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Kings earn dominant must-win triumph to keep playoff hopes alive

Kings alumni and new Orillia Lacrosse Lifetime Members feted in regular season finale; Kings' playoff fate now is in others' hands tonight

On a night when its alumni and volunteers were honoured, the young guns of this year's local Jr. B lacrosse team rose to the occasion to earn a win that just might punch the team's ticket to the playoffs. 

The Mister Transmission Orillia Kings defeated the Newmarket Saints 13-7 in a must-win game Saturday night at Rotary Place in west Orillia.

With the critical win, Orillia ends its regular season with a 7-12-1 record that puts the team — at least for now — in the final playoff spot in the Ontario Jr. B Lacrosse League.

But the Kings will have their eyes on the out-of-town scoreboard tonight as they need some help to squeeze into the final playoff spot. For Orillia to qualify for the post-season, they will need Orangeville (15-4-0) to defeat Brampton (7-12-0) tonight.

For now, the squad can savour an impressive end to what was a bounce-back season for the Kings under their new head coach, Jim Meredith.

The Kings got off to a fast start Saturday night, jumping out to a 6-1 first-period lead.

The Kings never looked back as they rolled to a win over visiting Newmarket, which ended a disheartening season with their 20th consecutive loss.

Mark Watters, Jack Marwick, Jesse Ashkewe and Bjorn Deilman led the way for the Kings on the scoresheet as each tallied a pair of goals. Singles went to Ethan Marwick, Gabe Neely, Colsen Maracle and Liam McCrimmon. Marwick was named the Dapper Depot player of the game.

Ben Schryer scored a milestone goal that brought the local fans to their feet.

The veteran defender, who has made a living punishing people with his aggressive play in the defensive end, picked up a loose ball in his own zone and rushed end-to-end firing the ball past the Newmarket goalie to notch his first junior goal in the final regular season game of his junior career. 

Kings goalie Quinton Greenfield played an excellent game between the pipes and Huntsville callup Ryan Clarke turned in a solid performance in his first Jr. B game with the Kings. 

Meredith, a long-time junior coach, said the season was a lesson in patience.

I was hoping to have done a bit better record-wise," the coach said. "It seems to be a slower process than I remembered. I just need to be patient and keep drilling in my ways. Hopefully it will eventually take hold."

He said the team has taken some strides this year.

"Our goal was to be better at the end of the season than at the beginning and to try and make the playoffs. As it stands we are in 8th, the last spot," said Meredith.

Only three players on this year's team had competed in a regular season in junior lacrosse, making it one of the least-experienced team in the league. About 90 per cent of the players got their first taste of junior lacrosse this year.

And while there was growth this season, the future also looks bright as the team will lose just one player due to age. On top of that, there is a promising group of second-year midget players in Orillia and the surrounding area that will potentially provide new blood in the years ahead.

"There's a great group of people running the organization which helps when trying to get more players in the future," Meredith said. "Our experiences this year will only make us better next year. All of these factors should help us entice more players in the future and make us more competitive." 

While the game was the focal point Saturday night, it was also a night to recognize the team's past.

Prior to the national anthem a number of players were welcomed as new Orillia Kings Alumni members. The list of players in attendance included: Dallin Blunt, Matt Clifford, Teagan Meredith, Matt Campbell, Jacob Beard, Mitchell Swailes, Tyler Goodchild, Trent Boyd, Mike Montgomery, Parker Twyman and Jordan Roberts.

Between the first and second periods, there was a very prestigious list of Orillia lacrosse players, executive members, coaches and volunteers that were inducted as new Orillia Lacrosse Lifetime Members.

The list includes Cam Devine, Terry Bullen, Stuart Finlayson, Steve Wilde, Nicole Gardy, Joel Campbell, Barb Crowther, Sharon Black, John Murphy, John Mayo, John Pritchard, Linda Jones and Jackie Kerr. 

It was the first time since 2006 that anyone has been added to this prestigious list.

"It is our hope that we continue to grow this list each year and recognize the excellent work of our volunteers that continue to make Orillia Lacrosse great," noted a team official. 

The team also congratulates Colby Clarke for scoring in the Millwood Logistics second-period shootout. All the shooters enjoyed tasty treats donated by Wilkie's Bakery.

The Kings thank their major sponsors for "making the regular season possible."

Without the support of Mister Transmission, Millwood Logistics, Multicare group, St. Louis Wings, Hammond Transportation, a number of significant anonymous donations and many other contributing businesses and individuals the Kings would not have been able to hit the floor this season.

"Each of the players was able to find a sponsor for their jersey and we want to truly thank each of you for helping to make this season a successful one," said the official.


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Dave Dawson

About the Author: Dave Dawson

Dave Dawson is community editor of OrilliaMatters.com
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