Even though they both occupy the bottom of the Queen City Minor Box Lacrosse League midget standings, the Estevan Devils and Moose Jaw Mustangs might just be the most exciting matchup in the league.
Heading into QCMBL League action on Sunday, both teams were tied with one win on the year. In their only previous matchup, the Devils managed to squeak out a 6-5 win. All things considered, Sunday's game was built up to be an exciting one. And it didn't disappoint.
The teams battled back and forth, taking a 6-6 tie late into the game. With only 30 seconds left on the game clock, Moose Jaw scored to go up by one.
The late goal was too much for the Devils to come back from, as Moose Jaw held on to an exciting 7-6 win.
"The team played fairly well. It was a good game. We played well defensively and got some good offensive chances," said Devils head coach, Evan Handley.
Derek Davidson and Rhett Handley led the Devils in scoring, potting two goals each.
With the loss, the Devils drop to 1-8. Handley isn't counting the team out though. With five games remaining, Estevan will meet their Moose Jaw rivals twice more.
The Devils play the league-leading Bandits today, and then face off against the Yellow Submarines for two games in two days on June 6 and 7.
The Devils have proved they can compete against Moose Jaw, and the Yellow Submarines are still very much within reach in the standings.
"I think if we play hard we can definitely compete against the Yellow Submarines. Our last game was tight against them," said Handley. "We play them back to back, so that's a good chance to work on things and see what they do offensively and defensively and maybe expose some of their weaknesses."
Handley is proud of the team's play so far in the season, and is excited about the future of lacrosse in Estevan.
"I think our team has improved so much since the start of the year. Whether it shows on the scoreboard or not, every kid on our team has improved and we're playing much, much better. Things look really good for Estevan lacrosse," said Handley.
