The Red Deer Renegades remain undefeated with a 12-7 win over north division rivals Sylvan Lake Yettis on Sunday afternoon at the Kinex.
The win keeps the Renegades at the top of the North Conference in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Tier II Junior B league. They are 7-0 on the season.
The Yettis jumped on the Renegades early and took a commanding 7-1 lead in the opening frame.
Red Deer scored 11 unanswered goals in the final two periods, including three second period power play markers.
“We came out super confident and Sylvan (Lake) came to play,” said Red Deer Renegades head coach Mike Martel. “They were 100 per cent here to prove a point and they played hard. They deserved the first period.”
“In the second period, we turned it around. Told them in the change room it was a make or break time. This is just one of those things that you have to go through as a good team.”
With the game tied at seven in the third period, a great individual effort from Nicholas Scott short handed lead to a pretty goal from Teagan Smith and shifted momentum to Red Deer.
Scott also added a goal to cap off the scoring in the third, while Andrew Keller notched two in the final frame and Brayden Laturnus found the back of the net with 4:35 to play. Laturnus finished the night with a hat trick.
Blayne Friesen, Kole Weik and Harrison Clark had the other markers for Red Deer.
“This year it’s all about changes and we capitalize on everybody else’s mistakes,” Martel said.
“In the third we went back to our old systems instead of playing Sylvan ball. Definitely, lock down on our defence which we’ve been really strong with. Limit the number of shots and work our transitions.”
Jesse Johnson started in net for the Renegades, but Zach Assinger entered in relief early in the first period and picked up the win.
Seven different Yettis players made the scoresheet. Tristan Hess, Khale Skinner, Adam Sylvester, Hunter Thudium, Brayson McLaughlin, Kien Bowen and Eric Nikolai scored for Sylvan Lake in the loss.
The teams combined for 83 penalty minutes on the afternoon.
Keller, who scored four times in the win Sunday, said it’s been a great season with a solid group of teammates.
“We all get along, we come as a team, it’s awesome. This is my fourth year in junior and this is the best team I’ve ever played with, it’s pretty fun,” Keller said.
Email sports tips to Byron Hackett
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