Chiefs too much for Burrards in Mann Cup opener

HAGERSVILLE, Ontario — Brothers Dan and Paul Dawson supplied the turning point that catapulted the Six Nations Chiefs to a 15-8 victory over the Maple Ridge Burrards in the opening game of the Canadian senior lacrosse championship series.

The Chiefs led 5-1 after one period Friday night, but the Burrards battled back. It was 5-5 with five minutes to go in the second period. That’s when six-foot-two Dan and six-foot-five Paul hooked up for the biggest play of the game.

Dan had the ball mid-zone in the Maple Ridge end of the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena. Paul, a defenceman who rarely charges to the crease to try and score, saw an opening and went for it. Dan saw him and passed the ball a second before being crushed to the floor. A referee raised an arm to signal a delayed penalty.

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“That’s what happens when you admire your pass to your brother, you get blown up like that,” Dan, a big smile indicating he was none the worse for wear, said afterwards.

Paul, 30, saw an opening and ran to the net with Dan, 34, lying on the green carpet.

“As Dan got hit, he took about three guys down with him.”

Paul whipped the ball past goalie Frankie Scigliano. Dan was back on his feet to congratulate him. The goal ignited a nine-goal Six Nations run that left no doubt which was the better team.

Dan Dawson and Ryan Benesch each scored three goals for the Chiefs, Austin Staats and Randy Staats each supplied two and Paul Dawson, Dhane Smith, Brier Jonathan, Roger Vyse and Ethan O’Connor had one apiece. Smith had six assists and Dan Dawson had five. Goaltender Dillon Ward was at his best in the third period, enabling his teammates to build a big lead.

For Maple Ridge, Ben McIntosh and Riley Loewen each scored twice and Dan Taylor, Connor Goodwin, Jarrett Davis and Aaron Davis each scored once.

“I don’t think that was their best,” said Dan Dawson. “It’s just Game 1 and one game doesn’t win you a series. We know they’re going to recover, probably get the jet lag out of them.”

The sixth Maple Ridge goal was credited to Loewen after the ball entered the net off Paul Dawson’s leg.

“I’ve been working on my soccer skills and it’s really starting to pay off,” he offered when asked if he was disappointed he didn’t get credit for two goals.

The Chiefs were 5-for-9 and the Burrards 0-for-4 on power plays, and that disparity was a significant factor.

“We just got outworked,” said Davis. “We’ve got to stay out of the (penalty) box. We took too many penalties. They’ve got a good power play.”

“The 15 minutes we played our brand of lacrosse, we were in the game,” said Maple Ridge coach Rob Williams. “They’ve got a great offence and, obviously, great offensive coaches who found spots in our defence they could pick apart. We’ve got to watch some film to see what they picked apart and adjust and keep going.

“We’ve been in this situation before. It’s nothing new for us.”

Game 2 is at the ILA on Saturday night. The teams will have Sunday off before resuming the best-of-seven series Monday.

Chiefs coach Rich Kilgour won’t allow complacency to set in. He’ll remind his players what happened after they went up 5-1 in Game 1.

“We got a little proud of ourselves, maybe playing with one hand because we were patting ourselves on the back too much,” he said. “(The Burrards) are more than willing to come and compete. They showed that in tying it up. But we snapped back and took care of business.”

The one downer for the Chiefs: Austin Staats, the 18-year-old phenom, hurt his left knee with 10 minutes left and limped to the dressing room. With Cody Jamieson sitting out Game 1, also with a banged-up left knee, Kilgour might have to juggle his lineup to reinforce the left side of the offence if neither is able to suit up for Game 2.