For the senior B St. Albert Miners, revenge was a dish best served cold.
After a 9-5 loss to the cellar-dwelling Spruce Grove Slash two weeks earlier at Servus Credit Union Place, the Miners feasted on the Slash Wednesday night, thrashing the undermanned visitors 19-6 at Performance Arena in Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League (RMLL) action.
Head coach Chris Stachniak said the loss, along with a tie earlier in the season, gave his players all the motivation they needed.
“They were embarrassed by the loss against them [two weeks ago] — it should have never happened,” he said. “We came in thinking that game was ours and if we don’t work, we don’t win.”
Forward Sean Reid, who had four goals and two assists on the night, said the win gave the team a huge boost.
“It was huge momentum for us to come in here and finally get a win against them,” he said. “It was nice to have our goalie and our [defence] firing; it was more than just our offence.”
It was actually the Slash who got on the board first, but the Miners exploded for four goals in 2:13 and took a 9-3 lead into the intermission.
Those nine goals came from nine different players. Stachniak was happy to see some balanced scoring from his team.
“It makes a big difference,” he said. “It takes some of the pressure off Nate [Schmidt] and Graydon [Cornfield] and some of the guys we count on to score. The defence was running really well too. I think we had three or four transition goals and that made a big difference too.”
All nine first-period goals were scored at even strength, which also pleased Stachniak.
“When they’re short [players], they don’t have the energy to stir up a bunch of stuff. There’s not going to be a lot of fights or a rough game because guys don’t have the energy,” he said.
Another offensive outburst in the second period gave the Miners a 15-4 lead in the second intermission.
Stachniak said he worked hard to keep the players from letting up on the gas.
“It’s basically to keep focused and not take any shortcuts,” he said. “Keep doing what we’re supposed to be doing.”
Reid capped off his four-goal night in the third period with a nifty over-the-shoulder shot that beat Slash goalie Tyrell Burge.
“That’s a last-second, last-ditch effort,” he said with a laugh, adding this was the first time all season he had scored more than once in a game.
Kyle Schram also had six points on the night for the Miners — three goals and three assists — while Jason Riley had a goal and two assists.
With just four games left in the RMLL regular season — including a clash with the junior A St. Albert Miners on Saturday, July 9 — Stachniak said he hopes to take the momentum from this big win and ride it to the end.
“We need to win all of our games to take first place and that’s what we’re gunning for,” he said. “We want home floor advantage. It makes a difference for us to play here [at Servus Place]. If we win out, we get first and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
