Thank goodness LAX is back

By Jeff D’Andrea

paNOW Staff

Now that lacrosse season has started, a lot of people in the local lacrosse community, whether be at the rink, the water cooler, or even a Prince Albert Predators practice are curious to know about my lacrosse expertise.

It is a sport that has its own niche of fans and is still relatively new to PA and the area, so not everybody is an expert.

I’ve been getting these the most: “Do you know the sport well? Do you enjoy the game?”

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The short answers to those questions: A lot and I love it.

When I was 12, my parents put my brother Bryan and I in a summer hockey camp for a week. As a change of pace on one of those days, we took a bus to another rink with the ice removed, and played box lacrosse for the entire afternoon.

“I think I chose the wrong sport,” I said to myself.

Since then, I’ve been LAX crazy.

The sport of box lacrosse took everything I loved about hockey and basketball, my best sport, and molded it into one rough but beautiful game.

Although it’s a team game, I love the mano-a-mano aspect of it. When you’re lined up across from a player, knowing he’s your responsibility to beat him on offence and shut him down on D—it’s a test between you and him.

But unlike basketball where any contact results in a foul, you can push and crosscheck your man for the entire time the team has possession in your zone in LAX, even if he doesn’t have the ball. Not only is that encouraged, you have to do it. How much fun is that?

So ever since the Prince Albert Mintos got eliminated from the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League final series Mar. 23, I’ve been waiting for the Prince Albert Predators to begin their season.
Sunday I finally got my wish and saw and covered an 11-5 Preds victory over the Saskatoon Smash.

Admittedly, both teams were a tad rusty out of the gate but as the game went, the Predators showed all the beauty things of the game of lacrosse that keeps me coming back.

Whether it’s Luc Lemire spinning around defenders, leaping into crease and scoring one of his four goals of the game, or Tyler Tilford throwing a thunderous pick sending a Smash player to the floor, or Taylor Wilcox continuing to rag the ball on the penalty kill to waste time even in the face of merciless abuse from three Smash players crosschecking, slashing and elbowing him, it’ s a great game to watch.

The entertainment value of lacrosse is also through the roof as well.

Seeing 10 or more goals a game is not unusual and for those of you like a little rough stuff, there’s usually no short of that in a PGLL game.

Sunday’s contest was the chippiest game I’ve ever seen. The game’s scorekeepers needed two separate game sheets to keep track of all the Smash’s penalties.

After the game, one of the referees shook his head and said he’d never seen, or been a part of a game even close to that before.

Certainly not every game will have as many shenanigans as that one did, and that’s for the best, but there’s more than enough skill to drool over in the PGLL game, and enough systems and rough stuff to challenge the league’s players and keep them honest.

Already can’t wait for Sunday when the now 2-0 Moose Jaw Mustangs come to town.

jdandrea@panow.com