The Oceanside Midget Sharks lost their thunder against Cowichan Valley during their own tournament at Oceanside Place last week.
The Re(Lax) tournament, hosted by the Sharks from May 31 to June 3, featured ten teams from Campbell River, Cowichan Valley, Comox, North Shore, Coquitlam, Delta, Saanich, Esquimalt, Nanaimo and Parksville Qualicum Beach.
The Sharks finished on top of Pool A with three wins and a draw to advance to the gold medal round against the Cowichan Valley Thunder. In the preliminary rounds, the Sharks beat Comox 6-1, North Shore 11-2 and Victoria Esquimalt Lacrosse Association 5-4, and drew 4-4 against Delta.
The final was a closely-contested affair. The first period ended in a 1-1 tie but in the second period, the Cowichan Valley Thunder surged ahead to close the second with a one-point edge. The Sharks bounced back strong in the third and were able to find the equalizer less than three minutes into the final frame. Braeden Leary scored the tying goal and close to the midway mark, he gave the Sharks the lead. But it was short-lived.
The Sharks made two crucial mistakes that the Thunder capitalized on, scoring two goals that eventually sank the home team 4-3. The Sharks tried to rally back until the dying seconds, but their efforts ended up in vain.
“I think the boys held things together in adversity,” said coach Dave Jamieson. “We were right in it until the end and we will get them the next time.”
This was the third time the Sharks had played against the Thunder this season. They have yet to beat the Thunder but Jamieson said they’re getting close.
“This is by far the closest, right down to the wire,” said Jamieson, who plans to use the latest results to help the Sharks to improve on their game.
“When you’re playing a team with speed, you just have to make sure you’re back on defence and try to limit the chances they get,” said Jamieson. “Cowichan is a good team and they’re going to get those chances. We just have to really try to fix that.”