Just like that, the Owen Sound Bluewater ProTeam NorthStars hit the midway point of the Ontario Junior B Lacrosse regular season tonight when they host the Orangeville Northmen.
The game is the 10th of the regular season for Owen Sound, and if the NorthStars are to return to the OLA Junior B playoffs after a one year absence, they need to put together a string of victories.
The NorthStars have played 2/3rds of their games on the road to this point, but they’ve managed to post a .500 record away from home with 3 wins and 3 defeats.
On home floor, Owen Sound has just one victory in 3 tries at the JD McArthur Arena and what has them behind the 8 ball now, and what may torpedo them in the long run, is losses at home to teams they’re battling with for a Wild Card spot. Both Guelph & the Spartans have wins in Owen Sound and those points may be greatly needed looking down the road.
With an overall record of 4 & 5, the NorthStars have a huge challenge tonight against an Orangeville squad that is 6 & 1 and might be a wee bit prickly after losing their first game of the year on Monday night
The general consensus in Junior B Lacrosse is that a Western team will need 11, maybe 12 wins to advance to the playoffs.
To reach that mark, Owen Sound would have to win 7 of their last 11, starting tonight against the Orangeville Northmen.
Game time tonight is 8 pm at the Harry Lumley-Bayshore.
I’m Fred Wallace