The lacrosse Bulldogs opened up the Prairie Gold Lacrosse League (PGLL)season over the weekend playing a road game in Estevan before coming home to host the Saskatoon Smash on Sunday afternoon.

Head coach Joe Choptuik admitted there were several things happening in the game that were beyond his control, but noted that the team was able to bounce back.

Having lost by one goal the night before in Estevan, Yorkton came back home and gave up six goals in the first period alone.

They respond with two in the second period; both by Justin Genaille who would complete the hat trick in the second period.

They tallied four more in the third period but came up short in the final seconds, losing by an 8-6 final.

He couldn't ignore the fact that they spent nearly 100 minutes in the penalty box.

"Ninety-three minutes…" he said after the game, pointing out that they were "just for our team!"

Yorkton penalties forced them to play shorthanded throughout the "whole second period".

We scored two in the second period…four in the third," he continued, but Saskatoon was able to answer back twice in the third period to add to the 6-2 lead they had going into the third.

Choptuik weighed the pros and cons of the second half of the game but didn't overlook the early 6-0 deficit.

"We beat them in two periods but that doesn't mean anything when you give up six (in the first period)."

Jayden Dozorec scored Yorkton's fourth marker, while Zach Soke tallied twice to round out the Bulldogs bite.

Jason Price, Calvin Moritz and Baden Boyenko each scored twice in the win for the Smash. The night before in Estevan, Choptuik said Genaille and Soke each tallied three goals.
That's back to back games that Genaille has scored three times.

"We were winning for most of the game," adds Choptuik of a 9-8 loss.

He said it was tough to play a game when every time they did something physical, they got called for it.

"No matter what we did, we got a penalty…we outplayed them!"

Next up for Yorkton, they take an 0-2 record into Regina on May 26. They play at home the following day to face the Saskatoon Steelers at 3 p.m.

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