IL Indoor

Elliott Bender won Player of the Game honors for Green Gaels on May 20. (Photo: Devyn Gallagher)

Hey coach, I’ve got a kid you should check out. If coaches had a nickel for every time they’ve heard that, they’d be rich. So when Jason Crosbie first heard that about Elliott Bender, the Junior B Green Gaels coach didn’t exactly roll his eyes, but he was a bit skeptical. The doubts, though, came to an end when Bender showed up in Clarington – after driving from his home in California. That alone spoke volumes about his eagerness to play. “We took a shot on this kid and he’s been one of our most consistent players,” said Crosbie of Bender, a defensive guy who contributes to the transition. “I really like his willingness to learn and his committment.”

So far, the 6-foot, 200-pounder out of Norther California has played 9 games with the Junior B Green Gaels and is second on the team witih 29 penalty minutes.   He’s been in 2 fights and held his own, says Crosbie. The coach also put Bender on the Junior C card so he could get more reps and he’s been able to produce offensively for Clarington with 5 goals and 1 assist in 2 games.

“He’s got skills,” says Crosbie, whose Green Gaels will enter the Junior B playoffs with a 20-0 record. “He’s got American stick skills and the offense is such a different game for him so I put him on defense. I didn’t want to put him out there right away on offense but if he happens to stay out there, he’s not a liability. But defensively, he’s strong. He doesn’t get beat one-on-one.”

Bender’s still got plenty to learn, specifically on the pick-and-roll game, but any coach will tell you it makes his job a whole lot easier when you have talented sticks on the floor. And from there, it gets even easier when that talent still is eager to learn and is open to instruction. That’s what the Green Gaels have found in Bender, who is in his first and final year of eligibility for junior lacrosse.

What’s down the road remains to be seen for the kid they call “Sunshine,” but if he continues down the path he’s on, it’s a bright future. “From knowing nothing about the game to what he’s doing now, it’s night and day,” says Crosbie.

Junior A

Burlington Chiefs GM Glenn Little feels his team’s got one of the best goalie tandems in all of Junior A, especially after the acquisition of Brandon Noble, who came to Burlington via a trade with Barrie and arrived in time to make 33 saves for the Chiefs in Wednesday’s 11-9 win over Peterborough. It was a big win for Burlington, which is in a tight battle with Peterborough for 8th place in the league table … Just 8-14 last summer, the Whitby Warriors are 11-3 already this season and are 4-1 in their last 5 games, the only hiccup being a 9-5 loss last Wednesday to Akwesasne. But coach Derek Keenan and his boys are well aware that their biggest test of the regular season comes Tuesday night, at home against unbeaten Orangeville. “The reality is Orangeville is the measuring stick,” he told The Durham News … The Lakers paid tribute to their heritage on Sunday, wearing replica sweaters of the 1950 Filter Queens team, Peterborough’s first junior team. The Lakers did their forefathers, some of whom were in attendance, proud, beating Mississauga 18-8 … The St. Catharines Athletics had their 5-game win streak snapped and while they don’t exactly expect to win ‘em all, they’re were kinda kicking themselves after last Wednesday’s loss to Orangeville. The teams were tied 5-5 entering the third period before the Northmen outscored the A’s 7-1 to notch a 12-6 victory. “It could have been our game,” coach Eric Vinc told The St. Catharines Standard. The A’s dropped their second straight game, 10-5 to Six Nations … The Six Nations Arrows are 2-2 since having their 7-game win streak snapped in a 7-6 loss to Whitby last Tuesday. The 2 losses were by a single goal … Orangeville has yet to lose, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been tested. Coach Matt Sawyer was curious to see how his team might respond to adversity and he found out in a game last week against the Six Nations Arrows.

Junior B

Better late than never for the Windsor Clippers? Coach Greg Ducharme said Saturday’s 9-5 win over Oakville was the most complete game his offense has played this season. “That’s the first time all year where the offence has put 60 minutes together,” Ducharme told The Windsor Star. The Clippers have clinched the Far West division of the Western Conference and wrap up their regular season Tuesday night at home against London … Defensive players Ryland Fairweather and Jordan Zadorsky didn’t make the playoffs with the London Blue Devils, so they’re going with the Welland Warlords, joining the squad in time for Sunday’s 8-4 victory over Niagara … Owen Sound clinched its playoff berth Saturday with its 13-7 win over Hamilton, getting a 5-point night (4 goals, 1 assist) from Jordin McMillen, the team’s leading scorer this season … The Guelph Regals were a playoff team a year ago, but not this summer, so the last few games have been a bit of an audition for next season as a few affiliate players got some looks in the team’s final few games … Jordan Godin scored 28 points (13-15) for Guelph this summer but when the Regals played Elora last week, he was on the bench; the Elora bench. The Regals released Godin as a favor to the Mohawks, who picked him up for their playoff run. But when the teams met last Wednesday, Elora held him out of the game out of respect to Guelph. “I didn’t want to put Jordan in an awkward position,” Elora coach Dean George told The Guelph Mercury … Props to Neil Roberts of the Markham Ironheads, named top male athlete at Port Perry High School … The Newmarket Saints will enter the playoffs on quite a roll, winning 10 of their last 11 games. Their only setback in that stretch was a 7-6 loss to the Green Gaels on June 4. They close their regular season Tuesday at Orillia … Orangeville missed last year’s playoff party by a single point, but not this summer. The Northmen not only clinched a playoff berth for 2010, they did it with a nice win over division-leading Elora …  The Toronto Beaches may be just 2-16-1 in their first Junior B season, but they’ve done themselves well. They’ve played 2 overtime games, losing 1 and drawing the other. They’ve lost 2 games by just 1 goal and 5 of their losses are by 2 goals … Count the Oakville Buzz as playoff participants this season … The Sarnia Pacers wrapped up their season with a 5-14-1 record, the same as last summer, and coach Ken Barrett told The Observer it’s his fault … The Halton Hills Bulldogs played 3 games in 3 nights and went 2-1 in those games. Despite the disappointing loss to Mimico, it’s time to focus on the playoffs, says coach Blaine McCauley.  

Playoff party all locked up: With just 4 games left in the Junior B regular season, the playoff participants are all set for pursuit of the Founders Cup. In the East, Kahnawake (13-7) is the Far East Division champ with 26 points, the Green Gaels (20-0) locked up the Mideast Division with 40 points and Halton Hills (17-3) is the Southeast champ with 34 points. The other playoff teams include Gloucester (10-9-1, 21 points), Newmarket (15-4, 30), Orillia (10-9, 20), Mimico (13-7, 26) and Mississauga (8-11-1, 17). The presence of Kahnawake, Orillia and Mississauga means Gloucester, Cornwall and Nepean are the playoff teams from last season that aren’t in the party this summer.
In the West, the division champs are: Windsor in the Far West (12-7) with 24 points, Elora in the Midwest (16-3-1) with 33 points and Six Nations in the Southwest (20-0) with 40 points. The other teams: Orangeville (12-6-1) with 25 points, Owen Sound (10-8-1) with 21 points, Welland (13-7) with 26 points, Oakville (11-9) with 22 points and Spartans (10-10) with 20 points. Orangeville wasn’t in the playoffs last summer but qualified this season as Guelph dropped to the Midwest basement.
The 2010 Founders Cup tournament will be hosted by the Mimico Mountaineers from Aug. 16-20.

Junior C

The Caledon Bandits are beating the teams they’re supposed to beat and not beating the teams they want to beat. Back when they were 6-4, their 6 wins were against opponents that had a combined record of 7-23, while their 4 losses were to teams that were a combined 22-2. Since, they’ve gone 2-1 and that includes an 8-6 win over Centre Wellington, the first loss of the season for the West Division-leading Warlords. The addition of Brad Sztorc has helped Caledon. He missed most of last season with an injury, but he’s got 4 goals in 2 games already … It had been a long time since lacrosse was played in Mount Forest, Wellington, but the Shelburne Vets and Caledon Bandits gave the 150 fans in attendance an overtime treat. The Bandits needed a rally to win, 11-8 … The struggles continue for the Innsfil Wolfpack, who were outscored 26-4 in a pair of losses to Centre Wellington (12-0) and Whitby (14-4) last week. The Wolfpack is 0-10 and has surrendered a Junior C-high 121 goals this summer.

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