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Luke Gillespie goes from healthy scratch to hero as Burrards win Game 2 of Mann Cup

HAGERSVILLE, Ontario — Maple Ridge forward Luke Gillespie, a healthy scratch in a 15-8 loss in Game 1 of lacrosse’s Mann Cup series Friday, returned to make the Six Nations Chiefs sick in a 13-9 Burrards win in Game 2 Saturday.

Gillespie’s short-handed goals at 18:38 of the first period and at 1:22 of the second period were the shot in the arm the Burrards needed to transform a precarious 3-1 lead into a 5-1 advantage that proved insurmountable.

Frankie Scigliano did the rest.

FRANK SCIGLIANO
FRANK SCIGLIANO

Six Nations outshot Maple Ridge 60-41, but the six-foot-four, 290-pound goaltender frustrated Chiefs shooters time and again. Dillon Ward, so good on Friday, was relegated to the end of the Six Nations bench after the Burrards went up 10-4 a scant 48 seconds into the third period.

Observers wondering if the Burrards might be in critical condition due to their lacklustre effort in the opener awoke on the off day Sunday with the unmistakeable impression this best-of-seven showdown could very well go the distance. Game 3 is Monday at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena.

“I just came out and tried to do what I can,” said Gillespie, modesty dripping from his lips. “It’s a team effort. Anytime I’m doing something, it’s not me doing it myself. It’s a team effort.”

The two short-handed gems from the 23-year-old native of Maple Ridge were identical: he darted behind defencemen to get open, pulled down passes to dash alone to the top of the crease, faked high, and bounced balls past Ward.

“I try to read the goalie,” said Gillespie. “Whatever he gives me, I’ve just got to jump all over that. Playing lacrosse for so long, you kinda zone out and do what you do.”

Gillespie was the 31st player selected by Saskatchewan in the 2015 NLL entry draft. He did not attend training camp last autumn “because of a family issue.” He says he won’t be going this autumn either as he has opted to concentrate on furthering his education. The Chiefs wish he would go somewhere — anywhere but the ILA. He was like a paramedic arriving at a crash scene Saturday.

“First game, both teams were feeling each other out,” he offered. “We travelled across the country to play — different climate, different everything.”

The rehabilitation appears complete.

“It’s going to be a hard-fought battle,” he said. “It’s going to be whoever wants it more.”

The win was the first in Mann Cup play for the Burrards franchise since 1977, when they last won the senior championship of Canada. No WLA champion has won the Mann Cup in the east since New Westminster in 1986.

Ben McIntosh also scored three goals for Maple Ridge. Matt Symes, another healthy scratch Friday, scored twice. Gillespie’s three and Symes’ two added up to five, which was the winning margin. Head coach Rob Williams explained why the two were inserted into the lineup for Game 2 after all the coaches huddled to discuss strategy.

“The first game, we put in our guys who like to bang and bump around in thinking we could wear them out but clearly we couldn’t,” he said. “So, we put in a couple of more skilled guys with a little more athleticism.”

Their big games by Gillespie and Symes spoke to the Burrards’ lineup depth.

“We’re not afraid to put guys in,” said Williams. “We’ve changed our lineup several times (in the playoffs). With us, it’s what’s next all the time. When we have to pull someone out of the lineup, the guys are great about it. They understand what the goal is. It’s about being good teammates and knowing what their jobs are when they come in.”

Scigliano said the play of his defencemen was a key to the win.

“We came with a different attitude and the result was in our favour,” he said. “I feel I can be a calming influence back there when things aren’t really going our way. They’ve got a lot of stars who are able to put the ball in the net if we make mistakes. They showed in the last couple of minutes that they’re resilient. They weren’t ready to give up. We’re just going to have to play the full 60 every night.”

Riley Loewen and Ben McIntosh also scored three goals. Loewen is thriving on the left side with Dan Taylor setting picks. The two are winter teammates with Saskatchewan in the NLL.

“We’ve been playing really well together. We’re excited to keep playing in this series and then getting back to the NLL as well,” said Loewen.

Ryan Benesch and Austin Staats each scored three goals for the Chiefs.

“I don’t think we came ready to play,” said Benesch. “We were kinda ridin’ high on (the Friday) win. We kinda took them for granted and let our foot off the gas. In the end, it burned us.”

On Scigliano: “He played outstanding. He was seeing the ball well and making big saves. He definitely won it for them.”

What’s the remedy for the Chiefs?

“We’ve just got to go back and refocus and come ready to play.”

Head coach Rich Kilgour agreed with the suggestion the Maple Ridge offence had much more jump than it had in the opener.

“We always talk about the battles within the game and, obviously, they had a plan to get over the top and fire some shots from the outside,” he said. “They won a lot of those battles early and put us on our heels and kept us on our heels until we had that too-little, too-late run.

“Like Benny said: we came out flat. After that big win we were thinking we might be a little better than we were and that they were a little less than we thought. They proved (Saturday) they’re a good team and they’re here for a reason. Hopefully, we learned a valuable lesson and we’ll be ready to go Monday night.”

Ward’s teammates have seen him bounce back impressively after losses.

“If he has an off game he usually answers with a good game,” said Kilgour. “And it wasn’t his fault. Those were good (scoring) looks they were getting and they were hitting the corners (of the net).”

His defensemen have to get their sticks on Maple Ridge hands more consistently, he said, adding he never expected this to be easy.

“This is the Mann Cup. I didn’t think we were going to win 15-8 every game.”

Cancel the ambulance.