Revenge 11 Wranglers 3
The Red Deer Sword Transport Revenge racked up their first victory of the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League junior B tier 2 season on Sunday afternoon despite playing with a depleted lineup.
“It was really positive for our team,” said Revenge head coach Todd Simenson, following his club’s 11-3 thumping of the Calgary Wranglers at the Kinex. “We’ve had some challenges right from the beginning of the year with players moving up to tier 1 and down to tier 3, as well as a couple of injuries.”
As a result, the Revenge went with just 12 runners — as opposed to the 18 that are allowed — on Sunday, yet were able to post the one-sided victory after opening the season with a pair of losses.
Simenson is in his second season as bench boss of the Revenge after guiding the team to a fourth-place finish in league play last season and a narrow first-round playoff loss to the top team.
“We had a real positive year. We built a strong core and this year we have a lot of that core back,” he said.
Among the key returnees are Brock Forbes, Ryan Svederus and Braeden Krips. Taylor Campbell is another clutch veteran although he has yet to play this season due to a leg injury he suffered while trying out for the junior B tier 1 Red Deer Rampage.
“He’s kind of the overall leader on our team,” Simenson said of Campbell. “We have some good core players, the challenges we’re facing right now is finding enough players. We can bring up affiliate players from midget A and B as well as (junior B) tier 3, and based on our numbers this year we’re probably going to have to bring up some affiliates on a regular basis. Right now it’s a numbers game with us.”
The Revenge also have a handful of impressive newcomers, including Jason Brand, Ryan Strome, Kane Larson, Colton Woytas and Jordy Potter.
“They are all guys who moved up from midget and are really solid players. I’d like to say that they’re all key players,” said Simenson. “Jordan Brand is a fantastic defensive player and Colton and the rest are more offensive players.
“So we have some good balance there to fill out the team, which is something we needed.”
Krips and Woytas each sniped a pair of goals and added an assist Sunday, while Svederus also tallied twice. Forbes, Larson, Kane Weik, Levi Whitney and Dylan Cole each scored once, with Forbes also adding two assists.
Orin Farries made 29 saves for the winners, who held a 53-32 advantage in shots. The Revenge host the Strathmore Venom Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at the Kinex.
l The Red Deer TBS Rampage posted a pair of junior B tier 1 victories during the weekend, slipping past the visiting Calgary Shamrocks Saturday and downing the host Calgary Mountaineers 13-10 Sunday.
Troy Klaus and Curtis Ennis each netted three goals in Sunday’s triumph over the perennial powerhouse Mountaineers, with Pearce Just and Trey Christensen each scoring twice.
Matt Reierson, Spencer Lee and Eric Reierson scored singles and Jayden Rausch contributed three assists, while Adam Mooney was the winning netminder.
The TBS Rampage will take on the Rockyview Silvertips Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Kinex.
gmeachem@www.reddeeradvocate.com