Game 3 was a clash of the goalies. The first period saw both goalies make save after save and after 20 minutes both teams returned to their dressing rooms with a 0-0 tie on the scoreboard.  The second period saw both teams come out ready to crack the goose egg, but the first thing that cracked was a flash of lightning which took out the house lights and caused a 10 minute delay in the game.  Following the blackout goals started going in, with teams fighting to a 4-3 finish after 2 periods.  The third period saw the Miners open up a little more of a lead, and the Slash offence stayed stuck in the 2nd period blackout. In fact goalie Ryan Dryburgh who stood on his head the entire game for the Slash also led the team in scoring with 2 assists.  His efforts were not enough to spark the Slash offence and an amazing defensive and goaltending effort by the Slash was completely wasted by a lack of scoring.

Game 2 picked up exactly where the teams left off on Sunday night.  Both teams were ready to battle, the Slash were able to tweak their line-up a little with the additions of Steve Samuelson and Jordan Cornfield both back from illness, and they were ready!  The most remarkable aspect to the first period of this game was the fact that the Miners were short for 16 minutes and the Slash short for 19 minutes.  Game 2 saw a highly unusual move by the ALRA by sending an ofificial back to back in a series, and apparently he picked up where he left off too, making sure that both teams stuck to playing lacrosse and trying to tame everything else down to a manageable chaos.  After the first 20 minutes the score was Miners 3 to Slash 1.  Most of the first period was like a pick up game of 3 on 3, but what the officials did was create an amosphere in which neither team could gain an advantage unless they chose to play clean.  The second and third period saw battle upon battle, with the Slash finally able to contain Nate Schmidt to one goal, and successfully keeping Graedon Cornfield to 3 assists only.  With those two being the only real threat on the Miners, they had to rely on goaltending of Maresse to keep them in the game.  The Slash continued moving the ball around on offence and gave multiple players looks  which is lead to a way more effective scoring punch.

Ryan Dryburgh came up with some huge saves throughout the game and lead off the scoring in the second period with a 160 foot pass over the score clock to Dalen Crouse who brought the pass in with one hand and turned Dave Maresse completely inside out and drained the shot in the back of the net.  A minute and a half later Dryburgh again tossed a long bomb to Mitch Dumont who then fed Brad Scott and he blasted the shot right through Maresse and tied up the game.  Dryburgh who is finally 100% healthy was the major difference in game 2.  He stopped breakaways, made huge save after huge save as the Slash killed off 12 of 14 penalties.  He shut the Miners down in the last minute and 37 seconds of overtime while the Slash were down 2 men.  Dryburgh faced an incredible barrage and nothing got passed him on a deperate and unrelenting final attack by the Miners, they had no-one who could solve him.  The Miners even tried to injure Dryburgh, crashing the crease on numerous occasions and twice chaeply hitting him from behind while the refs were not looking.  Former Slash player Weiher was eventually called for unsportmanlike conduct related one of these dirty hits, which allowed the Slash to score an insurance goal in overtime.

The overtime period was an interesting exercise for both teams, as the CLA rules provide for a full 10 minute period of overtime to be played before going to 20 minute sudden death periods.  The Miners scored 23 seconds in, but were unable to do anything else and the Slash scored 3 goals in the last 4 and a half minutes to seal the game convincingly and shift the entire momentum of the series in their favour.  Once the Slash took a two goal lead in the overtime and shut the Miners down even though they had a two-man advantage over the Slash, you could tell that it was over for the Miners.  They had nothing left to throw at the Slash, they were out of plays, ideas and dirty tricks. 

Game 3 sees the Slash  home in their own barn Thursday night at 8 pm.  Game 4 is Saturday night at 8 pm also at Grant Fuhr Arena.

   The Spruce Grove Slash came out flying Sunday night in St. Albert catching everyone by surprise! The first period has been an issue all season with the Slash, having found themselves coming out short in the first period in almost every game during the regular season.  Play-offs are always treated as a brand new season and the Slash proved they were up to the task and jumped out of the gate with a 1-0 lead on a powerplay 52 seconds into the game.  They managed another power play goal and a short handed goal accompanied by two even strength goals to come out of the first period with a 5-3 lead.   With Jordan Cornfield out with flu-like symptoms, the offence was spread around evenly with multiple players scoring and assisting on mulitple goals. Game one was probably the most spread out the Slash scoring has been all season, and the offence looked fierce.

 The second period saw the Miners claw their way back into the game and showing why they finished first overall. Their entire scoring was done almost exclusively by 2 players, Nate Schmidt 5 goals and Graedon Cornfield had 4 goals.  The third period saw a complete slugfest from start to finsh as both teams wanted to leave a mark on each other.   The lacrosse was pure and intense with the scoring going back and forth as well as the parade to the penalty box by both teams.  As the third period wore on, the score became tied at 10 with 7 minutes to play. The Slash scored 4 straight powerplay goals in the third period with former Slash player Kyle Weiher serving a 5 minute major for roughing and 2 other Miners players also in the box from an altercation during the same stoppage. The Miners managed a go ahead goal with 5:04 left on a lucky bounce and an insurance goal on the powerplay with 3:59 to go.The Slash came within 1 goal after Joe Lehman wired a shot with 15 seconds to go in the game. Lehman showed that his development as a Slash player is coming along, he had a Gordie Howe hat trick with an assist, goal and an inspiring fight where he completely destroyed Miners player Sean Reid whos had about 30 lbs on Lehman. 

The Spruce Grove Slash hosted the Outlaws last night for their last regular season game of 2010. It was a special night as the Slash had already confirmed their play-off spot and were playing a team that did not make the play-offs, so the key was to stay away from any trouble and stay healthy.  The Slash need all their players healthy to face the first place Miners next week. 

Prior to the game, the Slash honoured the Parkland Posse Tyke #2 team for their 11-0 season, the Posse Pee Wee A team for capturing a berth at provincials and the Posse Bantam team who won Gold at provincials in their first year of existence.  The Thundering Spirit Cultural Society Drummers performed for the teams playing an honour song and a victory song.  The Slash wanted the Posse players to experience the spiritual side of the game which has its roots deeply embedded in native history.

The Slash will face the Miners this coming Sunday night at Servus Place in Game 1 of a best of five series.  Game time is 7p.m.

Thundering Spirit Cultural Society Drummers

Edmonton Rush mascot Slushy gives all Posse players a High-5 prior to the Native drumming ceremony

It was a perfect day for lacrosse fans in Parkland County on Sunday.  First the Slash awoke to find that through the magic of mathematics they were now in the 2010 Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League Play-offs.  A short while later the Parkland Posse bantam lacrosse team found themselves facing off against the Calgary Axemen for the Provincial Championship game in Red Deer.  The Posse defeated the Axement only 18 hours earlier by a score of 7-6 which created a three-way tie for first place in the round robin.  After a tie-breaking formula was used, the Axmen and Posse ended up in the gold medal game while the Edmonton Wizards who also sported a 3-1 record in the round robin were sent down to the  bronze medal game.

The Posse demonstrated that they listened and learned all season and they pulled all of their talent, skill, heart and soul into the final with amazaing success.  They scored when needed and played an incredible shut-down defence and when the defence slipped, goalie Keanan Shaw made outstanding save after outstanding save eventually earning an unheard-of shut-out in the championship game.  The Posse displayed the most perfect team-oriented game plan and executed it flawlessly infront of a couple of hundred parents, siblings, and lacrosse fans!  The Posse won the Provincial Championship by a final score of 4-0.  The most amazing story line of this team is the fact that out of 17 players, only 3 had ever played the game before!

The Spruce Grove Slash are proud of their minor lacrosse partners and will be honouring the Parkland Posse success stories at thier final home game on Wednesday July 14.  The game will also feature an appearance by the Thundering Spirit Cultural Society Native Drummers performing a traditional fight song and a victory song.

2010 PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONS

PARKLAND POSSE

The medical tests are back and the Spruce Grove Slash have been diagnosed with multiple personality disorder.  Coach Trevor Gordon has been frustrated by not knowing which "team" will show up to play each game.  One night the Slash come out flying, play a solid disciplined game and pick up a big win and the next night they go out and get bullied by a bunch of junior players half their weight and strength.  What happened in Servus Place last night looked like a Sr. Miners team pounding on a Jr. Slash team. Unfortunately there is no Jr. Slash and the Miners team in question was actually the Jr team playing a very composed game and running the Slash into the ground.

The Slash offence was shut down except for a lone goal in the first period.  The Slash offence chose to ignore its systems that have been practiced all year and tried to score on their own.  The Slash shooters even ignored the scouting reports on the Miner's goalie which said shoot at the feet, and kept shooting for top corners with no results to show for it .  It was not until the second period that the Slash offence decided to heed the message and shoot low, managing to score 4 second period goals including 2 powerplay markers.  Unfortunately the score was 11-5 after 2 periods and the Slash never gained any control back over the Miners even with a quick powerplay goal early in the 3rd period.  The game finished with a final score of 15-9.

The Slash are back in action Saturday night at Servus Place again taking on the Sr. Miners, a team that the Slash hold a season series lead of 2-1 and will potentially face in the first round of play-offs.  Coach Trevor Grodon is hoping that the "good" Slash show up for this game and give him a solid 60 minute effort.

From top to bottom things were different on Saturday night when the Slash took on the Okotoks Raiders.  Team management decided to park the 5th anniversary jerseys and go retro for the night, the attitude in the room was incredibly positive with only players present that wanted to win and still believed in the team, and the Slash were able to start a healthy goalie.  Ryan Dryburgh was stellar in goal, making more than enough saves to give the Slash a chance to win against the Raiders, and this was also the first time in 3 games versus the Raiders that the Slash were able to field a complete and healthy line-up. The last 2 games versus the Raiders saw the Slash play with a 9 and 13 man roster, which made it physically impossible to win the games.  The most positive message of the game was that the Slash can win, and win convincingly against the 2009 Alberta champions.  The Raiders are the benchmark for measuring succes in the RMLL only a week and a half before play-offs, and by all accounts the Slash are beginning to peak at the right time. 

The game featured some amazing offense from Brad Scott, 3g 4a; Jordan Cornfield 3g, 2 a; Dalen Crouse 3g, 3a; Ryan McNish 2 breakaway goals, and rare goals from Paul Koch and Geoff Wright. The Slash defence contained much of the Raiders' offence and the Slash offence was able to pick apart the defence, move the ball and score at will on Raider goalie Angus Jenkins. The Slash were also able to remain composed in the third period as the Raiders tried in vain to draw penalties with some incredibly stupid antics. While the Raiders managed to make fools of themselves taking stupid penalty after stupid penalty, the Slash sat back, kept their noses clean as much as possible and scored 5 power play goals in the third period.

The Spruce Grove Slash made a couple of major moves at the trade deadline not to strengthen the roster immediately, but add pieces down the road.   The Slash have a ton of talent on their roster, but have been battling internal demons that cause them to come out flat when they should be flying high.

Richard Barnes, drafted first overall in 2009 in the RMLL was sent to the Miners organization.   Barnes, struggling with poor play this season, moves on.  Kyle Weiher,  was traded at the last minute to the Miners, giving both sides a fresh start.  A tireless hard worker for the Slash over the years and longtime veteran and one of the longest serving players in the organization, Weiher is moving on to a new start with a young team.

The Slash received draft picks in return for both players, but are looking forward to a positive atmosphere in the dressing room Saturday as they begin their final push to solidify their play-off spot.  The last couple of games have been rough on the Slash with  slow starts and goaltender injuries taking their toll in consistency.  The Slash are looking forward to Ryan Dryburgh being a healthy start this Saturday as they host the Okotoks Raiders, who currently sit in first place overall in the RMLL.

For the first time in 3 years the Spruce Grove Slash managed to beat the Edmonton Eclipse. The beating was in all aspects of the game-physically, mentally, emotionally and finally with the score. By the end of the game the Eclipse players were completely terrified to challenge for loose balls or to try and force a play.  They ran out of gas, guts and according to their trainor healthy bodies. 3 different players left the game with suspected broken arms, but as it later turns out 2 were only bruised and the players were looking for any excuse to not remain in the game and take their lumps. One Eclipse player did suffer a fractured arm and will be out for a bit.

For their part the Slash played a very disciplined game and allowed the Eclipse to self destruct when it came to discipline. Eclipse captain David Giacobbo suffered a complete mental cramp throughout the game, showing a complete lack of personal discipline and taking multiple unsportsmanlike poenalties, a delay of game penalty and finally a game misconduct penalty for a personal total of 28 minutes.  The Slash capitalized with 5 powerplay goals on Giacobbo's penalties.  The Slash have been fine tuning their powerplay over the past month and it looks like it is game ready! 

Andy Kent lead the Slash with 10 assists, Brad Scott 5 goals, 2 assists, Jordan Cornfield 4 goals, 2 assists and Shaun Wilhelm 3 goals, 4 assists.  Affiliate goalie Tyrell Burge got the start and performed admirably in net, helping the Slash to their first win in 5 games.The Slash return to action June 26 after a 10 day break and are hoping to have one of their 3 regular goalies healthy and back in net against the Sr. Miners. The Slash have had the Miner's number sinc ethey joined the league last year, but the team is improving and currently sits ahead of the Slash in 2nd place over-all in the RMLL. 

The Spruce Grove Slash were all ready to settle a score, after giving up a point against the Mounties in Calgary with a short bench on the road in game 2 of the season.  The Mounties arrived in Spruce Grove with a very short bench themselves and magaed to battle to the exact same result as game 2, a 10-10 tie.  Overtime settled nothing. 

Click this link to see defensive video of goalie Norm Shaw and defender Paul Koch.

There were some excellent signs of improvement for the Slash, most notably the fact that they only took 4 minutes in penalties.  A message of discipline and "penalty free" games is beginning to sink in.  The Slash showed some excellent ball movement and control throughout the game.  Leadership on the team is beginning to take form.  Captain Ryan McNish along with assistants Polny and Tokar have had the benefit of former captians Cornfield and more recently Brad Scott return to the team.  Cornfield, Mike Koch, and Tokar both scored once and assisted on 2 other markers, and Brad Scott unleashed 2 beautiful shots resulting in goals. 

 Captain Ryan McNish, 11 blows by defender.     #2 Kyle Weiher fires on Mounties goalie.

Goalie Norm Shaw, 00 sends breakout pass to Shaun Wilhelm

The Slash return to action on Wednsday June 16 when they host the Edmonton Eclipse at 7:30 pm.

The Spruce Grove Slash finally looked like they figured out how to play against a JR A team.  For the past few years the Slash have been unable to contain the run and gun style of JR A players in the cross-over games played between the 2 divisions.  For the first couple of periods it looked like Coach Gordon's message was not going to sink in with the Slash.  They came out of the first period down 5-2 and 8-5 after two periods.

After some serious soul searching and some encouragement from the coach to change gears during the intermission, the Slash awoke and totally dominated the majority of the third period.  At the 4 minute mark of the third the Slash went on a 3 goals in 51 second tear to tie up the game.  Two minutes later they notched a go ahead marker and then traded a couple of goals back and forth.  With about 6 minutes to go, goalie Ryan Dryburgh suffered a lower body injury, which was an ominous sign for what was to come.  With rookie goalie Van Bavel out with a long term injury and back-up Norm Shaw nursing an injury from the Raiders game, Dryburgh has to remain in the game.  The final 2 minutes turned hectic for the scorekeepers as the Slash scored at 17:30 mark and then the 18:05 mark to go ahead once again.  The Miners scored with 43 seconds remaining in the 3rd period to send the game to sudden death OT.  With under a minute remaining AJ Pellis scored his second goal of the game to win the game for the Miners.

Click here to read Gord Montgomery's Article on the Slash vs Knights.

The Slash start a very important four game home stand tonight, against a very young Edmonton MIners Jr team.

It is crucial for the Slash to start a winning trend, and the schedule looks quite favorable for the rest of the season. The league this year is so tight, on any given night as has been shown, any team can come away victorous. It is time for the Slash to start making a statement, start capitalizing on their chances and start distancing themselves from the pack.

Look for Coach Gordon to shake things up a bit, maybe tweak a few lineup combinations, and get this team back on track. Consistency has escaped the team this year, but things have been dramatically improving, and with the remaining games played in Spruce Grove and the Edmonton area, there shouldn't be any issues with fielding a competitive roster.

Ball drop is 7:30pm tonight at the Grant Fuhr, be there and help your Slash get back on track to success!!!

***After tonight's tilt vs the Miners Jr team, next up is the Calgary Mountaineers on Saturday night. Look for the Slash to doll out some retribution for a poor game early in the season where the Mounties stole a point in a 10-10 tie.

The Spruce Grove Slash were handed a resounding loss in Okotoks Saturday night.  Travelling once again with a very short bench, only 13 regular players in the line-up and using a JR B call-up from Fort Saskatchewan.  The Slash were without many regulars including McNish, Kent, Crouse, Paul Koch, Tokar, Barnes, Polny, Dryburgh, Van Bavel and Sherbanuk.  There was a combined scoring power of 60 points not in the line-up.  The Slash were forced to rely on injured goalie Norm Shaw to play with both Dryburgh and Van Bavel unable to make the trip.  Backing up Shaw was Cam Parsons of the Fort Rebels.

The Slash battled hard right out of the gate, holding leads at various points throughout the first and second periods.  The first period saw a back and forth battle with the Raiders taking a 3-2 lead into the intermission with a short handed breakway goal being scored with 5 seconds left in the period.  

The Slash came out flying in the second period scoring 2 power play goals in the first 10 minutes taking a 4-3 lead, trading one more goal each over the next few minutes and then finally running into a familiar penalty problem and gave up 4 goals in the final 120 seconds of the period.  Dan Claffey  and Geoff Wright combined to get 3 penalties roughing up a Raider player who had made it to the crease and was attempting to score.  Despite the pressure, the Raider was still able to put the ball past goalie Norm Shaw.  With that goal, one of the 3 penalties was waived.  On the ensuing powerplay, the Raiders scored 2 goals  in 1 minute. Despite the quick turn of events, the Slash came out of the second period down only 3 goals.

Shaun Wilhelm lead of the third period with a goal and the Slash battled to within one goal of the Raiders 5 minutes into the third period.  Finally a road battle with a short bench took its toll on the Slash and the tank ran out of gas with about 10 minutes to go.  The Raiders once again scored a short handed goal on a breakaway and then controlled most of the last 10 minutes scoring 4 including another powerplay goal with just under 4 minutes to go. 

If the Slash hope to find success this season they are going to have to find a way to field a road team.  In a familiar theme they have fielded only 9-13 runners per game over their past 2 seasons on southern road trips including game 3 and 4 losses in the 2009 play-offs.   In 2010 the Slash have managed only 3 points out of a possible 12 on the road and fielded a complete roster in only 1 of 6  road games.

This week the Slash are at home to the JR Miners on Wednesday and the Mounties on Saturday.  Game time is 7:30 both days.

13-6

There is no place like home!  The Spruce Grove Slash finally played their home opener which also marked the 1/3 way point of their lacrosse season.  The building was rocking for the opening ceremonies with over 100 members of the Parkland Posse Minor Lacrosse organization marching out ahead of the Slash for opening ceremonies, setting the tone for the evening.  The Posse gave the Outlaws a very unfriendly welcome to the building and totally intimidated the Outlaws before the Slash had a chance to face-off.  In fact the Posse players fazed the Outlaws so badly that when the game started the Slash were able to walk down the floor and score off the opening face-off, and from there they totally dominated every aspect of the game ending with a 13-6 final score. Richard Barnes drained a beautiful pass from Polny and McNish 22 seconds into the game, and that was the last time the Outlaws were even close to the Slash.

 The Slash stuck to their game plan of discipline and not letting themselves get drawn into penalties by the Outlaws and it paid dividends.  Some amazing performances by Jordan Cornfield-3 goals, 4 assists,  Dalen Crouse 2 goals, 5 assists Andy kent 1 goal, 3 asssists allowed the Slash to remain in control with a comfortable lead over the outlaws for the entire game.

602

The more important number was the record crowd the Slash experienced of 602 fans in the building.  By inviting the Posse players and their parents to the game with a special ticketing package for the home opener the Slash experienced their largest crowd in franchise history.   The Slash have been fostering an excellent relationship with the Parkland Posse and are excited to be playing in front of a large group of local players that they will mentor to one day join the "big" team.

The Slash now have a week off and are back home to take on the Sr. Miners next Wednesday at 7:30 at Grant Fuhr Arena.

To date the Spruce Grove Slash have very little to celebrate during their 5th Anniversary season.  After finally coming out and starting a game strong, the wheels of discipline stopped turning during the final 40 minutes of action resulting in an embarrassing 10-5 loss to the Junior A Eclipse.

While many calls in the second and third periods may have been somewhat questionable, the strict standards imposed are nothing new to the Slash whenever the Senior and Juniors inter-lock their schedules.  What stung was the sheer volume of penalties, exact numbers were not available at press time, but the Slash were 1 to 2 men down for close to 24 minutes of a 60 minute game.

The slash hope to re-group for Saturday's game against the relatively new Sr. Miners team which they have yet to lose to during their brief existence.  The MIners may just be the tonic the Slash need before finally having their home opener on May 19th.

Click here to read the Spruce Grove Examiner Article

Click here for Video Highlight 1     Video Highlight 2    Video Highlight 3

The Slash notch their first point of the 2010 season against the Calgary Mountaineers. The teams battled to a 10-10 tie and solved nothing in overtime.  The Slash could have easily won the game against the Mounties, they jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and looked like they were in solid control of the game for the first 8 minutes of play.  Then a number of factors came into play including a lack of discipline and a somewhat inconsistent game by goalie Norm Shaw who was involved in a motor vehicle accident just hours before the game.  Shaw stopped all 5 breakaways that he faced but gave up 3 very soft goals in the second period to allow the Mounties to take their first lead ever against the Slash.  The second period also saw the Slash give up 3 powerplay goals including 2 on a major penalty by Dan Claffey.  The Slash left the second period trailing 7-5.  The third period saw the Slaash come back out and dominate scoring 5 straight goals to take a 10-7 lead.  Road legs and a couple of break downs let the Mounties back into the game and they managed to get three late goals.

This represented the Second game in a row where the Slash scored 5 goals in the third period.  They will be force in the RMLL if the can get the team to fire on all cylinders for a full 60 minutes.  Notable performances: Jordan Cornfield 2 goals, 3 assists;  Kyle Weiher 2 goals, 2 assists; Trevor Gordon 1 goal, 1 assist; Steve Samuelson 3 assists and Norm  Shaw 2 assists.

Goalie Norm Shaw throwing for one of his 2 assists                                     Mitch Dumont facing off against the Mounties

The Spruce Grove Slash could not get the engine to crank over once in the first 18 minutes of the 2010 season.  As with any engine that is frozen solid, it is painful to sit through the thawing process.  For the Slash that thawing process was about 40 minutes long and unfortunately once the engine did get started they were down 10-5 after 2 periods making a comeback that much more difficult.  The game finished with a final score of 12-10 in favour of the recently relocated Outlaws.

The Slash also fell victim to their own lack of focus and allowed 3 power play goals on some very undisciplined penalties which included a too many men call and a diving penalty during a stoppage of play which nullified a powerplay. 

On the brighter side the Slash also showed some absolute flashes of brilliance in the third period which they dominated by a score of 5-2.  The game featured notable performances by Jordan Cornfield 2 goals, 4 assists; Andy Kent 3 goals, Kyle Weiher 1 goal 2 assists Mike Koch 4 assists and Shaun Wilhelm 2 goals, 1 assist.

The Slash are back in action next weekend witha 2 game road trip to Calgary to take on the Mountaineers and the Knights.

Click here to see video of Andy Kent's 3rd Goal

Above Kyle Weiher (2) scoring on  Grant MacLeod               Shaun Wilhelm (21) unloading a cannon of a shot!

Season tickets may be picked up at Stu Barnes Arena on Tuesday April 27 from 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm.  Anyone purchasing season ticket packages on Tuesday evening will receive a pair of Slash T-Shirts.  This is a special offer for early bird season ticket purchases only.

2010 is the 5th Anniversary season of the Spruce Grove Slash, and it will feature a special redesigned jersey for this season.  It will be officially unveiled at the home opener on May 19 at Grant Fuhr Arena.

Check out the 2010 schedule on our Game Schedule page!  Season ticket packages will be available for purchase by March 9, 2010.  You can order them here or by calling Norm Shaw at 780-504-6676.

The Spruce Grove Slash are excited to announce that Ryan McNish was selected at the Top Defensive/Transition Player of the Year in the Rocky mountain Lacrosse League.  Ryan McNish was acquired preseason from the Sherwood Park Outlaws, and racked up 11 goals, 20 assissts and 37 PIM in 16 games.

Ryan was an exciting player to watch, literally a 1 man wrecking crew in front of his own net, and crushing many opponents when they least expected it.  Look forward to seeing more of Ryan's power and hits during the upcoming Edmonton Rush where Ryan will lead a completely revamped NLL franchise to their best season ever!

Read The Spruce Grove Examiner Article On This Story Here

Game 3 was a clash of the goalies. The first period saw both goalies make save after save and after 20 minutes both teams returned to their dressing rooms with a 0-0 tie on the scoreboard.  The second period saw both teams come out ready to crack the goose egg, but the first thing that cracked was a flash of lightning which took out the house lights and caused a 10 minute delay in the game.  Following the blackout goals started going in, with teams fighting to a 4-3 finish after 2 periods.  The third period saw the Miners open up a little more of a lead, and the Slash offence stayed stuck in the 2nd period blackout. In fact goalie Ryan Dryburgh who stood on his head the entire game for the Slash also led the team in scoring with 2 assists.  His efforts were not enough to spark the Slash offence and an amazing defensive and goaltending effort by the Slash was completely wasted by a lack of scoring.

Game 2 picked up exactly where the teams left off on Sunday night.  Both teams were ready to battle, the Slash were able to tweak their line-up a little with the additions of Steve Samuelson and Jordan Cornfield both back from illness, and they were ready!  The most remarkable aspect to the first period of this game was the fact that the Miners were short for 16 minutes and the Slash short for 19 minutes.  Game 2 saw a highly unusual move by the ALRA by sending an ofificial back to back in a series, and apparently he picked up where he left off too, making sure that both teams stuck to playing lacrosse and trying to tame everything else down to a manageable chaos.  After the first 20 minutes the score was Miners 3 to Slash 1.  Most of the first period was like a pick up game of 3 on 3, but what the officials did was create an amosphere in which neither team could gain an advantage unless they chose to play clean.  The second and third period saw battle upon battle, with the Slash finally able to contain Nate Schmidt to one goal, and successfully keeping Graedon Cornfield to 3 assists only.  With those two being the only real threat on the Miners, they had to rely on goaltending of Maresse to keep them in the game.  The Slash continued moving the ball around on offence and gave multiple players looks  which is lead to a way more effective scoring punch.

Ryan Dryburgh came up with some huge saves throughout the game and lead off the scoring in the second period with a 160 foot pass over the score clock to Dalen Crouse who brought the pass in with one hand and turned Dave Maresse completely inside out and drained the shot in the back of the net.  A minute and a half later Dryburgh again tossed a long bomb to Mitch Dumont who then fed Brad Scott and he blasted the shot right through Maresse and tied up the game.  Dryburgh who is finally 100% healthy was the major difference in game 2.  He stopped breakaways, made huge save after huge save as the Slash killed off 12 of 14 penalties.  He shut the Miners down in the last minute and 37 seconds of overtime while the Slash were down 2 men.  Dryburgh faced an incredible barrage and nothing got passed him on a deperate and unrelenting final attack by the Miners, they had no-one who could solve him.  The Miners even tried to injure Dryburgh, crashing the crease on numerous occasions and twice chaeply hitting him from behind while the refs were not looking.  Former Slash player Weiher was eventually called for unsportmanlike conduct related one of these dirty hits, which allowed the Slash to score an insurance goal in overtime.

The overtime period was an interesting exercise for both teams, as the CLA rules provide for a full 10 minute period of overtime to be played before going to 20 minute sudden death periods.  The Miners scored 23 seconds in, but were unable to do anything else and the Slash scored 3 goals in the last 4 and a half minutes to seal the game convincingly and shift the entire momentum of the series in their favour.  Once the Slash took a two goal lead in the overtime and shut the Miners down even though they had a two-man advantage over the Slash, you could tell that it was over for the Miners.  They had nothing left to throw at the Slash, they were out of plays, ideas and dirty tricks. 

Game 3 sees the Slash  home in their own barn Thursday night at 8 pm.  Game 4 is Saturday night at 8 pm also at Grant Fuhr Arena.

   The Spruce Grove Slash came out flying Sunday night in St. Albert catching everyone by surprise! The first period has been an issue all season with the Slash, having found themselves coming out short in the first period in almost every game during the regular season.  Play-offs are always treated as a brand new season and the Slash proved they were up to the task and jumped out of the gate with a 1-0 lead on a powerplay 52 seconds into the game.  They managed another power play goal and a short handed goal accompanied by two even strength goals to come out of the first period with a 5-3 lead.   With Jordan Cornfield out with flu-like symptoms, the offence was spread around evenly with multiple players scoring and assisting on mulitple goals. Game one was probably the most spread out the Slash scoring has been all season, and the offence looked fierce.

 The second period saw the Miners claw their way back into the game and showing why they finished first overall. Their entire scoring was done almost exclusively by 2 players, Nate Schmidt 5 goals and Graedon Cornfield had 4 goals.  The third period saw a complete slugfest from start to finsh as both teams wanted to leave a mark on each other.   The lacrosse was pure and intense with the scoring going back and forth as well as the parade to the penalty box by both teams.  As the third period wore on, the score became tied at 10 with 7 minutes to play. The Slash scored 4 straight powerplay goals in the third period with former Slash player Kyle Weiher serving a 5 minute major for roughing and 2 other Miners players also in the box from an altercation during the same stoppage. The Miners managed a go ahead goal with 5:04 left on a lucky bounce and an insurance goal on the powerplay with 3:59 to go.The Slash came within 1 goal after Joe Lehman wired a shot with 15 seconds to go in the game. Lehman showed that his development as a Slash player is coming along, he had a Gordie Howe hat trick with an assist, goal and an inspiring fight where he completely destroyed Miners player Sean Reid whos had about 30 lbs on Lehman. 

The Spruce Grove Slash hosted the Outlaws last night for their last regular season game of 2010. It was a special night as the Slash had already confirmed their play-off spot and were playing a team that did not make the play-offs, so the key was to stay away from any trouble and stay healthy.  The Slash need all their players healthy to face the first place Miners next week. 

Prior to the game, the Slash honoured the Parkland Posse Tyke #2 team for their 11-0 season, the Posse Pee Wee A team for capturing a berth at provincials and the Posse Bantam team who won Gold at provincials in their first year of existence.  The Thundering Spirit Cultural Society Drummers performed for the teams playing an honour song and a victory song.  The Slash wanted the Posse players to experience the spiritual side of the game which has its roots deeply embedded in native history.

The Slash will face the Miners this coming Sunday night at Servus Place in Game 1 of a best of five series.  Game time is 7p.m.

Thundering Spirit Cultural Society Drummers

Edmonton Rush mascot Slushy gives all Posse players a High-5 prior to the Native drumming ceremony

It was a perfect day for lacrosse fans in Parkland County on Sunday.  First the Slash awoke to find that through the magic of mathematics they were now in the 2010 Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League Play-offs.  A short while later the Parkland Posse bantam lacrosse team found themselves facing off against the Calgary Axemen for the Provincial Championship game in Red Deer.  The Posse defeated the Axement only 18 hours earlier by a score of 7-6 which created a three-way tie for first place in the round robin.  After a tie-breaking formula was used, the Axmen and Posse ended up in the gold medal game while the Edmonton Wizards who also sported a 3-1 record in the round robin were sent down to the  bronze medal game.

The Posse demonstrated that they listened and learned all season and they pulled all of their talent, skill, heart and soul into the final with amazaing success.  They scored when needed and played an incredible shut-down defence and when the defence slipped, goalie Keanan Shaw made outstanding save after outstanding save eventually earning an unheard-of shut-out in the championship game.  The Posse displayed the most perfect team-oriented game plan and executed it flawlessly infront of a couple of hundred parents, siblings, and lacrosse fans!  The Posse won the Provincial Championship by a final score of 4-0.  The most amazing story line of this team is the fact that out of 17 players, only 3 had ever played the game before!

The Spruce Grove Slash are proud of their minor lacrosse partners and will be honouring the Parkland Posse success stories at thier final home game on Wednesday July 14.  The game will also feature an appearance by the Thundering Spirit Cultural Society Native Drummers performing a traditional fight song and a victory song.

2010 PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONS

PARKLAND POSSE

The medical tests are back and the Spruce Grove Slash have been diagnosed with multiple personality disorder.  Coach Trevor Gordon has been frustrated by not knowing which "team" will show up to play each game.  One night the Slash come out flying, play a solid disciplined game and pick up a big win and the next night they go out and get bullied by a bunch of junior players half their weight and strength.  What happened in Servus Place last night looked like a Sr. Miners team pounding on a Jr. Slash team. Unfortunately there is no Jr. Slash and the Miners team in question was actually the Jr team playing a very composed game and running the Slash into the ground.

The Slash offence was shut down except for a lone goal in the first period.  The Slash offence chose to ignore its systems that have been practiced all year and tried to score on their own.  The Slash shooters even ignored the scouting reports on the Miner's goalie which said shoot at the feet, and kept shooting for top corners with no results to show for it .  It was not until the second period that the Slash offence decided to heed the message and shoot low, managing to score 4 second period goals including 2 powerplay markers.  Unfortunately the score was 11-5 after 2 periods and the Slash never gained any control back over the Miners even with a quick powerplay goal early in the 3rd period.  The game finished with a final score of 15-9.

The Slash are back in action Saturday night at Servus Place again taking on the Sr. Miners, a team that the Slash hold a season series lead of 2-1 and will potentially face in the first round of play-offs.  Coach Trevor Grodon is hoping that the "good" Slash show up for this game and give him a solid 60 minute effort.

From top to bottom things were different on Saturday night when the Slash took on the Okotoks Raiders.  Team management decided to park the 5th anniversary jerseys and go retro for the night, the attitude in the room was incredibly positive with only players present that wanted to win and still believed in the team, and the Slash were able to start a healthy goalie.  Ryan Dryburgh was stellar in goal, making more than enough saves to give the Slash a chance to win against the Raiders, and this was also the first time in 3 games versus the Raiders that the Slash were able to field a complete and healthy line-up. The last 2 games versus the Raiders saw the Slash play with a 9 and 13 man roster, which made it physically impossible to win the games.  The most positive message of the game was that the Slash can win, and win convincingly against the 2009 Alberta champions.  The Raiders are the benchmark for measuring succes in the RMLL only a week and a half before play-offs, and by all accounts the Slash are beginning to peak at the right time. 

The game featured some amazing offense from Brad Scott, 3g 4a; Jordan Cornfield 3g, 2 a; Dalen Crouse 3g, 3a; Ryan McNish 2 breakaway goals, and rare goals from Paul Koch and Geoff Wright. The Slash defence contained much of the Raiders' offence and the Slash offence was able to pick apart the defence, move the ball and score at will on Raider goalie Angus Jenkins. The Slash were also able to remain composed in the third period as the Raiders tried in vain to draw penalties with some incredibly stupid antics. While the Raiders managed to make fools of themselves taking stupid penalty after stupid penalty, the Slash sat back, kept their noses clean as much as possible and scored 5 power play goals in the third period.

The Spruce Grove Slash made a couple of major moves at the trade deadline not to strengthen the roster immediately, but add pieces down the road.   The Slash have a ton of talent on their roster, but have been battling internal demons that cause them to come out flat when they should be flying high.

Richard Barnes, drafted first overall in 2009 in the RMLL was sent to the Miners organization.   Barnes, struggling with poor play this season, moves on.  Kyle Weiher,  was traded at the last minute to the Miners, giving both sides a fresh start.  A tireless hard worker for the Slash over the years and longtime veteran and one of the longest serving players in the organization, Weiher is moving on to a new start with a young team.

The Slash received draft picks in return for both players, but are looking forward to a positive atmosphere in the dressing room Saturday as they begin their final push to solidify their play-off spot.  The last couple of games have been rough on the Slash with  slow starts and goaltender injuries taking their toll in consistency.  The Slash are looking forward to Ryan Dryburgh being a healthy start this Saturday as they host the Okotoks Raiders, who currently sit in first place overall in the RMLL.

For the first time in 3 years the Spruce Grove Slash managed to beat the Edmonton Eclipse. The beating was in all aspects of the game-physically, mentally, emotionally and finally with the score. By the end of the game the Eclipse players were completely terrified to challenge for loose balls or to try and force a play.  They ran out of gas, guts and according to their trainor healthy bodies. 3 different players left the game with suspected broken arms, but as it later turns out 2 were only bruised and the players were looking for any excuse to not remain in the game and take their lumps. One Eclipse player did suffer a fractured arm and will be out for a bit.

For their part the Slash played a very disciplined game and allowed the Eclipse to self destruct when it came to discipline. Eclipse captain David Giacobbo suffered a complete mental cramp throughout the game, showing a complete lack of personal discipline and taking multiple unsportsmanlike poenalties, a delay of game penalty and finally a game misconduct penalty for a personal total of 28 minutes.  The Slash capitalized with 5 powerplay goals on Giacobbo's penalties.  The Slash have been fine tuning their powerplay over the past month and it looks like it is game ready! 

Andy Kent lead the Slash with 10 assists, Brad Scott 5 goals, 2 assists, Jordan Cornfield 4 goals, 2 assists and Shaun Wilhelm 3 goals, 4 assists.  Affiliate goalie Tyrell Burge got the start and performed admirably in net, helping the Slash to their first win in 5 games.The Slash return to action June 26 after a 10 day break and are hoping to have one of their 3 regular goalies healthy and back in net against the Sr. Miners. The Slash have had the Miner's number sinc ethey joined the league last year, but the team is improving and currently sits ahead of the Slash in 2nd place over-all in the RMLL. 

The Spruce Grove Slash were all ready to settle a score, after giving up a point against the Mounties in Calgary with a short bench on the road in game 2 of the season.  The Mounties arrived in Spruce Grove with a very short bench themselves and magaed to battle to the exact same result as game 2, a 10-10 tie.  Overtime settled nothing. 

Click this link to see defensive video of goalie Norm Shaw and defender Paul Koch.

There were some excellent signs of improvement for the Slash, most notably the fact that they only took 4 minutes in penalties.  A message of discipline and "penalty free" games is beginning to sink in.  The Slash showed some excellent ball movement and control throughout the game.  Leadership on the team is beginning to take form.  Captain Ryan McNish along with assistants Polny and Tokar have had the benefit of former captians Cornfield and more recently Brad Scott return to the team.  Cornfield, Mike Koch, and Tokar both scored once and assisted on 2 other markers, and Brad Scott unleashed 2 beautiful shots resulting in goals. 

 Captain Ryan McNish, 11 blows by defender.     #2 Kyle Weiher fires on Mounties goalie.

Goalie Norm Shaw, 00 sends breakout pass to Shaun Wilhelm

The Slash return to action on Wednsday June 16 when they host the Edmonton Eclipse at 7:30 pm.

The Spruce Grove Slash finally looked like they figured out how to play against a JR A team.  For the past few years the Slash have been unable to contain the run and gun style of JR A players in the cross-over games played between the 2 divisions.  For the first couple of periods it looked like Coach Gordon's message was not going to sink in with the Slash.  They came out of the first period down 5-2 and 8-5 after two periods.

After some serious soul searching and some encouragement from the coach to change gears during the intermission, the Slash awoke and totally dominated the majority of the third period.  At the 4 minute mark of the third the Slash went on a 3 goals in 51 second tear to tie up the game.  Two minutes later they notched a go ahead marker and then traded a couple of goals back and forth.  With about 6 minutes to go, goalie Ryan Dryburgh suffered a lower body injury, which was an ominous sign for what was to come.  With rookie goalie Van Bavel out with a long term injury and back-up Norm Shaw nursing an injury from the Raiders game, Dryburgh has to remain in the game.  The final 2 minutes turned hectic for the scorekeepers as the Slash scored at 17:30 mark and then the 18:05 mark to go ahead once again.  The Miners scored with 43 seconds remaining in the 3rd period to send the game to sudden death OT.  With under a minute remaining AJ Pellis scored his second goal of the game to win the game for the Miners.

Click here to read Gord Montgomery's Article on the Slash vs Knights.

The Slash start a very important four game home stand tonight, against a very young Edmonton MIners Jr team.

It is crucial for the Slash to start a winning trend, and the schedule looks quite favorable for the rest of the season. The league this year is so tight, on any given night as has been shown, any team can come away victorous. It is time for the Slash to start making a statement, start capitalizing on their chances and start distancing themselves from the pack.

Look for Coach Gordon to shake things up a bit, maybe tweak a few lineup combinations, and get this team back on track. Consistency has escaped the team this year, but things have been dramatically improving, and with the remaining games played in Spruce Grove and the Edmonton area, there shouldn't be any issues with fielding a competitive roster.

Ball drop is 7:30pm tonight at the Grant Fuhr, be there and help your Slash get back on track to success!!!

***After tonight's tilt vs the Miners Jr team, next up is the Calgary Mountaineers on Saturday night. Look for the Slash to doll out some retribution for a poor game early in the season where the Mounties stole a point in a 10-10 tie.

The Spruce Grove Slash were handed a resounding loss in Okotoks Saturday night.  Travelling once again with a very short bench, only 13 regular players in the line-up and using a JR B call-up from Fort Saskatchewan.  The Slash were without many regulars including McNish, Kent, Crouse, Paul Koch, Tokar, Barnes, Polny, Dryburgh, Van Bavel and Sherbanuk.  There was a combined scoring power of 60 points not in the line-up.  The Slash were forced to rely on injured goalie Norm Shaw to play with both Dryburgh and Van Bavel unable to make the trip.  Backing up Shaw was Cam Parsons of the Fort Rebels.

The Slash battled hard right out of the gate, holding leads at various points throughout the first and second periods.  The first period saw a back and forth battle with the Raiders taking a 3-2 lead into the intermission with a short handed breakway goal being scored with 5 seconds left in the period.  

The Slash came out flying in the second period scoring 2 power play goals in the first 10 minutes taking a 4-3 lead, trading one more goal each over the next few minutes and then finally running into a familiar penalty problem and gave up 4 goals in the final 120 seconds of the period.  Dan Claffey  and Geoff Wright combined to get 3 penalties roughing up a Raider player who had made it to the crease and was attempting to score.  Despite the pressure, the Raider was still able to put the ball past goalie Norm Shaw.  With that goal, one of the 3 penalties was waived.  On the ensuing powerplay, the Raiders scored 2 goals  in 1 minute. Despite the quick turn of events, the Slash came out of the second period down only 3 goals.

Shaun Wilhelm lead of the third period with a goal and the Slash battled to within one goal of the Raiders 5 minutes into the third period.  Finally a road battle with a short bench took its toll on the Slash and the tank ran out of gas with about 10 minutes to go.  The Raiders once again scored a short handed goal on a breakaway and then controlled most of the last 10 minutes scoring 4 including another powerplay goal with just under 4 minutes to go. 

If the Slash hope to find success this season they are going to have to find a way to field a road team.  In a familiar theme they have fielded only 9-13 runners per game over their past 2 seasons on southern road trips including game 3 and 4 losses in the 2009 play-offs.   In 2010 the Slash have managed only 3 points out of a possible 12 on the road and fielded a complete roster in only 1 of 6  road games.

This week the Slash are at home to the JR Miners on Wednesday and the Mounties on Saturday.  Game time is 7:30 both days.

13-6

There is no place like home!  The Spruce Grove Slash finally played their home opener which also marked the 1/3 way point of their lacrosse season.  The building was rocking for the opening ceremonies with over 100 members of the Parkland Posse Minor Lacrosse organization marching out ahead of the Slash for opening ceremonies, setting the tone for the evening.  The Posse gave the Outlaws a very unfriendly welcome to the building and totally intimidated the Outlaws before the Slash had a chance to face-off.  In fact the Posse players fazed the Outlaws so badly that when the game started the Slash were able to walk down the floor and score off the opening face-off, and from there they totally dominated every aspect of the game ending with a 13-6 final score. Richard Barnes drained a beautiful pass from Polny and McNish 22 seconds into the game, and that was the last time the Outlaws were even close to the Slash.

 The Slash stuck to their game plan of discipline and not letting themselves get drawn into penalties by the Outlaws and it paid dividends.  Some amazing performances by Jordan Cornfield-3 goals, 4 assists,  Dalen Crouse 2 goals, 5 assists Andy kent 1 goal, 3 asssists allowed the Slash to remain in control with a comfortable lead over the outlaws for the entire game.

602

The more important number was the record crowd the Slash experienced of 602 fans in the building.  By inviting the Posse players and their parents to the game with a special ticketing package for the home opener the Slash experienced their largest crowd in franchise history.   The Slash have been fostering an excellent relationship with the Parkland Posse and are excited to be playing in front of a large group of local players that they will mentor to one day join the "big" team.

The Slash now have a week off and are back home to take on the Sr. Miners next Wednesday at 7:30 at Grant Fuhr Arena.

To date the Spruce Grove Slash have very little to celebrate during their 5th Anniversary season.  After finally coming out and starting a game strong, the wheels of discipline stopped turning during the final 40 minutes of action resulting in an embarrassing 10-5 loss to the Junior A Eclipse.

While many calls in the second and third periods may have been somewhat questionable, the strict standards imposed are nothing new to the Slash whenever the Senior and Juniors inter-lock their schedules.  What stung was the sheer volume of penalties, exact numbers were not available at press time, but the Slash were 1 to 2 men down for close to 24 minutes of a 60 minute game.

The slash hope to re-group for Saturday's game against the relatively new Sr. Miners team which they have yet to lose to during their brief existence.  The MIners may just be the tonic the Slash need before finally having their home opener on May 19th.

Click here to read the Spruce Grove Examiner Article

Click here for Video Highlight 1     Video Highlight 2    Video Highlight 3

The Slash notch their first point of the 2010 season against the Calgary Mountaineers. The teams battled to a 10-10 tie and solved nothing in overtime.  The Slash could have easily won the game against the Mounties, they jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and looked like they were in solid control of the game for the first 8 minutes of play.  Then a number of factors came into play including a lack of discipline and a somewhat inconsistent game by goalie Norm Shaw who was involved in a motor vehicle accident just hours before the game.  Shaw stopped all 5 breakaways that he faced but gave up 3 very soft goals in the second period to allow the Mounties to take their first lead ever against the Slash.  The second period also saw the Slash give up 3 powerplay goals including 2 on a major penalty by Dan Claffey.  The Slash left the second period trailing 7-5.  The third period saw the Slaash come back out and dominate scoring 5 straight goals to take a 10-7 lead.  Road legs and a couple of break downs let the Mounties back into the game and they managed to get three late goals.

This represented the Second game in a row where the Slash scored 5 goals in the third period.  They will be force in the RMLL if the can get the team to fire on all cylinders for a full 60 minutes.  Notable performances: Jordan Cornfield 2 goals, 3 assists;  Kyle Weiher 2 goals, 2 assists; Trevor Gordon 1 goal, 1 assist; Steve Samuelson 3 assists and Norm  Shaw 2 assists.

Goalie Norm Shaw throwing for one of his 2 assists                                     Mitch Dumont facing off against the Mounties

The Spruce Grove Slash could not get the engine to crank over once in the first 18 minutes of the 2010 season.  As with any engine that is frozen solid, it is painful to sit through the thawing process.  For the Slash that thawing process was about 40 minutes long and unfortunately once the engine did get started they were down 10-5 after 2 periods making a comeback that much more difficult.  The game finished with a final score of 12-10 in favour of the recently relocated Outlaws.

The Slash also fell victim to their own lack of focus and allowed 3 power play goals on some very undisciplined penalties which included a too many men call and a diving penalty during a stoppage of play which nullified a powerplay. 

On the brighter side the Slash also showed some absolute flashes of brilliance in the third period which they dominated by a score of 5-2.  The game featured notable performances by Jordan Cornfield 2 goals, 4 assists; Andy Kent 3 goals, Kyle Weiher 1 goal 2 assists Mike Koch 4 assists and Shaun Wilhelm 2 goals, 1 assist.

The Slash are back in action next weekend witha 2 game road trip to Calgary to take on the Mountaineers and the Knights.

Click here to see video of Andy Kent's 3rd Goal

Above Kyle Weiher (2) scoring on  Grant MacLeod               Shaun Wilhelm (21) unloading a cannon of a shot!

Season tickets may be picked up at Stu Barnes Arena on Tuesday April 27 from 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm.  Anyone purchasing season ticket packages on Tuesday evening will receive a pair of Slash T-Shirts.  This is a special offer for early bird season ticket purchases only.

2010 is the 5th Anniversary season of the Spruce Grove Slash, and it will feature a special redesigned jersey for this season.  It will be officially unveiled at the home opener on May 19 at Grant Fuhr Arena.

Check out the 2010 schedule on our Game Schedule page!  Season ticket packages will be available for purchase by March 9, 2010.  You can order them here or by calling Norm Shaw at 780-504-6676.

The Spruce Grove Slash are excited to announce that Ryan McNish was selected at the Top Defensive/Transition Player of the Year in the Rocky mountain Lacrosse League.  Ryan McNish was acquired preseason from the Sherwood Park Outlaws, and racked up 11 goals, 20 assissts and 37 PIM in 16 games.

Ryan was an exciting player to watch, literally a 1 man wrecking crew in front of his own net, and crushing many opponents when they least expected it.  Look forward to seeing more of Ryan's power and hits during the upcoming Edmonton Rush where Ryan will lead a completely revamped NLL franchise to their best season ever!

Read The Spruce Grove Examiner Article On This Story Here