A slow start by the California Redwoods proved costly in a 15-12 loss to the Boston Cannons on Saturday night in PLL action.
The Redwoods were held scoreless in the first quarter and could only muster two goals in the first half.
The win was a huge one for the Cannons. Although it was just their second victory of the season, they improved to 2-4 and now sit just one game behind the New York Atlas and Philadelphia Waterdogs for second place in the Eastern Division.
Colter Mackesy led the way for the Cannons with four goals and two assists. Brian Kelly finished with a hat trick and two assists, while Marcus Holman also recorded a hat trick. Jack Regnery and Mikey Weisshaar each added two goals.
For the Redwoods, Andrew McAdorey scored a hat trick, while Chris Kavanagh, Ryder Garnsey, and Sam English each finished with two goals.
Both goaltenders made spectacular saves throughout the game, with Colin Kirst making 15 stops for the Cannons and Dillon Ward turning aside 18 shots for the Redwoods.
First Quarter
Boston dominated the opening quarter as California’s slow start allowed the Cannons to jump out to a 2-0 lead.
Weisshaar opened the scoring at the 6:45 mark with a shot through traffic.
With 2:35 remaining, Kelly turned and fired home to give the Cannons a two-goal advantage after the opening 12 minutes.
Second Quarter
The Redwoods finally got on the board just 14 seconds into the second quarter when Aidan Danenza found Sam English alone in front to make it 2-1.
Boston answered at the 1:36 mark as Kelly beat Ward far side.
The Cannons extended their lead with 2:35 left in the half when Mackesy scored while being hit just as the shot clock expired to make it 4-1.
Only seven seconds later, TD Ierlan won the faceoff and got the ball to Kavanagh, who scored from just inside the two-point arc to cut the deficit to 4-2 heading into halftime.
Third Quarter
It was a wild start to the second half as four goals were scored in just 43 seconds.
Mackesy opened the scoring 53 seconds into the quarter with a shot on the run. Off the ensuing faceoff, Andrew Meekin got the ball to Holman, who made it 6-2 for Boston.
Twenty-eight seconds later, McAdorey dove through the crease for the Redwoods’ third goal.
Holman capped the frantic stretch just five seconds later with a shot from just inside the arc to restore Boston’s four-goal lead at 7-3.
On a fast break, Mackesy found Graydon Hogg alone through the middle at the 4:37 mark to make it 8-3.
Michael Leo cut the Cannons’ lead to four at 5:54, bullying his way to the net for the Redwoods.
Mackesy scored after circling from behind the net at 7:17 to put Boston ahead 9-4.
The Redwoods responded with three straight goals. Danenza found Dylan Molloy at the side of the net on the power play with 2:24 remaining.
Moments later, McAdorey charged to the net to make it 9-6.
Kavanagh capped the run by hopping over the crease and scoring with 1:19 left in the quarter.
However, Mackesy answered with a shot while falling with 54 seconds remaining as Boston took a 10-7 lead into the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter
The Cannons put the game away early with a pair of goals.
Regnery ran through the defence to score at the 2:01 mark before Kelly beat Ward with a sidearm shot at 3:26.
Brian Tevlin got on the board for the Redwoods at 4:35, using a stutter step to get around a defender before scoring from just inside the arc.
Boston answered when Regnery found Weisshaar in front of the net. Weisshaar finished with a twister at 5:48 to make it 13-8.
English scored on a heads-up play with 4:53 remaining. After collecting a rebound off the post, he got another shot on goal. Kirst got a piece of it, but the ball bounced over the line to make it 13-9.
The Redwoods capitalized on a Boston mistake with 4:13 left. An ill-advised pass landed on Garnsey’s stick, and he caught Kirst out of position to cut the deficit to three.
The Cannons answered when Kelly found Holman in front for a twister finish with 3:29 remaining, making it 14-10.
Garnsey crashed the net with 1:47 left to make it 14-11 and briefly spark the Redwoods’ comeback hopes.
However, the Cannons put the game out of reach when Regnery spun free and scored into the empty net on the power play with 33 seconds remaining.
McAdorey scored a highlight-reel one-handed goal with 18.6 seconds left, but the Redwoods couldn’t overcome their slow start, falling 15-12.
Top Scorers
Boston Cannons
- Colter Mackesy — 4g, 2a
- Brian Kelly — 3g, 2a
- Marcus Holman — 3g
- Jack Regnery — 2g, 1a
California Redwoods
- Andrew McAdorey — 3g
- Chris Kavanagh — 2g
- Ryder Garnsey — 2g
- Sam English — 2g
- Aidan Danenza — 2a
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