The Cranbrook Elite got plenty of goals in their only game of the weekend.

They also did a pretty good job of staying out of the penalty box. All that was missing was a deep enough bench that the team could withstand a key injury.

Ultimately, they dropped a 15-10 decision to the Barracudas in Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League action in Lethbridge on Saturday.

A disheartening second period - in which Mike Miles had to be helped off the floor after re-injuring his ankle, and Lethbridge outscored Cranbrook 7-2 - was the difference.

"When we were slowing the play down and controlling the ball and playing our defence better, we were outplaying them," said head coach Ron Miles. "Even in the third period, we did a good job offensively. Defensively, we had some lapses because they had no gas in the tank, and that's what hurt us again."

The Elite had been leading after the first period, thanks to goals from Dakota Hollister, Keiffer Hollister and Mike Nelson.

Then, early in the second period, Mike Miles leveled an opponent with a check, and the Barracuda fell right on the Elite captain's ankle, exacerbating a previous injury.

Miles said his elder son had played the weekend before - "He was hobbling around like a struck deer." - but looked fine before Sunday's match.

Coach Miles said that loss led to a bit of a tailspin.

"That put us down to 11 runners, and 12 was tough enough," he said.

Casey Hanemayer and Brodie Liddle scored for Cranbrook in the middle frame, while Lethbridge scored seven times to take the lead.

During the second intermission, the team talked about regrouping and getting back to their game and trying to win the third period.

That seemed to work, with Keiffer and Dakota Hollister scoring on the other side of a pair from Nik Dean and a single from Dillon Prasad. But by then, the energy reserves were depleted.

Miles said a team meeting was in the offing, to discuss the members' level of commitment for away games. One player begged off to go golfing, while others offered what the coach felt were flimsy excuses.

"It's not fair to their teammates, and we're going to have to deal with that for the balance of the season."

Still, he was happy the club reached the 10-goal plateau again, and took just five minor penalties.

"It helps that they know it's not fair to go take a two-minute rest," laughed Miles.

Next weekend, the Elite are back on the road to face the Okotoks Ice (6-2) and Strathmore Venom (5-4).

Miles said both teams are beatable, especially if the Elite have a full bench and play to their potential.

"Some of the plays that we were making were very good lacrosse plays and exactly what we're trying to do," he said. "It's starting to click. I'm a believer if our guys were able to play consistently with the style of offence that we're supposed to be playing, then we would do way better. Most teams in this league are (comparatively) limited in their offence."