The Vernon Re/Max Tigers and Armstrong Shamrocks invited the Richmond Roadrunners to the North Okanagan to help in their pre-season evaluations.
Both local teams saw plenty of positives despite different results versus the Roadrunners. Cody Nass supplied 5+3 as the Roadrunners opened up their swing Saturday night with an 11-7 win over the Shamrocks at Nor-Val Centre.
Jordan Orr counted 5+1 as the Tigers rocked the weary Roadrunners 16-9 Sunday morning in Armstrong. Connor Martyniuk supplied six snipes for Richmond.
“Overall, the coaches weren’t looking at the outcome of the game, but rather the working parts of the game in total,” said Vernon head coach Myles Brumpton.
“We wanted to see how the boys responded to some of the new systems we are working on, how they adapted at game speed when set plays went sideways and how composed they were when working in traffic.”
The Tigers only had 13 runners and Brumpton was impressed with their gritty performance.
“Although there were some great individual efforts from some of our guys, I prefer to look at the game from a team perspective and the sum of all its moving parts. I certainly noted some real upside in our team game, and at the same time we have some tweaking to do since it’s early in the season (Tigers open the regular season April 28 at home versus the Shamrocks)”
Nolan Frame pocketed 4+1 for the Cats and Jay Seaton earned 3+2. Braden Barr added 2+2 and singles went to Austin Lewarne and Ryan Sarazin. Craig Bigsby collected five assists.
“We want to thank Richmond for making the trek to the Okanagan and we tip our hat to them for their efforts in playing two games in less than 24 hours this early in the season,” said Brumpton.
Spencer Bromley bagged 2+3 for Richmond, while Nass produded 1+3.
Matt Kolb of the Re/Max crew and Richmond captain Kris Briggs had a third-period fight.
On Saturday, Jesse Patterson added 2+2 for the Roadrunners, who got 1+3 from Spencer Bromley and other goals from Corey Tasaka, Spencer Holtan and Connor Martyniuk. Anthony Bayer bagged three helpers.
Brett Hawrys and Cole Seidel each scored twice for the Shamrocks, while Owen Barker provided 1+3 and took on Matteo Serka in a third-period fight. Daniel Peterson and Drew Hassald also fired singles.
Armstrong led 4-2 after one period, while Richmond pulled ahead 9-5 after two. The Roadrunners held a 56-32 shot advantage.
Hassald battled Matt McPhedrian in the firs period, while Dylan Bilanchuk of the Irish faced Alan Wilson in the second period, to round out the fight card.
In Bantam lacrosse action, the North Okanagan #1 Legends opened the season with a pair of victories.
Mykl Drabiuk, with four goals, and Jordan Barr and Cameron Lock, each with a deuce, paced the Legends to an 8-3 win over North Okanagan #2. Brett Olsen fired the hat trick in the loss.
Darien Ottesen (3), Dawson Boyce, Lock, Barr, and Drabiuk handled the offence as the Legends ran to a 7-2 win over North Okanagan #3 with Jakob Schweb in net. Steele Pelletier had both goals for North Ok #3.
“I was very impressed with how we played,” said Legends #1 coach Kent Connors. “We have a mixture of players who have played for a number of years and players who have never played before. Kaylan Lawrence, Branden and Corey Lehoux, and Dawson Edwards are all first-year players and played extremely well.
“Some of our seasoned players such as Mykl Drabiuk, Jordan Barr, Darien Ottesen, and Cameron Lock helped with their floor experience to lead us.”
Meanwhile, North Okanagan minor lacrosse is hosting a fundraising pancake breakfast alongside the Armstrong Lions Club. The event opens at 8:30 a.m. at the Hassen Memorial Arena.
