HUNTSVILLE - Frustration practically dripped off the words of Bill Payne.
The head coach of the Huntsville Hawks junior B lacrosse discussed the latest setbacks for his team, three straight losses in the Ontario Junior C Lacrosse League.
Huntsville dropped an 11-8 game at the Jack Bionda Arena to the Innisfil Wolfpack on Thursday before being blown away in two road games, 17-1 in Whitby Saturday night and 17-2 Sunday in Peterborough.
“Same old story in the game against Innisfil. We got eight goals but a few individuals decided they would visit the penalty box and they got kicked out of the game. That weakened our bench. I have said it before, when we play our full team five-on-five we can play with anyone. When we start to visit the penalty box too much and get undisciplined we get ourselves in trouble.”
The Hawks were missing as many as seven regulars at one time over the last three games, all losses in the Ontario Junior B Lacrosse League. Regulars Brodie Muckler (broken leg), Colby Jordan, (broken hand) and Adam Mcdermot (health issues) were all out of the lineup, with others missing due to work commitments or suspensions.
Even with the losses, the Hawks still have a shot at third place in the OJBLL Central Division. The 2-7 Hawks are just two points behind Innsifil and Peterborough for third, and with final placings used to determine the playoff pairings, moving up in the standings is crucial.
The Hawks were down early to Whitby, as the Warriors jumped out to a 7-0 lead after the first, which included four straight shorthanded goals by the visitors.
Whitby increased its lead to 9-0 in the second before Brandon Quan notched the lone Huntsville goal for the game.
Details of the Innisfil and Peterborough games were not available at press time.
The Hawks are at home for its next three games.
The next home game is on June 26 when they host Innisfil.