A triumphant return
Poskay powers Cannons' rout
The first three times they tried to announce Matt Poskay's name last night at Harvard Stadium, the microphone cut out.
"For the first time this season . . ." Cut.
"Please welcome back, the 2008 Boston Cannons' team MVP . . ." Another cut.
Otherwise Poskay's comeback went better than he could have dreamed. No one would have to know about the first three games he missed. No one would have to know about the doctor's appointment in May and the crushing news he received. The surgery to remove the rare testicular cancer that his doctor caught in its early stages. Being endlessly tired from radiation treatments, watching his team lose three games by one goal.
Then, almost unannounced, Poskay was back in the lineup. He scored four goals as the Cannons beat the Chicago Machine, 22-11. Afterward, he wasn't "Matt Poskay, returning from his bout with cancer," but "Matt Poskay, game MVP."
Three of Poskay's four goals stopped runs as Chicago tried to stay close in the first half. After attackman Kenny Nims cut the Cannons' lead to 2-1, Poskay received a pass from Paul Rabil and flung it past Machine goalie Mike Gabel's helmet, the first of six straight Boston goals.
Terry Kimener pulled the Machine within 9-4 at 9:30 of the second quarter, but Poskay fired home a one-hopper a minute later. Chicago's Kevin Leveille scored two minutes later, and Poskay responded again, making it 11-5 at halftime.
"It's a game of runs," Poskay said. "And we were just trying to make sure they didn't make any runs."
This was a continuing theme from last season, according to Cannons coach Bill Daye - when the other team is making a run, just look to Major League Lacrosse's reigning Offensive Player of the Year.
"That's what Matt Poskay does," Daye said. "He can see the field and knows when to take control. I think he took five shots and four of them were goals."
Poskay would have had a fifth goal if his first shot didn't bounce off the left post. In the fourth quarter, Poskay added his last goal. It was workmanlike one - he absorbed contact and shot over the shoulder of his defender, too quick for Gabel to thwart.
"It felt great," he said. "It probably took until after the first goal to get really comfortable. But it was great to get my feet back under me. I'd been waiting around for four or five weeks."
Poskay said he felt none of the expected lethargy.
"The energy, the fans," he said, "all of that probably helped."
There were little tributes everywhere. Trivia questions that didn't mention his cancer, just his MLL-leading 34 goals last year, and the third All-Star selection of his three-year pro career. The roars from fans, most standing, after his first goal, even though there was no formal mention of what he's overcome.
It was clear Poskay didn't want anybody to know of his illness. There is no mention of his absence in the game program. The announcer simply said Poskay was returning.
Poskay will continue radiation in two weeks. He will stay with the Cannons (2-3) throughout the process.
"I'm a role player among all of these guys," he said.
Yes, Matt Alrich, Greg Downing, and Paul Rabil scored three times, and a cannon was fired in celebration of each Boston goal.
But by the end of last night's game, they were running out of mock cannonballs at Harvard Stadium, and Matt Poskay is the main reason for it. 