Brandon Miller And Tom Schreiber Win Player Of The Game For Canada And USA Respectively
Hamilton, ON – Team Canada extended their indoor winning streak to 24 games with a convincing 19-6 win over Team USA at FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, ON on Saturday night at the Heritage Cup international exhibition box lacrosse game.
The Rock had six members of their 2017 squad in the lineup with Brodie Merrill, Stephan Leblanc and Brandon Miller pulling on the red and white for Team Canada. In the red, white and blue of Team USA were Tom Schreiber, Kieran McArdle and Connor Buczek.
When the dust settled, Miller’s goaltending was the key to Canada’s convincing win, allowing just one goal in the second half to eliminate any chance of USA coming back from an 11-5 halftime deficit. The veteran Rock goaltender was named player of the game for Team Canada, making 38 saves on the night.
“I know you hear it a lot, but it always brings out so much pride when you get to play for your country,” said Miller. “It’s really special to team up with some of the best players and coaches in our sport. I also want to give credit to the Americans, they never stopped coming at us. They have some players with a real future in the box game.”
Merrill, an alternate Captain for Team Canada, opened the scoring for the home side erasing Team USA’s only lead of the game when he tied the score at one apiece on a breakaway early in the first quarter. Leblanc had one assist for Canada in the win.
Schreiber was brilliant in defeat for Team USA, scoring twice and adding one assist. Rock fans that were already drooling with anticipation over what ‘Captain America’ could do for an encore in his second season in Toronto probably had that level of excitement rise after Schreiber’s first goal of the night. The tally definitely drew some appreciation from the pro-Canadian crowd. McArdle also got his name on the board, drawing three assists. Schreiber, the 2017 NLL Rookie of the Year, was named player of the game for Team USA.
The Heritage Cup is an exhibition game with Canada, USA and the Iroquois Nationals competing. In the first Heritage Cup in 2002, Team USA pulled off an upset over Team Canada in Mississauga, ON, but since then, the Canadians have dominated international play with a 24-0 record. In 2013, the last time the Heritage Cup was held, Canada defeated the Iroquois Nationals 12-11 in Montreal, QC.
There are plans for another Heritage Cup game in the fall of 2018 between Team Canada and the Iroquois Nationals again in Hamilton, ON. The next World Indoor Lacrosse Championships will take place in Langley, BC at the Langley Events Centre in the fall of 2019.
The Toronto Rock teammates that were foes on Saturday night will return to being on the same side of things when training camp begins on Friday, November 3 at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre in Oakville, ON.
2017-18 Season Tickets are on sale now. Please visit torontorock.com/tickets or call 416-596-3075 to purchase or for more information.
Photo: Larry Palumbo, Coyote Magic Action Shots
