Overview:
Daniel May is a Toronto native and current lacrosse player at Jacksonville University. May’s Grinders is a weekly series which highlights the contributions of players around the league, particularly those that don’t appear on the box score. Check back here every week for another edition of May’s Grinders!
Welcome back to another edition of May’s Grinders. Let’s get right into it.
Ryan Terefenko, Halifax Thunderbirds
It’s hard to miss Ryan Terefenko when he’s on the floor. His uncanny speed through the middle of the floor provides the Thunderbirds with an automatic clearing option. Whether it’s a contested defensive zone loose ball that turns up in Terefenko stick, or a time where he needs to run it by multiple players, he’s reliable.
Halfway through the first, he picked up a loose ball with two Buffalo Bandits draped all over him. He scooped up the ball, handled a hit, and ran through continuous pressure to get the ball to the offence.
In another instance, while killing five on three power play, Terefenko collected the ball off of a Trevor Smith blocked shot and ran the ball through the entire Bandit power play. Terefenko showed the whole menu of moves: swim dodge, face dodge, you name it. Terefenko shifted his way through every player Buffalo threw at him, and by doing so, killed off the remainder of the first penalty.
Even until the last minutes of the game, Terefenko made his presence felt in the clear, which became monumental in Halifax’s 14-12 comeback win.
Kyle Buchanan, Buffalo Bandits
Kyle Buchanan had a stellar game in the statistical department on Friday, finishing the game with four points (3 goals, 1 assist). But aside from the points, he stood out for his tenacious effort in the ride, which created second-chance opportunities for the Bandits offence.
Although he was only credited with one caused turnover in the box score, he forced multiple turnovers in the ride. His first came earlier on in the game when he chased down a Halifax player to the center line and landed a wrap check, dislodging the ball for his teammate to pick up. On another occasion, along with Josh Byrne, he rode the ball up to the center line, pinching the Halifax player by the boards to force another turnover.
Buchanan makes his money off-ball. On two of his goals, he slipped into open space behind his defenders head. At just the right moment, his teammates found him and he made no mistake.
His second goal of the game was a perfect example—slipping out of an up-pick for Dhane Smith, towards the middle, and catching the feed on the doorstep and finishing while shuffling the crease. The frustration in the body language of the Thunderbirds players reflects the challenge of guarding Buchanan.
Shane Simpson, Calgary Roughnecks
Calgary has made their identity fairly clear so far this season—physicality. Only three players on their roster are listed under six feet tall. Although speed isn’t an ability that first comes to mind when thinking about highly physical teams, Calgary has a few horses on the back end that bring this to the table.
Shane Simpson is one of those players who stands out for his size and speed, putting up three points (2 goals, 1 assist) in their win against Halifax on Sunday. Both of Simpson’s goals were a result of him taking advantage of sleepy offensive players who weren’t getting to the bench quickly enough, or able to keep up with him.
His first goal of the game came from a rebound that bounced off the backboards and right in front of him near the blue line. He was in line with a couple Halifax players, and another was able to get to the bench to spring a defender. It didn’t matter.
As soon as Simpson turned on the burners, nobody was within five yards of him by the time he scored. As Teddy Jenner exclaimed on the broadcast, “Simpson’s speed in undeniable.”
His second was even better. Simpson was at the top of the box on the penalty kill. Christian Del Bianco made a save, and before anyone on Halifax had time to react, Simpson was streaking up the floor where he was met by a perfect feed by Del Bianco, reminiscent of Bo Levi Mitchell.
The threat of him being able to do that can totally throw off a power play, and in this instance, he made Halifax pay for not being aware.
Furthermore, the goal came at a critical point in the game. It made the game 15-11 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, essentially giving Calgary control for the rest of the game. Were Simpson not able to score, it could have been a very different game for Calgary.
Luckily for the Roughnecks and their fans, number 22 wasn’t going to let that happen.
Check back next week for more!