They didn’t win a medal but Thompson players on the Manitoba Blizzard roster for the Founder’s Cup junior B lacrosse national championship in Orangeville, Ont. Aug 16-21 played important roles for the team, which ended up losing 12-9 to the Coquitlam Adanacs in the tier II championship game after recording one win in six games.
Justin Paulic and Tyrel Charlton, who weren’t with the team through the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League season but joined up to fill a couple of vacant spots for the Founder’s Cup, both hit the scoresheet in the final game, each recording a goal and an assist. Charlton’s goal brought the Blizzard within three at 6-3 less than five mintues into the second period and Paulic’s came a few minutes later to make it a 6-4 Adanacs’ lead.
Evan Ritchie, who played all season for the Blizzard along with his brother Taylor, had the second-last goal of Manitoba’s only win of the tournament, a 13-6 victory over Team Nova Scotia on Aug. 20. No one from Thompson recorded any points Aug. 19 when the Blizzard lost 15-1 to the Green Gaels.
Paulic had one goal and Evan Ritchie an assist in the Blizzard’s closest loss Aug. 18, when they gave up three goals in the late stages of the third period to enable Coquitlam to tie the game 9-9 and send it to overtime, where the Adanacs got the winner 53 seconds after play resumed.
Thompson’s players were also held off the scoresheet Aug. 17 when Manitoba lost 9-3 to the host Orangeville Northmen.
Charlton and Paulic played a big part in the Blizzard’s offence in their tournament opener, with Charlton recording a hat trick in the first period to give Manitoba an early 4-1 lead in a game that ended 12-8 for the Seneca War Chiefs. Charlton also recorded an assist and Paulic notched a couple of helpers in the game, including one on Charlton’s third goal.
