The Vernon Source for Sports Tigers thumped the Kelowna Raiders 16-4 in Thompson Okanagan Junior Lacrosse League play Thursday night at Memorial Arena.
The Tigers (5-2) welcomed back Ryan Sarazin from Marquette. The Golden Eagles field lacrosse freshman sniped four goals in his debut.
“Sarazin gets the ball in the net, he knows how to score. The kid is a competitor and a huge asset for our team,” said Tigers’ assistant coach Chris Scabar.
Tigers’ coach Myles Brumpton wasn’t able to make the game, but he wasn’t shocked by Sarazin’s impact. “It was the perfect game for him to come back in. We’ve been anticipating his arrival for a while now,” said Brumpton.
The Tigers’ struggling powerplay was the benefactor of Sarazin’s return, as they went 4-for-8.
“He helps out our powerplay a lot. He is a shooter with the velocity that others don’t have,” said Tigers’ coach Keith Hanna.
Fifteen different Cats found their way on to the scoresheet.
The Tigers received great games from Mitchell Anderson, Jordan Orr and Quinton Harrish. Both players entered the tilt in the top 15 in league scoring. Anderson bagged a hat trick, Orr recorded two goals and three assists, and Harrish registered three points. Singles came from Sean Connors, Bayne Bosquet, Liam MacPhee, Thomas Landels and Braden Barr.
“Everybody contributed last night. It makes it tough for teams to guard us when everyone is scoring,” said Scabar.
Tigers’ net detective Thomas Bella seems to be finding his form.
Bella joined the team late and has been eased into action by the Tigers’ coaching staff. He replaced the starter Aaron Jensen in the second period and turned away all 19 shots.
“Thomas came is and made some nice stops on the penalty kill in the third,” said Hanna.
Although the Tigers got burned for a slow start against Kamloops in their last game, they led front to back in Kelowna.
“We played a lot better 60 minutes last night. Our leaders Thomas Landels and Brett Hanna did a great job last night. They really pick this team up and get them back into the game,” said Scabar.
“Brett was relentless last night. He was running all over the place and probably stripped the ball from 10 guys last night,” said Hanna.
The defensive tandem aren’t really known for their offensive prowess, but they managed to bring a goal and two assists to the party.
Nick Alcorn had a pair of snipes for the Raiders (1-7), while captain Kevin Hogan and Cam McMillan added singles.
“The Raiders are a young squad, but despite the score, they played a lot better. They are an improving team with a good upside,” said Hanna.
The highly anticipated Tigers’ home game went Saturday night as they battled the Armstrong Shamrocks (3-4) at Kal Tire Place.
The Tigers continue their six-game homestand as they take on the South Okanagan Flames (1-4) June 7.
