(July 5, 2012)… Johnny Powless and Randy Staats will soon showcase their talents at the 2012 U-19 World Lacrosse Championships for the Iroquois Nationals. Unfortunately for the St. Catharines Athletics, the Six Nations’ tandem does not leave for Finland until Sunday. (Photos by Ward Laforme Jr)

Staats followed up his 12-point effort in Game 1 with an eight-point performance (5+3) in the second game of the best-of-five series. Powless was close behind with six points (3+3). With the 14-6 victory Wednesday night, the Arrows are now just one win away from advancing to the Ontario Semifinals.

“The duo has been great for us,” said Six Nations Head Coach Marshall Abrams. “It gives us the 1-2 punch that is hard for other teams to match up against.”
On Wednesday night, the Athletics proved to be a tougher test than they were in an 18-1 loss in the opener. Six Nations used four power-play goals and a five-goal run in the second period to break open the contest.

“It was a great win tonight,” said Powless. “Hopefully, tomorrow night we can finish the series.”

St. Catharines opened the game with its first lead of the series. Spencer Allen put the Athletics in front 1-0, as he beat goalie Don Alton for a shorthanded goal at 7:23. Yet, the lead was short-lived with the Six Nations Arrows answering just 23 seconds later. Staats notched a power-play tally from Powless at Seth Oakes at 7:46. Brandon Montour then staked Six Nations to a 2-1 advantage at 9:46, but St. Catharines evened the contest on a goal by Nicholas Beaudoin at 10:17. Shayne Adams’ power-play marker at 14:02 broke the tie, and was the first of three straight goals by the Arrows to take a 5-2 lead.

After a St. Catharines’ goal at 8:12 of the second period, Six Nations took control of the game with five straight goals, with two coming on the power play. Staats struck for three goals, while Powless and Oakes connected for the other two goals. The Arrows ended the second with a 10-3 lead.

St. Catharines tried to keep the game close with two goals by Beaudoin. His first game was at 3:05 and his second at 7:19, which followed a goal by Six Nations’ Brandon Montour. Powless put the game out of reach with two goals down the stretch. Vaughn Harris also tacked on a goal to go along with four assists, ending the game blank to blank.

Game 3 is set for 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 5th in St. Catharines.

After the series, Powless and Staats will take on the best teams in the world at the U-19 event in Turku, Finland. The 12-team tournament runs from July 12-21 with the Iroquois Nationals opening up against England on Friday, July 13th.