Officials were given blame as emotions boiled over between the South Okanagan Flames and Kelowna Raiders in Thompson Okangan Junior Lacrosse League action.
The Flames won the game 11-9 Monday at Memorial Arena after having an 8-5 lead heading into the final frame.
“Yeah we got the win, but not too impressed with how it went down,” said Flames coach Kevin Thompson, adding that neither his players or Kelowna was happy with how the match concluded. “The two teams just went out there and played a hard game together. I think the refs let the game get out of hand and it creates a lot of animosity amongst the players. We don’t typically play this way. It was a penalty-filled game.”
Emotions took over when players took exception to their opponents’ actions. On the receiving end of a lot of punishment in the last half of the third from the Raiders was Louis Shortreed, who scored five goals to lead the Flames.
“It was a little physical. I love the physical part of it,” said Shortreed. “I was fortunate enough to put a couple balls in the net today and help out the team. That was awesome.”
Shortreed was in the melee that broke out near the Raiders crease and resulted in Matt Alcorn getting ejected for fighting. Isaiah Kozak also drew the ire of the Raiders when he engaged Justin Algar. He made it look like he was going to fight Algar then walked away.
“Just pretty chump thing to do. Gonna drop the gloves and not do it is, that’s chump,” said Raiders captain Chase Bremmer.
Thompson viewed it as his player showing discipline, but with three seconds remaining, he received a technical penalty, which is expected to cost Kozak the next game.
KELOWNA RAIDER Matt Alcorn returns to his bench after getting involved in a partial fight with a South Okanagan Flames player during Monday’s Thompson Okangan Junior Lacrosse League match.
Thompson and Raiders coach Travis Wray intend to speak with the league about the officials.
“How many guys from both teams are going to miss their next couple of games for things that should have been controlled different,” he said.
Raiders assistant coach Braden Renner questioned how well the referees are being trained.
“It’s been an ongoing problem,” he said.
Plenty of unpleasant words were exchanged between the players, while Cooper Holick of the Flames pointed to the scoreboard with his stick at one point.
When things weren’t getting heated, Thompson said his team got unbelievable goaltending from Charles Nicolas and that his players played with passion.
Renner said their team put in a strong effort while playing a complete game, but added they missed opportunities to beat Nicolas.
Shortreed said the Flames have been playing excellent, but are dealing with the loss of captain Kaid MacLeod, who is out with a concussion.
“We had a slump, but I believe we are coming back. We are going to be the No.1 team this year,” said Shortreed.
Also scoring for the Flames were Connor Walton and Kozak with two goals, Brenden Deverill and Holick.
The win improves the Flames to 7-3-1 for 15 points, one ahead of the Kamloops Venom for first place. The Flames have five games remaining on their schedule before the playoffs begin.
