The Black-and-Gold took a one-nothing series lead into Owen Sound last Sunday with hopes of putting the North Stars in a stranglehold. It took five minutes for Braeden Saris to break the ice with a leaping dumper behind 'Sound goalie Keleb Martin. Swiftly though, the home side tied it on a pinballing squibbler and then claimed a surprising lead off a seemingly harmless-looking one-on-one attempt.

Tanner Brennecke evened things on a brilliant catch-and-side-step move before Saris notched his second off a wicked Luke Robinson power-play trick pass and burgeoning transition threat Dawson Brown notched his first of three on the night. Add a lightning-quick strike by three of the swiftest sticks in the game, if not the league (Cooper Day-Allison from Tye Argent and Robinson) and the Bengals find themselves up five-to-two.

The North Stars responded firmly though, winning persistent offensive loosies until Brandon Stewart reduced the deficit to two heading into the break.
 

Play proceeded as in the first, skilled, fast, entertaining and fairly respectful on both sides. Sam Gower got the Bengals back on pace teeing up a two-on-one for Carter Schultz and Robinson who dinged a ripper off the post and in.  The Stars refused to quit though with Jamie Grimoldby connecting on an outside blast and soon adding another, punctuated by a strike from teammate Josh Hamill and at the game's half-way mark we're knotted at sixes.

But the tide would turn for the last time with a Jake Parkinson patented fast-flying feed through the crease where Robinson connected. The Bengals then iced the second frame with Tyson Allison capping some slippery moves with an overhand bomb and Dawson Brown scoring a pair of highlight-reel solo efforts to complete the trick and earn the game's media award as well as the illustrious Hammer award; a combo completed only twice previously (by Argent and Robinson). Brown would later exit the match early after taking a frightening spill involving the boards and likely an accidental trip from a third-party Owen Sounder but which landed Brody Caskenette a rather questionable 5-minute high stick major and which landed home team coaches in a tizzy as patience and decorum continued to evaporate from the bench over apparent referee bias which then resulted in the first of two North Star coach ejections. To his significant credit, Caskenette, a player of solid reputation, forwarded apologies to the injured Brown immediately upon expiry of the game clock.
 

But the game of lacrosse (and such a fine one too) had actually ended 11 minutes earlier when a chiselled, taunted and antagonized Argent stuck it to his tormentors by personally forcing a turnover, capturing the loose ball and charging solo to the net with a sweet fake-out goal which apparently enraged his respectfully-unnamed opponent who discovered the hard way that Argent has some devastating fists. Let me treat this sad affair briefly: The 'Sounders had their own pair of devastating fists and insisted upon a round two with fresh opponents. The end result was four players with injuries of various degree (to hands and/or faces) and a delighted bloodthirsty fan cohort who presumably left home looking for the boxing match, found lacrosse by mistake and somehow couldn't appreciate their good fortune.

The final 11 minutes were a tedious affair with Hamilton running away on the scoreboard. This included noteworthy goals by Carter Schultz with his fourth point of the night, besting his defender who lost his stick in the process, and then Day-Allison who fought off three defenders at once to spin and whip the final goal by the occasionally-rattled Martin.

Match three starts tonight, 7PM at the Cat House on Hester Street. Tickets are $10 due to OLA playoff surcharge but I'm confident you'll find it worth it. There's a great chance for excellent lacrosse and/or some primitive bedlam; whichever is your choice, as the Bengals look to capture their promotion to round two!