The Lloydminster Xtreme did their homework and pre-scouted the Calgary Wranglers almost to perfection last weekend en route to winning the Alberta junior B Tier 2 lacrosse championship for the second straight summer.
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After working out any kinks in a 6-3 victory Saturday, the host Xtreme finished the job Sunday with a solid 12-5 win that gave them a two-game sweep of the Alberta final.
“We’ve played them at provincials before and I’ve watched them play,” veteran Xtreme coach Graham Murray said about the Wranglers.
“I kind of knew what they were going to do offensively and on the power plays. We planned for it, and we shut it down. We let in three goals and five goals, so if we can do that defensively, our offence is going to score enough to win games.”
It was a clean performance for Lloydminster in front of an appreciative hometown crowd at the year-old Co-op Community Arena.
“In the first game, Calgary’s goaltender was making the saves he needed to make, and then on Sunday we kind of figured him out,” Murray said. “We chased him (from the game). They put the other guy in, we scored two on him, and then they brought the starter back in.”
Jackson Bennett provided the Xtreme with stingy goaltending since he was acquired at the trade deadline in June.
“As soon as we got Jackson, I knew that we had everything around him that we needed,” Murray said. “He was the final piece of the puzzle, and once we acquired him, I knew we’d be at the top of the league and pushing for that championship again.”
Bennett’s junior eligibility ends this year as the Xtreme graduate multiple key pieces from the back end.
“It’s a good chunk of our defence,” Murray said. “We’re losing our captain Owen (Hill), who’s one of the best transition players in the league. We’re losing great defenders in Logan Laing and Lochlain Jenner. Jackson (Bennett) was a rental for us, but we’re losing a great goaltender. He did wonders for us and I hope his mentorship helps with Kagen (Carson) being able to take over the reins next year.”
Ian Muir and Reese Way are also valued veterans graduating from the Lloydminster defence.
“Ian has been a five-year player who has been an absolute force on the back end every year,” Murray said.
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