The Peterborough Timbermen finally got their long-awaited first win of the 2023 Arena Lacrosse League season, beating the Paris RiverWolves 10-8 at Millbrook Arena on Saturday afternoon.
It was a relief to finally put a notch In the win column after starting the season 0-9. There are four games remaining in the Timbermen’s regular season and moving up the standings is a distinct possibility.
“It’s a super good feeling to come out with two points this weekend,” said Riley Curtis. “A lot of the guys are very excited. We have to keep the momentum, come to practice with a good mindset and be ready to learn and figure out what we’re going to do against Ohsweken.”
The Timbermen relied heavily on Ethan Woods in goal, who was solid early in allowing the Timbermen to build a 5-2 lead by halftime.
“The defence was doing a good job and letting me see the shots that we discussed before the game. Lots of chatter back there made my job a lot easier,” Woods said.
Woods was released by the Vancouver Warriors a few weeks ago, to the Timbermen’s gain. This weekend he looked like the seasoned pro the Timbermen expect him to be.
“Woody’s a beauty, first of all,” said Riley Curtis. “Secondly, he’s a very vocal guy. He brings a lot of experience, he’s been through some NLL games so it’s nice to have a guy who knows what to do and what he wants to see so he can tell the defence exactly where he wants the shots to come from. It was nice to have another voice around and some fresh energy.”
Woods played six games during the 2018 season, and since there has been a lot of player turnover, so he’s playing with most of his new teammates for the first time.
“I’m fitting in pretty good. Coming back from the NLL I’ve taken on a bit of a leadership role. I want to be a voice of reason, someone who’s going to show up and work hard. We have a good group of guys and we’ll hopefully built on it from here on out.”
With 1:30 left in the third quarter, Paris actually took a 7-6 lead, capping a four-goal run. But Peterborough responded, with Cole Hanrahan scoring 29 seconds later.
Curtis led the Timbermen with a pair of goals and three assists, newcomer Hanrahan scored a pair of goals, and recently named captain Justin Bragg scored once (on a wraparound dive goal) and assisted on three others.
Three of Peterborough’s goals were scored on the power play, and three were shorthanded.
Woods added two assists as helped the team push the pace in transition, and was named first star of the game.
“We’re a young group and we’re learning game by game,” Woods said. “This game was better than last week and hopefully next week is another step forward.”
The Timbermen have four games remaining in the regular season. Their next home game is Saturday, March 4 at 2 p.m. at Millbrook Arena vs the Ohsweken Bears. Tickets will be available at the door. To view the Timbermen’s full schedule, visit https://www.peterboroughtimbermen.com/schedule/.
