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Video: Blackfalds Silverbacks peaking for playoffs

The Blackfalds Silverbacks have found their groove at exactly the right time.

The Blackfalds Silverbacks have found their groove at exactly the right time.

With the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League Senior C regular season wrapping up on the weekend, the Silverbacks picked up a crucial 14-9 victory over the St. Albert Miners Saturday at home.

They had a pair of players, Riley Rockarts and Andrew Munden return from injury on Saturday and now have wins in three of their last four games.

“It was the first game having those guys back and it made a world of difference,” said assistant captain Ray Williams.

“Really reliable sticks. The back end is shoring up really nice. Guys are making the right decisions out there and becoming mean and hard to play against.”

Williams was clutch in the win on Saturday, with four goals and six assists. Braden Smith was the other big offensive weapon for the Silverbacks, he scored five times in the game and twice in the third period to put the game out of reach.

“Picking it up in the third was big for us because the sticks definitely weren’t clicking in the first and second. The key today was sticking with the game plan. Knowing that we were going to wear them down eventually,” Williams said.

Both Logan Sinclair and Shandi Werenka scored twice for the home side and Patrick Kirklady also added a goal.

The Silverbacks will have high hopes when the playoffs get underway on July 21, after missing out on the postseason last year. They have a long history of winning in the Senior C loop with provincial titles in four of the last six years. Their last win came in 2015 and Airdrie has held the title for the last two seasons.

“This is a championship team,” Williams said. “We’ve won more provincial championships than we’ve lost. Last year was the first one that we’ve never made the playoffs. This is a bounce-back year for us. We knew we had the right core group of guys. It’s been a pleasant surprise. We’ve grown over the season quite a bit.”

A defining moment for the Silverbacks this season came during a crossover weekend between the North and South Division in Olds. Blackfalds went 2-1 on the weekend and was the only north division team to win against the south. In that crossover on June 9 and 10, they beat the Lethbridge Pioneers 13-9 and the Calgary Irish 11-4.

The Silverbacks will square off with the Edmonton Warriors in the first round of the playoffs on July 21 in a best-of-three series. The winner will head to Airdrie to battle for a provincial senior c lacrosse title.



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Byron Hackett

About the Author: Byron Hackett

Byron has been the sports reporter at the advocate since December of 2016. He likes to spend his time in cold hockey arenas accompanied by luke warm, watered down coffee.
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