All signs point to the Yorkton Bulldogs going the way of a dinosaur next year.
The Bulldogs, who play in the Prairie Gold Lacrosse League, are poised to lose a handful of their players in the offseason and are tired of struggling to garner support from the community.
"In my opinion, I don't think there will be a junior team next year in Yorkton," said Bulldogs head coach Joey Choptuik. "I don't think we'll have enough players and the whole thing has been a struggle. We've had trouble getting time at the Gallagher Centre and we haven't gotten a lot of help from the city to support the team."
There could be a senior lacrosse team in Yorkton if there is enough interest, though.
"It's possible there could be a senior team, but it will depend on how many guys want to play next year" said Choptuik.
The fan support for the Bulldogs was poor to say the least. Few and far between Yorktonians showed up to the junior lacrosse games this year and in the past. This is truly a shame as the game is exciting to watch and is Canada's national sport. Not to mention, there was no fee to sit in the stands.
"It would have been nice to get more people out to the games," added Choptuik.
Yorkton struggled to dress a team because of their shorthanded roster and injuries this year. This, ultimately, caused them to forfeit their first-round playoff game against the Saskatoon Smash on July 6.
"It was disappointing, but we just didn't have enough players to play the game," said Choptuik.
Interest in Lacrosse has gone downhill in Yorkton since the Yorkton Minor Lacrosse association went belly-up roughly half a decade ago. Without any minor league play, the Bulldogs haven't generated interest from capable lacrosse players in the community.
"This group of players this year was a last group from back when there was minor lacrosse," said Choptuik. "It's hard to bring in new guys when they aren't learning the sport when they're younger."
The Bulldogs finished the season in a three-way tie for last place with a 3-7 record. There were, however, some bright spots in the Bulldogs' last hurrah.
"We had some good games," said Choptuik. "The guys played hard and put together some good efforts. There were some good points to the year."
Team leaders
Jayden Dozorec finished first in points with 25 and first in assists with 15... Jackson Tetreault finished first in goals with 14... Louden Choptuik averaged a 10.40 GAA between the pipes... Layne Hull led the team in penalty minutes with 55and an honourable mention to Davis Vandane who scored 11 goals in four games before suffering an ankle injury.
