The way the 2022 season is trending, the Rockyview Silvertips may get their first-ever first-round bye into the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League (RMLL) Junior B Tier 1 playoffs.
The U21 men’s box lacrosse team from Cochrane currently holds the top spot in the RMLL central division with a 9-5 record in the season. Silvertips’ captain Nolan Oakey also leads the division in scoring, with 31 goals and 38 assists.
“We’re super close to clinching first place, so that’d be a franchise first,” said head coach Tyler Waycott. “We’re probably two or three wins away and that’s with no outside help hoping other teams win or lose their games.”
In local lacrosse action last weekend, the Silvertips were able to bag the win against the Calgary Chill at home at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre (SLSFSC) on June 17. The game was a nailbiter, with a final score of 12-11 putting a cap on the regular-season series against their division rivals.
“Every time we play the Chill and win, it’s a big deal,” said Waycott. “They’re usually top in the standings but we’ve beaten them twice in a row after dropping the season-opener to them.”
Cole Morris led in scoring for Rockyview with four goals, while Oakey, Owen George, Mason Schroeder, Noah Deitz, Nate Shaback, Josh Halcro, Stone Dunbar-Korenda, and Cole Karst all contributed one goal each.
Following their big win, the team hit the road for an inter-division game against the Edmonton Warriors on June 19, where they received a wake-up call from the top-ranked team in the RMLL’s north division.
“They’re a very, very strong team. We had a slow start in that game and for a team like us, who typically transitions the ball fairly well and plays well in transition, we just didn’t have that,” said Waycott. “We took a lot of lessons out of that game.”
The scoreboard read 19-7 for the Warriors by the end, but Waycott assured the loss is a lesson learned for the Silvertips, especially at this point in the season.
“It’s a loss for our group that allows us to refocus, and we still have time to do that,” he said.
There are now just six games left for the team in the RMLL regular season. Next up for Cochrane's junior B squad are the Olds-based Mountain View Mavericks, who the ‘Tips will face at SLSFSC June 24 at 7 p.m.
Rockyview will hit the road again for another inter-division game against the St. Albert Crude at the Jarome Iginla Arena on June 26.
