With three games to go in the Prairie Gold Lacrosse League regular season, the Prince Albert Outlaws find themselves in an increasingly close battle for playoff positioning in the senior division.
Following a 13-10 win over the Saskatoon Swat and a 15-15 draw with the Saskatoon Brewers at the Kinsmen Arena over the weekend, the 3-3-1 Outlaws are tied for third in the standings with the 3-4-1 Moose Jaw Chiefs on seven points.
Although they have a game in hand on the Chiefs, they only have a one point advantage over the Swat.
“This is one of those years where anything can happen with how close the competition is,” Outlaws defenceman and team captain James Holliday said.
“There’s a chance we can finish in second or third, or we could end up in sixth place if we don’t pick our up our level of play in the next couple of weeks.”
If the Outlaws need a template to build their late season play off of, they can look no further than Saturday night as they scored seven times in the second period to build up an 11-6 lead over the Swat.
“That was one of our best games of the entire season,” Holliday said. “Everything was clicking out there for us.
“The chemistry that our team has developed this year has been important to our success. Even though we have some new faces in our dressing room, it only took us a couple of games for all of us to come together.”
Ryan Potie and Brennan Boruch each had a hat trick in the victory, while Brendin Currie and Brody Holizki both potted a pair of goals for the Outlaws.
Steve Toporofsky scored four times for the Swat in a losing effort.
Sunday’s contest against the Steelers was a wild affair as each team fired 61 shots on goal and swapped the lead on multiple occasions.
“We were a little bit sluggish in the second period and that ended up hurting us a little bit,” Holliday said.
“We thought back hard in the third period and it ended up being a good finish for us, even though it ended in a tie.”
Holizki and Cody Schwan led the way for the Outlaws with three goal performances, while Jaydon Nystuen put together a dominant seven-goal showing for the Steelers.
The Outlaws and the 1-2-2 Steelers will square off against on Friday night in Saskatoon.
Following that contest, the Outlaws will have their regular season home finale against the 6-0 Saskatoon Brewers on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Kinsmen Arena.
Their last game before the playoffs with take place on Saturday, June 15 when they visit the 0-6 Meewasin Valley Plainsmen.
