(August 24, 2012)… The Peterborough Lakers used a six-goal third period to edge the Six Nations Chiefs 9-8 in Game Four of the Major Series Lacrosse Finals. The Lakers now own a three games to one lead in the best-of-seven series.

John Grant Jr. led the Lakers with five points (2+3), while Mark Steenhuis recorded two goals, including the game-winning goal, and two assists. Rochester Knighthawk Brad Self chipped in three assists in the Lakers’ home victory at the Memorial Centre.

“Both teams know that we both have good power plays so we’ve got to stay out of the box and stay disciplined,” Lakers forward John Tavares told ILIndoor. “As you can see throughout the series, the team that stays disciplined is the team that’s going to win the game.”

Tavares opened the scoring for Peterborough and Grant followed to take a 2-0 lead after the first period. In the second, however, Six Nations was equally as dominating, outscoring the Lakers 4-1. The Chiefs finally beat Tyler Carlson to make it 2-1 at 7:36 on a twisting shot by Rhys Duch. Stephen Keogh then tied the game at 11:56 only to have Steenhuis score shorthanded less than two minutes later to help Peterborough regain the lead. The Chiefs broke the tie and took their first lead of the contest on back-to-back power-play goals by Craig Point. His quick strikes 25 seconds apart gave Six Nations a 4-3 lead after two periods.

Point, who plays for the NLL Rochester Knighthawks, finished the night with a hat trick, while fellow Rochester forward Stephen Keogh scored one goal and added three assists. Knighthawk Alex “Kedoh” Hill also collected two assists. Rochester’s Johnny Powless made his MSL Playoff debut Thursday with Cody Jamieson sidelined for the game. It was a big absence for the Chiefs not to have their leading scorer not in the lineup.

“He is our best offensive player so to have him out was rough. But this happens in the playoffs. This happens in a Mann Cup run,” said Six Nations Head Coach Rich Kilgour to ILIndoor. “We have enough talent to overcome it. We had the lead I don’t know how many times in the third and we kept coughing it back up.”

The final period showcased both offenses with a combined 10 goals being scored in 20 minutes.  Tavares opened the third with his second of the night to tie it 4-4 at 1:16. But the Chiefs were determined to even the series and got two straight goals as Colin Doyle and Duch scored to give Six Nations its largest lead at 6-4. Peterborough, however, responded with two goals of its own as Jamie Lincoln and Chad Culp tied the game once again.

The seesaw battle continued with Tom Montour connecting at 8:55 for a 7-6 Chiefs’ advantage. Then it was Peterborough’s turn. The Lakers stormed back with two goals in 17 seconds to retake the lead at 8-7. Point responded with his third of the game from Keogh at 14:11 and it was even again. The frenetic pace continued with the Lakers responding 15 seconds later, as Steenhuis scored the eventual game-winning goal at 14:26. Carlson earned an assist on the goal to go along with 38 saves.

“You’ve got to forget it. It’s over and done with,” said Kilgour to ILIndoor. “Sure, it’s a tough loss. Yeah, we wanted to win it. But we were with them every step of the way, in their building, with 4,000 people on their side. We kept answering and answering but they got the last one … I just told them to start focusing on Saturday. We win and, we’ll come back up here and take another shot at it.”

Game Five is set for the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena on Saturday, August 25th at 7:00 p.m. Peterborough can advance to the Mann Cup Finals for the first time since the 2010 season with a victory.