Lakeland Rustlers Weekend Recap - Oct 23, 2023
Lakeland College Made Some Noise for Mental Health this past weekend!
Rustlers Hockey
The women's hockey team hosted a pair of games against the Olds Broncos, looking to improve on their 3-1 record. Friday evening contest was Western themed, with many the 200 + fans utilizing cowbells and wearing cowboy hats. Olds struck first in the opening period, but Lakeland quickly tied the score and that remained the status quo till the third period, with Broncos goaltender Cienna Kinghorn making several great saves, including 24 saves in the first period.
In the third, the Rustlers broke through and capitalized on numerous chances. Hailey Carothers scored the eventual game winner, while POG Claudia Lammers notched the fourth goal of the game on the powerplay to help seal the 5-2 victory. Kinghorn made 53 saves.
Saturday afternoon was "Make Some Noise for Mental Health Day" part of the ACAC's annual campaign to raise awareness around mental health issues and break down stigmas. It was a much lower scoring affair than before, with no goals until 3:45 of the second period. Lammers and Carothers both scored again and Shae Thompson got the shutout.
The Rustlers are now tied with NAIT for first in the league.
Rustlers Soccer
Up north in Fort McMurray, Lakeland's soccer teams had a much tougher weekend. The squads both needed wins in their final regular season matchup in order to qualify for the playoffs. The women dropped Saturday's contest 3-0, before losing 10-1 on Sunday. Leah Rioux was their lone scorer, assisted by Megan Hockley.
The men's matchup was much tighter, with four teams in the North Division separated by a single point. After surrendering an early goal, Lakeland fought to tie the score, but couldn't capitalize on their chances, eventually dropping to a 2-0 deficit. A goal from defender Gavin Quinlan gave them some life late in the half, but they weren't able to press the advantage enough to tie the game.
Sunday's game left the Rustlers an even tougher task in order to procure a playoff spot and again they fell behind early in the half. Another Keyano goal at the end of the half left them a similar situation as the day before, with the team unable to score until the dying minutes when Sam Dosumu notched their lone goal for the afternoon.
Both soccer teams are now resetting their training for the winter Futsal season and await the results of league awards.
What's Coming Up
Women's hockey travels to Calgary, where they will face the SAIT Trojans for a pair of games. Meanwhile, Lakeland's volleyball and basketball teams will host the King's University Eagles Friday and Saturday for what should be a jam packed Halloween-themed weekend.