There was huge pressure on the Rams to keep their playoff hopes alive this Saturday night. After coming off a tie on Thursday against the Red Deer Rage, the Rams needed a win against the Sr. Raiders. A win against the Sr. Raider would take strong defense and all-around team play. This is exactly what the Rams put on the floor.

The Raiders would come out of the gate strong in the first period. Their first goal came just 2:37 in with Scott Cable scoring using a pass from captain and NLL player, Brian Kopec. That would be the only goal we would see from the Raiders in the first. Defense was the name of the game tonight for both teams. The Rams tied up the score with 5 minutes left with a goal from Mike Koch. R.J. Johma and Colin Sherbanuk are credited with the assists.

This time, it was the Rams’ turn to come out strong. Koch put in his second of the night just 30 seconds into the second period. This gave the Rams the much needed lead. The next goal came 3 minutes later when Johma fired a blast in from the outside. The Raiders answered back at the 11 minute mark making the score 3-2 for the Rams. Less then a minute later, Chris Habkirk would blast his patented sub-shot through the screen of the Raiders big #32 defender, Shane Brooks. This time Brooks’ size hindered the Raiders’ goaltender, Angus Jenkins, from saving the Rams’ go ahead and winning goal.

In a rare scoreless third period, the Rams would seal the victory. The Raiders came very close to tying up the game in the final few seconds but the Rams’ defense were able to keep the ball loose and out of the net. The final score was in favor of the Senior Rams, 4-3.

It is not that often you have a lacrosse game of this caliber end with such a low score. The credit goes out to guys like Joel Grant, Trevor Mark, Paul Koch, Kris Partington, Doug Mentanko, Kam Partington, Patrick Wilms and the rest of the Rams defense. Of course, the win could not have happened with out the stellar play of goaltender Chris Standing. Standing made some great saves off some great shooters to keep this game close.

The end of Saturday’s game marked some major milestones in Senior Rams history. First, with a tie against the Rage and then this win, the Rams are on their first ever undefeated streak. Secondly, the Rams have acquired the most points ever, 5, in their 3 year history. With 6 more games to go on the season that number is sure to improve. The next milestone the Rams are hungry to tackle is to finally get out of last place in the league; they are only one point out and will work hard to move up in the standings.

The Rams next game is Thursday, June 23 at 9 pm at Akinsdale Arena