The Quesnel Crossfire didn’t let the numbers on the scoreboard lower their enthusiasm. The Lacrosse team lost a lopsided affair to the BHL Bandits in Prince George Senior Lacrosse League action at the West Fraser Centre on Wednesday, May 11.
That didn’t stop the team from celebrating every goal they scored in the 21-5 loss in front of approximately 100 fans. Through four games, the team has only scored 11 times.
“We’re shaping up, we are not a winning team this season,” Hunter McSeveny, who was Quesnel’s leading scorer heading into the game, said afterwords.
“It’s a brand new season for us, so we are in a full rebuild.”
The Crossfire are still looking for their first win. This is the first season for the league since 2019, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
FROM OUR ARCHIVES — 2019: Quesnel Crossfire season ends with a fizzle
Three years removed from a season, the Crossfire has seen major roster turnover, and even the veteran players are still trying to find their groove.
“A lot of the boys, to be honest, are out of shape,” McSeveny said with a laugh.
“We’re just trying to get the new guys to learn how to play the game. We’ve got four who have picked up a stick this week for the first time in their lives, and most of us are trying to get back in the swing of things.”
The Crossfire’s downfall was illustrated in the first period. After some great saves from goaltender Jesse Deagle, Quesnel was able to score the first goal of the game. Unfortunately for the home team, they gave up a fast-break goal off the faceoff.
“We’re fortunate, our goalie has seen over 50 shots a game,” McSeveny said.
“He’s playing injured… but we’ve got one of the best goalies in the league. The scoreboard doesn’t show it, but he’s what holds us in there.”
The Bandits dominated at the restarts, scoring several times immediately after faceoffs. McSeveny said that was an illustration of the inexperience of the Quesnel team.
“Our new guys are playing a lot of (defense),” he said.
“We haven’t had a lot of practice due to rain, so we’re trying to tighten up the (defense)… We’ve got guys who can really shoot the ball, we’ve had four guys on our team who have led the league in scoring.
Much of the Bandits’ damage was done by scorer Cole Paciejewski, who represented Scotland at the 2019 World Indoor Lacrosse Championships.
Paciejewski had a league-leading 14 goals and 7 assists heading into the game against Quesnel, and only added to his totals on the night.
The Crossfire will have two games next week on Wednesday, May 18 and Thursday, May 19 at the West Fraser Centre, with no entrance fee.
READ MORE: Quesnel to host minor lacrosse tournament
Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email: cassidy.dankochik@quesnelobserver.com
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