a tremendous series, and over 1000 more watched the live feed online. Despite the fact that Whitby plays host to the Ontario Lacrosse Festival Minor Lacrosse Provincial Championships, many of the spectators tonight had no affiliation with that event, and traveled to Whitby just to watch Game 5.
Whitby has enjoyed a fabulous season on its home floor this year, carrying a record of 14-1 at IPSC into tonight' game, and planned to add to the win column tonight. They opened the scoring early in the first period and added another, playing with poise and emotion and clearly had some momentum going, when a facility issue caused an almost 20 minute delay in the action. For Whitby fans the fear of losing that momentum would have been understandable, but the home side would come out of the delay to add one more before the end of period, while Kaleb Martin and the Whitby defence would throw a shutout at Orangeville and head into the first intermission with a healthy lead.
This series has proven, if anything, that five goal leads are not safe, let alone three goal leads. For the fourth game this series, the home squad built at least a three-goal lead in the first period, with the visitors shut out three times in the same time. Every time the visitor closed the gaps entirely, or at least to within one goal. Tonight Orangeville would do the same thing, though it would take some time.
The Northmen scored quickly to open the second period, then would not score again until the final second of the session. The defences of both squads were the story of the second period, as Whitby was held to only one tally, and Orangeville trailed headed into the second intermission, 4-2.
As befitting this series, Game Five was a tense affair with every possession causing the crowd to hold it's collective breath in anticipation of something special. A goal, a save, a hit, a turnover, a breakaway. There were many Orangeville fans in attendance, and when they finally gained their third goal at the 17:04 mark of the third period, the whole arena edged slightly forward in their seats (for those who could find seats). Five-and-a-half minutes later Whitby scored it's first of three goals in under a minute to make it 7-3. With ten minutes to play Trey Deere made it 7-4 for Whitby, but that would be as close as they would get as Jack Budway and Adam Poitras would add insurance markers to make the final 9-4.
The Whitby Warriors now face the Toronto Beaches in the Ontario Final, with both teams already advancing to the Minto Cup August 22-29 in Brampton. Schedule of the Ontario and Minto Cup Finals will be posted as soon as they are available.
Whitby defeats Orangeville to Advance in Playoffs
If anyone ever wonders whether fans of Junior A lacrosse are paying attention, tonight in Whitby over 1000 people packed into Pad #1 of IPSC to witness the deciding game of what has been a tremendous series, and over 1000 more watched the live feed online. Despite the fact that Whitby plays host to the Ontario Lacrosse Festival Minor Lacrosse Provincial Championships, many of the spectators tonight had no affiliation with that event, and traveled to Whitby just to watch Game 5.
Whitby has enjoyed a fabulous season on its home floor this year, carrying a record of 14-1 at IPSC into tonight' game, and planned to add to the win column tonight. They opened the scoring early in the first period and added another, playing with poise and emotion and clearly had some momentum going, when a facility issue caused an almost 20 minute delay in the action. For Whitby fans the fear of losing that momentum would have been understandable, but the home side would come out of the delay to add one more before the end of period, while Kaleb Martin and the Whitby defence would throw a shutout at Orangeville and head into the first intermission with a healthy lead.
This series has proven, if anything, that five goal leads are not safe, let alone three goal leads. For the fourth game this series, the home squad built at least a three-goal lead in the first period, with the visitors shut out three times in the same time. Every time the visitor closed the gaps entirely, or at least to within one goal. Tonight Orangeville would do the same thing, though it would take some time.
The Northmen scored quickly to open the second period, then would not score again until the final second of the session. The defences of both squads were the story of the second period, as Whitby was held to only one tally, and Orangeville trailed headed into the second intermission, 4-2.
As befitting this series, Game Five was a tense affair with every possession causing the crowd to hold it's collective breath in anticipation of something special. A goal, a save, a hit, a turnover, a breakaway. There were many Orangeville fans in attendance, and when they finally gained their third goal at the 17:04 mark of the third period, the whole arena edged slightly forward in their seats (for those who could find seats). Five-and-a-half minutes later Whitby scored it's first of three goals in under a minute to make it 7-3. With ten minutes to play Trey Deere made it 7-4 for Whitby, but that would be as close as they would get as Jack Budway and Adam Poitras would add insurance markers to make the final 9-4.
The Whitby Warriors now face the Toronto Beaches in the Ontario Final, with both teams already advancing to the Minto Cup August 22-29 in Brampton. Schedule of the Ontario and Minto Cup Finals will be posted as soon as they are available.