Photo courtesy of David Pickering.
The Peterborough Century 21 Lakers are headed to the Major Series Lacrosse Final after eliminating the Oakville Rock with a 14-8 win Tuesday night at the Memorial Centre.
The victory gave Peterborough a 3-1 series win in the best-of-five semifinal and extended the Lakers’ run of MSL Final appearances to 11 consecutive seasons.
Ryan Lanchbury and Rob Hellyer led the Lakers offensively, combining for 18 points. Lanchbury recorded nine assists.
Lanchbury entered the game among the league’s top playoff scorers and is now tied with Oakville’s Alex Simmons for the scoring lead at 20 points. He leads the playoff field with 15 assists.
The teams traded goals throughout a high-scoring opening period, with Peterborough taking a 5-4 lead after 20 minutes. The Lakers extended their advantage to 9-7 after the second period before pulling away in the final frame.
Defender Alex Pace scored his first goal of the season, and after collecting a rebound from Hellyer, Pace avoided the crease while getting a shot away.
Peterborough outscored Oakville 5-1 in the third period to put the game out of reach.
The Lakers will face the Six Nations Chiefs in the MSL Final.
