By Robert Hoselton
And then came Bishop’s. As Carleton has finally worked its way through all of its Eastern Division foes, I’ve at last had a chance to see the guy I’ve been waiting to see. Each opponent has brought something or someone special to watch. Queen’s has Chris Boushy and Dylan Hutchison’s chemistry. McGill has Goose Bolton’s shot. Nipissing’s Scott Dominey exerts his will like none other in the East. Trent’s Nick Karam and Garrett Eddy are just two of an offense that can come from anywhere. While Ottawa’s Fred Hartley slips through opposing defenses without ever seeming to get touched. And then there’s Sam Firth.
Like most Ottawa-area lax enthusiasts, I tend to track the success of the local kids in CUFLA. Having seen Firth play in the minors, I was anxious to see Bishop’s rookie and leading scorer step on the field for the Gaiters to see just how he’s been racking it up this year.
My verdict? Give the Rookie of the Year to the Bishop’s freshman right now. Firth is the most composed and patient rookie I’ve seen this year, bar none. His head is always up. He only takes what the defense gives him. If it isn’t there, he doesn’t push it. With a quiet stick, he makes the ball do most of the work. When he does get his chance, he’s just as likely to feed as he is to rip it. In many ways, he plays a very quiet game. And then you check the game sheet — 4 goals, 5 assists. Deadly.
Bishop’s came to the capital for a double-header this weekend. Saturday versus the Ravens, Sunday versus the GeeGees.
The game against the Ravens started slowly with both teams trading chances. Ravens’ rookie goalie Quinn Tucker turned away a number of early Gaiters’ shots until Simon Winquist finally solved Tucker on a feed from Firth half way through the first quarter. Bishop’s scored four more times on goals by Matthew Patterson (2), Douglas Porter and a second from Winquist to finish the quarter 5-0.
The Gaiters’ game has always been known for its consistency from the start of the game to the final whistle. Unrelenting, the Gaiters maintained their pressure, scoring another four in the second — Winquist collecting his hat trick, Firth netting his first, with Eric Mawdsley and Xavier Perron pitching in. The half ended 9-0 for Bishop’s.
The Ravens’ Cam Breen opened the scoring in the second half on a sweep. Bishop’s responded with five of their own, Winquist netting his fourth and fifth of the game, Patterson picking up his hat trick goal, Perron getting his second and one from Devlin Kauffeldt. The third quarter finished with a slicing individual effort from the Ravens’ Hayden Cummings and ended 14-2 Bishop’s.
Bishop’s outscored the Ravens 7-1 in the final 20 minutes. Firth scored 3. Patterson picked up his fourth of the day with Mawdsley netting his second while Taren Cook added another. In a replay of his first goal, Cummings responded for the Ravens with his second of the day. Then, with two seconds to play, to the cheers of his entire team, the Gaiters worked to set up Keegan McKay for his first CUFLA goal — assisted by one-nine (Firth), of course. Final score: 21-3.
Bishop’s moves on to play the GeeGees on Sunday. The Ravens look to regroup against the GeeGees on Monday.
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