Junior B Athletics fight to sudden death finish

As captain of the St. Catharines Junior B Athletics lacrosse team, Jaden Patterson couldn’t be more proud of the way his team played this season. 

After finishing third in the 12-team Ontario Junior B Lacrosse League’s (OJBLL) Western Conference regular season, the A’s headed to the playoffs, where they dispensed with the Hamilton Bengals in five games before sweeping the Elora Mohawks in three straight. 

In the conference final, they faced the first place Six Nations Rebels, and took them to five games before being ousted in a thrilling double-overtime loss at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena. Four of the five games in the series were decided by one goal, three of them in overtime.

“As a unit, I think we played really well,” says the Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School graduate. “The end result leaves a sour taste in my mouth because we got so close to achieving our goal. But I’m definitely proud of all of us. We did really well in the playoffs, and I think no one expected us to do that well against Six Nations.”

The Rebels had the A’s on the ropes un the best-of-five series after winning the first two games 13-12 and 9-8, both overtime victories. But the Athletics refused to give up, taking game three 7-6 on the road, then hammering the Rebels 13-3 back home at Canada Games Park. It was the only decisive victory for either team in the series. 

In the final game last Friday, a slow start put the A’s behind 5-2 at the end of the second. Twenty minutes later, they headed into the third period down 9-3.

Fellow NIagara-on-the-Lake native Liam Dietsch, a defenseman on the Athletics, says coach Alex Tamas didn’t let the team hang their heads after 40 minutes of play. 

“He just said ‘believe’,” Dietsch tells The Local. “It’s really hard to bear down when you’re down like that, hard to get motivated, to focus on the game. But I think we were all on the same page. For some of the guys it could have been their last game. We all just realized we needed to bear down, go at it and get to work.”

Dietsch credits the defense for shutting down Six Nations the entire third period, denying the outside shots from the Rebels and transitioning the ball consistently well. And he says the offense took it from there with quick, effective pressure in the offensive zone. 

NOTL’s Jack Parker started the comeback with a powerplay goal five minutes in. Colton Armitage and Trent Mooradian added two each, while Avery Steinbach-Parker added a single. It was Mooradian’s third goal of the game with only 33 seconds left that forced the extra period. 

The A’s struck first in the 10-minute overtime, with Dietsch and Armitage assisting on Drew Kenney’s goal at the two-minute mark. But Winter Rivera tied it up again for the Rebels. The period ended in a 10-10 deadlock, forcing a second, sudden-death frame. It was Rivera who clinched the series by slipping one past A’s goalie Mike Napoli. 

“I think we kind of got away from our system,” Patterson says of the first two periods in the final game. “Offensively we weren’t getting into the middle, getting those great chances we got in game four. We got back to it in the third period. It was emotional.”

Patterson led all Athletics in playoff scoring, with seven goals and 38 assists. Parker had 14 goals and 18 assists over the 13 games. 

“As a second-year player, I guess my confidence went up a lot this year,” Parker says. “And I went on a bit of a hot streak, too. I think, having played with so many of these same players last year, we had great offensive chemistry this year as well.”

The 17-year-old is planning to go back to A.N. Myer Secondary School for his 12-B year, where he’ll play hockey and lacrosse for the Marauders. 

“As a lacrosse player, my dream is to go somewhere in the US to play for a school there,” he says. “I’ll try out for the Junior A team next year. I got called up to a few games last year, and that was a great experience. If I don’t make that team, I’ll be back on the Junior B team, I hope.”

Patterson and Dietsch also expect to vie for spots on the Athletics Junior A team. 

Dietsch, who begins studying kinesiology at the University of Guelph next month, will try to earn a spot on that school’s varsity field lacrosse team, as well. 

“If I don’t crack the Junior A line-up,” Dietsch says of his plans next summer, “I know I’ve always got the Junior B team. And we’re going to have a great team for the next three or four years. I’ll be happy wherever I go.”

If Dietsch makes the Guelph line-up, he may come up against his A’s teammate Patterson, who will return to Brock University where he plays for the Badgers, who won silver at the 2022 Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association’s Baggataway Cup. 

“My goal for next year is to play Junior A,” says Patterson. “Ultimately, I want to get drafted into the National Lacrosse League (NLL). That’s been my goal ever since I began playing. I’m just going to keep trying to work hard for that.”

Deitsch says Patterson’s leadership was a difference-maker on this year’s Junior B team. 

“Jaden was awesome,” says the 18-year-old. “He was a great leader. He was a real vocal one in the room, and all business when it came to game time. He was someone you could always go and talk to, ask questions of. He scored goals and made big plays all season long.”

Patterson deflects some of that praise back toward his teammates. 

“This team just clicked at the right time,” Patterson says. “We got some great all-around play from everyone. The young guys like Jack Parker grew so much and played so well. I just offered advice where I could, everyone embraced their roles. As a group we all came close together, and that led to our success.”