Knight Looking Forward to Friday
Wallaceburg Red Devils head coach Jamie Knight is looking forward to a possibly deciding, and definitely entertaining game three Friday night against the London Blue Devils in London.
In the first two games of the series, which Wallaceburg won by a goal each, with a late game comeback and double overtime thriller, it was local stars including Rob Pollock and Jordan Durston who stepped up, something Knight believes will continue.
“There are kids on this team, the older boys like Robbie, who have taken the bull by the horns and have that refuse to go out mentality. It’s his last year of Junior and he’s playing like it,” Knight said about Pollock.
“Durst just keeps getting better every game, he’s got his confidence back, and the moves he needs to get to the net,” explained the coach about Durston, who only recently returned from knee surgery.
Knight doesn’t expect the game to be easy, and he knows his team will need to be focused travelling back into London after two heated games.
“We need to be more disciplined,” said Knight. “If we stay out of the box I honestly don’t think this team should be in this one goal distance. They are a transition team and rely on their powerplay. If we play them five up, I honestly think we’re the better team.”
For each of the games, both at home and on the road, Wallaceburg has welcomed a supportive fan base, something Knight believes has been important to his team’s success.
“Our fans are passionate and the crowd keeps getting bigger and bigger. I think when you play in a series like this with a one goal game up there and a double overtime game here, I think our kids and the fans keep feeding off it.”
If Wallaceburg wins Friday, they’ll be waiting on the winner of Orangeville and Six Nations, but Knight says he isn’t looking beyond Friday, with a win still being the goal at hand.
“We’re still playing London, so we’re not going to get too far ahead of ourselves. With how close this series has been, weird things have happened in this sport. We want to go up there and end it in three.”
As for what the team needs from the community, it seems Knight is looking for more of the same, as Wallaceburg has shown why it is one of the province’s premier lacrosse towns.
“Be loud and proud, let’s make it a home atmosphere. This whole series should be a home atmosphere, we just have to drive an hour and a half to do it. Let’s just show them what 100 years of lacrosse does to a town like this.”