Lakers Athletics recap

Your Nipissing Lakers were in action on the court and on the ice last weekend, read all about it, right here.Game briefs:Men’s HockeyL 3-2 to Concordia
L 4-2 to McGillWomen’s Hockey
L 3-0 to UOIT
L 3- 2 to YorkWomen’s Volleyball
L 3-0 to Queen’s
L3-1 to RMCMen’s Volleyball
W 3-0 vs. Queen’s
W 3-1 vs. RMC
And now, for some more in-depth analysis, we turn to our Sports Information Clerk, Robb Fenton…Women's Hockey
It was another tough weekend for the Nipissing Lakers women’s hockey team, as they found a way to score, but weren’t able to earn a win.
The Lakers, a day after being shutout by UOIT, dropped a 3-2 decision to the York Lions Sunday afternoon.
On Saturday, with just 15 skaters dressed, the Lakers couldn’t muster up any offence and were blanked by UOIT, a team they shutout earlier in the season.
After the teams played a scoreless first period, the Ridgebacks broke the deadlock with a goal about midway through the second period.
It turned out to be the winner, as they would add two more in the final frame and cruise to a 3-0 victory.
The Lakers have struggled offensively in the second half of the season, and Saturday’s game was another example, as they managed just 17 shots on goal.
Jackie Rochefort made 23 saves for the Lakers in a losing cause.
On Sunday, the Lakers managed to find the back of the net, but couldn’t secure the win.
Brooklyn Irwin and Brittany Cosmo score for the Lakers who opened up the scoring early, but the lone goal of the third period gave the Lions the victory.
The Lakers fired 24 shots at the Lions net; including outshooting the Lions 8-4 in the third period, but couldn’t ripple the twine to earn the win.
The Lakers are back in action this weekend when they travel to Laurier and Waterloo.Men's Hockey
A late comeback attempt fell short as the Nipissing Lakers dropped their second straight game, this time in regulation, to the McGill Redmen Saturday night.
A night after falling 3-2 in a shootout to Concordia Friday night, the Lakers fired 39 shots at the Redmen net, including 21 in the third period, but only found the net twice and lost 4-2.
Jacob Conrad got things started with a goal just under eight minutes into the first.
Brodie Barron and Mackenzie Keirstead picked up assists on Conrad’s first of the season.
The Redmen would score the next four goals, including three in the second, where they outshot the Lakers 13-7.
The Redmen tied the game about three minutes after Conrad’s opening tally, then scored three in the second to give them a 4-1 lead heading into the final period.
Lakers captain Matt Paton scored early in the third and they fired 21 shots on net, but the final score would be 4-2 for McGill.
John Chartrand was tagged with the loss despite making 35 saves.
The Lakers hit the road this weekend, travelling to take on the RMC Paladins and the Queen’s Gaels, looking to get back into the win column and climb the standings.Women's Volleyball
In their last two home matches of the regular season, the Nipissing Lakers women’s volleyball team was looking to go out with a bang, but instead, they came up short, losing both matches.
The Lakers lost 3-0 to the Queen’s Gaels on Saturday and were defeated in four sets Sunday by the RMC Paladins.
On Saturday, a solid first two sets wasn’t enough to boost the Lakers to a win, they were defeated in three sets by the Gaels.
The Lakers held their own, losing 25-22 and 25-23 in the first two sets, but things went downhill in the third set, as they fell 25-10.
The Lakers didn’t have answer for the Gaels Kelsey Bishop who had a game-high 16 kills.
Leading the Lakers attack was Christina Caruso and Lindsay Vanderweide, who had seven kills each, while Tracy Hammerton added five of her own, and Brittany Ardron had four.
On Sunday, the Lakers took on the Paladins and stuck with them for three sets, eventually losing in four.
The Paladins got off to a quick start, winning Sets 1 and 2 25-19 and 25-23 and controlling the match, but the Lakers refused to die, winning Set 3 25-23 to extend the match.
Unfortunately, RMC claimed the fourth set, winning 25-15 to seal the match.
Lakers head coach Marc LaRochelle was not happy with his team’s performance Sunday afternoon.
“RMC deserves all the credit today,” he said. “They simply executed better in every phase of the game.”
LaRochelle said there was an obvious reason for anyone who saw the match why his team didn’t perform the way they are capable of.
“Our communication was extremely poor from the start, which lead to numerous unforced errors that could have easily been correct,” he explained. “However, we chose to play as individuals and the results certainly showed that.”
The Lakers will look to rebound as they hit the road this weekend to face the Windsor Lancers Saturday and the Western Mustangs Sunday.Men's Volleyball
It was the perfect way to wrap up the home portion of the OUA season for the Nipissing Lakers men’s volleyball team.
The Nipissing Lakers men’s volleyball team sent a message to the OUA Saturday as they put a huge dent in the Queen’s Gaels’ playoff hopes as they defeated the Gaels 3-0.
A day later, the Lakers topped the RMC Paladins 3-1 to sweep a pair of matches on the weekend, the first time they have done that all season.
On Saturday, the Lakers put together a very strong match and came away with a 3-0 win over the visiting Gaels, sweeping them 25-17, 25-23 and 28-26 for their second win in 2014.
The Lakers controlled the first set, but ran into a strong push back by the Gaels in Set 2 and 3.
In the third set, the Lakers, who trailed late, put together a strong run and scored the last handful of points to climb out of a hole and win the set and the match.
Frankie Edgecombe led the Lakers with 14 kills while Cam Branch added nine and Warren Taylor had six.
On Sunday, the Lakers were in a battle against the always tough Paladins, who never seem to go away and show their determination on every point.
The Lakers got off to a quick start, but it wasn’t easy, as they took the first two sets, winning 30-28 in a very exciting opening set, and 25-21 to take control of the match.
RMC refused to pack it in even though they found themselves down 2-0.
They took the third set 25-23 as they hoped to begin a comeback, but the Lakers would have different plans, as they clinched the victory with a 25-18 win in Set 4.
Cam Branch had a monster match for the Lakers, who got contributions from everyone and played a very complete game.
The Lakers will look to continue their hot play as they hit the road to take on the Windsor Lancers and Western Mustangs this weekend.