Like any sport, sometimes the key to finding success in lacrosse is getting hot at just the right time.
Just look at the Standing Buffalo Fighting Sioux in the South Sask Lacrosse League U13 playoffs this weekend in Moose Jaw.
Despite finishing with a 5-6-1 record in the regular season, Standing Buffalo took their game to the next level in the post-season, going undefeated on their way to the gold medal.
The tournament win included a pair of victories over the previously undefeated Moose Jaw Mustangs, including a 9-1 win in the gold medal game at the Kinsmen Arena.
The Fighting Sioux got off to a great start in the final, taking a 3-0 lead out of the first period. They extended that edge to 7-1 through two before adding two more goals in the third to put things away.
The contest was a penalty-filled affair, with the two teams combining for 11 penalties in the second period and a total of 23 overall.
Ethan Thedroff scored the lone goal for Moose Jaw.
Jackson Brey had a hat trick for Standing Buffalo, Cardell Noble, Blaine Romanchook and Bodyn Oyke had two goals apiece.
The Mustangs had earlier lost the semifinal 7-5 to the Fighting Sioux on Saturday morning, but rebounded with a 7-6 win over the Swift Current Rampage 1 to advance to the gold medal game.
The U17 Mustangs will also be going for gold, as back-to-back wins have them playing in the championship game Sunday at 3:15 p.m. at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
The Mustangs punched their ticket to the final thanks to a 10-8 win over the Weyburn Thrashers and 3-2 victory over the QCMBL Snipers.
In the U11 division, the Moose Jaw Mustangs 1 and Mustangs 2 will be facing one another with a spot in the semifinals on the line at 8 a.m. on Sunday morning at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
The Mustangs 1 took a 13-8 win over the Weyburn Thrashers 2 to open the tournament, but dropped a 10-8 decision to the QCMBL Junior Heat to drop to the ‘B’ side. There, they defeated the Weyburn Thrashers 1 to set up their quarter-final match.
The Mustangs 2 had a similar pattern, defeating the Thrashers 1 7-1 in their opener, falling 9-3 to the QCMBL Reapers and downing the Thrashers 2 10-7.
The U15 Mustangs didn’t have a lot of luck, as after their 13-1 win over the Carlyle Cobras on Friday, they fell 5-4 in overtime to the QCMBL Titans and 9-7 to the QCMBL Predators and were eliminated from the tournament.
