Portland – Off. Next game at home against Blue Collar on 4/8.
 
Vancouver – The boys from John Bs bar came down across the border on April Fool’s Day and the joke was on the Crease Monkeys and Blue Collar as Vancouver bagged two wins on the afternoon. The opening tilt was an engaging affair in the 1^st half. A back and forth 1^st quarter saw the teams feeling each other out as they traded goals throughout the stanza. The Monkeys found twine late in the quarter to take a 4-3 lead into the 90 second quarter break. The 2^nd quarter was more of the same as each team was asking questions of the other. The scoreboard said the Monkeys lead by one at the half, but that was the last bit of joy for the defending champs. Vancouver cranked up the diesel engine and used a variety of middie dodges, cuts and unsettled situations to pull away. In the end, it was Vancouver ringing the bell with a 14-8 win. In the late evening match, Vancouver matched their offensive output in the opening game by lighting the scoreboard for another 14 goals. Coincidence? I think not. This team creates mismatches from the midfield and plays a box type game with strong dodges in tight. Kudos to Vancouver for traveling well on this afternoon.

 
Crease Monkeys – The Crease Monkeys had two games on the weekend, taking on Vancouver on Saturday with a Sunday morning game against Kavu to finish the PNLA action for the weekend. The Monkeys were feeling good at half time of the Vancouver game, but didn’t show up for the 2^nd half of the game. It wasn’t a lack of opportunities that did in the Monkeys; rather it was uncharacteristically poor finishing that made this an uneven match up. The team D looked shaky again with too many missed assignments. But on to Sunday against Kavu…..The Crease Monkeys were anxious to get back out on the field and rid themselves of the bitter taste of defeat. They must’ve felt that it would be on cruise control as they took a quick 3-0 lead a scant seven minutes into the 1^st quarter, but Kavu was in the mix and fought back. The play was chippy at times with yellow flags flying all over the place – more on that later. At half time, Kavu had clawed all the way back to head into half time with a 6-5 lead. Seeing as the Monkeys had blown a half time lead in the last two games, being down kind of felt comfortable….nowhere to go but up – and that is what they did as they uncorked a three goal spurt to open the 3^rd quarter. The refs were generous with the penalties on this afternoon. It must’ve been the strong home crowd cheering the Monkeys on that gave them the uneven advantage in man up opportunities and they didn’t need to ask twice, netting 4 goals on the advantage. The Monkeys also looked good in transition and unsettled situations as they were able to get goals off face-offs and fast breaks. If they could score more in 6v6, this game wouldn’t have gone to the wire as an 11-10 win.    

 
Kavu – Kavu played a determined brand of lacrosse against the Monkeys on Sunday. They had some Sports Center™ moments on their goals, which bordered on the spectacular. Grown men falling sideways and shooting from the hip as well as triple teamed middies aren’t really supposed to score – but Kavu made the tallies count. They weathered each of the Monkey runs – and had answers of their own as they made this into the most compelling game of the week. With the Monkeys holding a one-goal lead late in the game, spectators sensed that yet another OT was imminent in the early season. However, it was not to be – as the Monks clamped down on D to thwart the late threats from Kavu. If Kavu can stay out of the sin bin, then they’ll win these types of games with their opportunistic offense. As it was, the Crease Monkeys scored a couple easy goals on man-up to help even both teams record at 2-2.

 
Seattle – Off. Next game at home against Crease Monkeys on 4/8. This match-up will be yet another battle for playoff positioning.

 
Blue Collar – Off. Next game on the road against Portland on 4/8.
 
Victoria – Off. Next game at home against Vancouver on 4/15.