Midland Braves 1989

The 1989 Midland Braves Intermediate Lacrosse team had a successful league and tournament season. In July, the Braves travelled to Oshawa with five players and a goalie to take on a full squad of intermediate players only to come out with a commanding 13-2 victory. Midland had the opposition 8-0 in the first period thanks to some clever passing from Shawn Desjardins to John Brophey and Sean Lunnie. Rob Bianco took charge late in the game allowing the other players to take a much-needed rest . Chuck Lehr led a successful zone defence, shutting down the opposition’s offensive charge. By the end of the game the team was feeling the weight of playing shorthanded the entire game, and yet the group managed to band together and score another five goals late in the game. Unfortunately, the shutout was broken when two goals got past Price late in the game.

The Braves then entered the Elora tournament in the ‘C’ Division. The Braves fielded seven players this time and were led by the spectacular netminding of Shawn Price. Many scoring contributions were seen by every one of the players taking the floor. The talented team beat Oshawa 10-3. The Braves then played Elora, an A Division team, and finished the game with a 9-6 victory. Over the course of the tournament, Rob Bianco potted eight goals in four games, while Sean Lunnie and John Brophey shared a healthy dozen each. Tom Lediard, Craig Salma and Jim Pottage intimidated the opposition with both their persistence and endurance throughout each game.

The Fred Conrad Tournament in St. Catharines hosted 12 teams from Ontario and the United States. In the Round Robin Midland beat Mimico 11-7, Oshawa 13-5, and Wallaceburg 10-5. In the final game, Midland found itself tied with Newtown (Pennsylvania) late in the game. With three seconds to go in overtime, the Newtown team found the back of the net and scored. In the Provincials, the Braves lost that one game in the ‘A’ Division but won the next four games to capture the Division ‘B’ Championship. The game sheet showed that Chris Walser and John Brophey each scored fifteen times with Rob Bianco getting fifteen helpers throughout the Provincial Championships.

The Braves team was composed of the following players: Wayne Desjardins, Harvey Hervieux. Tom Lediard, Chuck Lehr, Jim Pottage, Shawn Price, Dave Banks, John Brophey, Sean Lunnie, Craig Salma, Rob Bianco and Chris Walser. The team was coached by Ross Compton.