NLL Insider

Ontario Junior A

Whitby, Brampton, Six Nations and Orangeville win Sunday

They had the lead anyway, but a five-goal third period — including a hat trick from Mark Matthews — sealed up a 10-4 Whitby Warriors win over the Brampton Excelsiors. Whitby goaltender Jesse Gill allowed just one goal in the third and turned in 41 saves on the night. In addition to his three goals Matthews chipped in with three assists. Mark Cockerton added three goals as well. For the Excelsiors, Dylan Evans and Ryan McClelland had one goal and one helper each.

Over in Orillia, the Kitchener-Waterloo Braves landed on top of a defensive battle with the Rama Kings, taking the win 4-2. Evan Kirk stopped 36 of 38 to win it on his end of the floor while Scott Tinning, Jon Thomson, Matt Hummel and Chris Lalonde beat Rama Kings keeper Derrick Gordon, who otherwise posted 39 saves. Tinning and Thomson creaked the lead open in the third with their goals while Kirk posted a shutout period.

It was Wayne Vanevery with the overtime heroics, scoring with six seconds left in OT to give the Six Nations Arrows a 7-6 win over the Burlington Chiefs. In addition to assisting on the game-winner, Cody Jamieson had another two goals and two assists to lead the Arrows with five points. Angus Goodleaf made 44 saves for Six Nations, while Gary Muzzin stopped 48 for the Chiefs. Kevin Brownell scored three in a losing effort.

In other OLA action the Orangeville Northmen topped the St. Catharines Athletics 7-5.

B.C. Junior A, WLA

Langley, New West Sr. and New West Jr. win in BC

It was a night of lopsided victories in British Columbia as the Langley Thunder stomped the Nanaimo Timbermen 19-8, the Sr. New Westminster Salmonbellies dropped the Coquitlam Adanacs 12-7, and the Jr. New Westminster Salmonbellies rolled over the Delta Islanders 15-5.

In the Langley-Nanaimo game, Tom Johnson had four goals and two assists for the Thunder, Rob Buchan had one goal and seven helpers, and Josh Joseph and Justin Norbraten chipped in two goals and three assists each. Scott Ranger had four goals for the Timbermen.

Over at the Coquitlam Sports Centre, Ian Hawksbee had one goal and five helpers to lead the Salmonbellies in points, while Jamie Floris had three goals and two assists and Chris Gill had two and three. For the Adanacs, Jason Wulder put up five points.

In BC Junior A action, Delta Islanders keeper Steve Bourget faced a Salmonbelly onslaught, making 37 saves in the two periods he played prior to being relieved of goaltending duties. It wasn’t enough to keep the Islanders in the game, however, as they dropped the 15-5 decision. Kevin Crowley and Alex Turner led the New West offense with five points apiece. New West goaltender Neil Tyacke made 25 stops. For the Islanders, Robbie Campbell had two goals and one assist. A total of 181 penalty minutes were assessed, with New West’s Adam Foss taking home the tightly contested title of most penalized player of the game with 24 minutes.

Major Series Lacrosse

MSL kicks off with St. Regis and Brampton wins

Major Series Lacrosse is officially underway and the St. Regis Indians have started things off with a 9-5 win over the defending Mann Cup champion Peterborough Lakers.

John Tavares got the Indians off to a 2-0 start with a pair of goals in the first ten minutes, going on to register four goals and three assists on the night. A 3-2 score in the second period was as close as Peterborough would come. In addition to Tavares’s seven point effort, the Indians were led by Scott Thompson with two goals and three assists and Kevin Dostie with one and four. Jason Clark and Josh Gillam had four points apiece for the Lakers.

In other MSL opening night action the Brampton Excelsiors defeated the Six Nations Chiefs 10-7. Colin Doyle, Dan Teat, Jeff Shattler and Sean Holmes had three points apiece for the Excelsiors, with Anthony Cosmo backstopping the way to a win. For the Chiefs, Tom Montour and Billy Dee Smith had one goal and one assist each.

Shawn Evans, the subject of rumours surrounding a signing with Six Nations, was not suited up for the Chiefs or the Lakers. Athan Iannucci was also MIA, but it’s worth noting that Rob Van Beek had two assists for the St. Regis Indians.

Ontario Junior A

Akwesasne Indians thump Mississauga Tomahawks 13-7

Maybe the St. Catharines Standard wasn’t so far off when they mistakenly identified the Akwesasne Indians as the Awesome Indians last week. With their 13-7 win over the Tomahawks they move to 4-1-1 on the season.

The Indians got the early jump on the Tomahawks, going up 7-3 in the first period and later increasing their lead by two in the third. Miles Thompson, Justin Oakes, Peter Jacobs and Kyle Buchanan popped in two goals apiece, while Jeremy Thompson had one goal and four helpers to lead the team in points. Joe Tallis made 28 saves.

Mike Dawson, Mark Whittaker, Dan McIsaac and Simon De Sousa had three points each for Mississauga.

• Note: any Jr. A player from B.C., Ontario or Alberta that would like to participate in weekly player polls please send a quick email to lauren.ward@nllinsider.com

WLA

Shamrocks win third straight, Adanacs win second

It was an ugly affair that included 97 minutes in penalties, but the Victoria Shamrocks remained unbeaten with an 8-6 win over the Maple Ridge Burrards last night.

Nick Patterson made 46 saves, Kelly Hall drilled in three goals and two assists, and Lewis Ratcliff and Ryder Bateman added two goals and two helpers apiece. Derek Lowe led Maple Ridge with three goals.

• Shamrocks improve to 3-0: C-FAX 1070
• New GM has ‘Rocks on a roll: Victoria Times

In other WLA action, the Coquitlam Adanacs improved to 2-0 on the season by besting the Burnaby Lakers 12-9. Rookie Dane Dobbie contributed three goals and two assists, while Peter Veltman added one and five, and Tim Campeau and Jarret Davis had four points each. For the Lakers, Ian Paterson had three goals and two assists.

B.C. Junior A

Nanaimo and Port Coquitlam add to the win column

Heading into Friday night’s game, the Nanaimo Timbermen had never beaten the Burnaby Lakers. Had never even come close, really, with the Lakers scoring sometimes breaking into the 20’s versus the Timbermen. But as the saying goes, there’s no time like the present — and the present holds a 7-4 Nanaimo win over Burnaby.

Tied 4-4 with seven minutes left in regulation, the Timbermen went on a three goal spree — one from Steve Higgs and two from Andrew Kelly — to take the 7-4 lead they would end the game with. Goaltender Drew Dickie made nine saves on ten shots in the pivotal third period, and 30 saves overall. Colton Clark led the team in points with three. Shaun Dhaliwal had two goals for the Lakers.

Over in Port Coquitlam, the PoCo Saints downed the South Fraser Stickmen 6-5. With the win PoCo improves their record to 5-4.

Martin Cummings had three goals for the Saints while Andrew Murphy had one goal and three assists. Richard Cambrey made 27 saves. For the Stickmen, Scott Davidson and Mitch Dibblee had three points apiece.

• Note: any Jr. A player from B.C., Ontario or Alberta that would like to participate in weekly player polls please send a quick email to lauren.ward@nllinsider.com
To comment visit the NLLForums

Ontario Junior A

Friday night Ontario Jr. A action

There were five games played Friday night, with the biggest margin of victory being a 7-3 Six Nations Arrows win over the Brampton Excelsiors. With the win the Arrows are 4-0 on the season and currently sit on top of the standings. The Excelsiors fall to 1-2.

Things were a lot closer over in Akwesasne, where the Jr. Indians and Peterborough Lakers battled their way to a 6-6 tie. Kyle Buchanan led the Indians with two goals and two assists while Peter Jacobs worked to adjust his game to Jr. A. Zac McIllmoyle led the Lakers with one goal and two helpers. Goaltenders Ryan Masters and Justin Delormier each posted shut-out overtime periods.

The Orangeville Northmen kept their record perfect, earning their third win of the season 5-4 over the K-W Braves. Jay Card, Greg Harnett, Matt Macleod and Matt McMurray had two points apiece for the Northmen while goaltender Nick Rose stopped 37 of 41. Evan Kirk turned away 55 shots for the Braves and added two assists.

It was another one-goal game in Mississauga where the Tomahawks fell 6-5 to the Orillia Rama-Hammond Kings. After scoring the first goal of the game, the Kings’ offense went silent as the Tomahawks went on a five-goal run in the second period. Unfortunately for the Tomahawks, the Kings then matched that five-goal run and had the upper hand in the final score thanks to the game-opening goal. Mike Woods posted three points for Orillia.

The Whitby Warriors downed the Toronto Beaches 9-7 on the strength of three goals and one assist from Mark Cockerton, two goals and two assists from Mark Matthews, and 38 saves from Jesse Gill. For the Beaches, James Neville and Branden Collins each had three goals and one assist while Shaun Palmer turned away 42 of 51.

NLL Insider

This summer on NLL Insider

Hey guys, just wanted to throw up a quick post about what we’ve got up our sleeves for coverage this summer. Been getting a ton of emails from readers, players, coaches and everyone else connected to the game, wonderin’ what we’d be doing now that the NLL season is put to bed.

Well, we’re hitting up the summer loop all over Canada, and even the US, with more rankings, analysis, stats breakdowns, Q&A’s, player polls, game previews and a whole whack of player blogs from just about every level of ball in Canada. Plus apparently Inside Lacrosse couldn’t get rid of Ted Jenner, so evidently he’ll be checkin’ in weekly all summer too. Just click on his posts and give him some traffic, that way he thinks people are actually reading his stuff. It’ll keep him happy and relatively quiet.

We’ll also be staying on top of the NLL off-season, focusing on the prospects in this year’s Entry Draft along with a look at what teams are doing this summer in preparation for 2009.

If it’s box related, we’ll try out best to be on top of it this summer and bring ya as much breaking news as possible.

So next week, make sure you’re dialed into NLLInsider.com, cuz the crew at the site has a whole host of summer box coverage planned, and it officially kicks off on Monday.

NLL Insider

It’s transition time

Hey guys, I hope all has been strong in the Yard!! My time has been busy over the last month or so, dealing with our early National Lacrosse League exit, as well as travelling home to Ontario, Canada, and getting geared up for the summer.

Over last three weeks, I have travelled back home with the family and continued to train in preparation for what seems to be a very busy summer of lax!! I will be playing in Brampton in the OLA Major Series (indoor lax) and competing there for the Mann Cup, as well as playing in the MLL with the Rochester Rattlers. Both seasons, continue over the course of the summer and do conflict sometimes, but I look forward to playing a full MLL season and as many as 13 games in the OLA. It should make for a busy summer, but what else would you rather be doing???

Click here to read the rest of this post and leave comments for Colin.

NLL Insider

No rest for the wicked

I’ve never really liked that saying because, I’m not wicked. OK, maybe wicked awesome but only the So-Cal surfers talk like and I’m a laid back Vancouver islander who likes to get out there and give ‘er.

But for the few hundred National Lacrosse League superstars the “rest” period is literally no time at all.

For most players, as soon as their team has played their last game of the season they head home, get razzed by their friends for not being in the post season or in the final. They spend their first free weekend in 6 months with their family and catch up on some much needed sleep. However, after that little break it’s right back in the saddle for the grueling summer months of lacrosse.

READ MORE »

From the Stands

MAY-hem just doesn’t express it!

So, you think you’re a lacrosse fan, but you’re depressed because the National Lacrosse League season is over? 

Pack up the family and move your butt to Rochester because May is when we take a breath for about sixteen seconds and roll right into the next lacrosse fandemonium.  Take a look at this weekend for most of us Upstate New York lacrosse fans:

Thursday May 22^nd 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.: The Rattlers Rowdies debuted the Rattlers Roundup Radio Show for the summer.  Tune into www.rattlersrowdies.com each week to hear from all of your Rattlers favorites and of course the Ripper Report.

READ MORE »

WLA

New West drops Burnaby 9-6

A solid lead in the first paid off in the end as the New Westminster Salmonbellies defeated the Burnaby Lakers 9-6 last night at Queens Park Arena. With each team scoring five goals in the second and third periods, it was New West’s 4-1 start to the game that locked up their second win of the season. Burnaby falls to 0-2.

New West got a one goal four assist effort from Jordan McBride, four assists from Cory Melville and two goals apiece from Jamie Floris and Darren McEwen. Four of the nine New West goals came on the powerplay. Tyler Richards turned away 46 of 52 shots.

For the Lakers, Kerry Susheski had two goals and one assist, and Chris Manwaring, Jeff Buchanan and Rory McDade contributed two points each.

Burnaby is back in action tonight against the Coquitlam Adanacs. The Victoria Shamrocks and Maple Ridge Burrards will also face off at 7:45 PST.

The Beat

Best NLL title game of all time?

If ya didn’t see it, you’ve at least heard about it by now and we’ve gotta ask: Which National Lacrosse League title game is the best of them all?

Whatever your answer is, 2008’s gotta get some love. The mad scramble in the final seconds with six Portland shooters who tried and tried but couldn’t get anything past Mike “Money” Thompson makes Buffalo’s 14-13 victory an instant classic. Maybe some of you old-school fans have a soft spot for the 1987 game between the Baltimore Thunder and Washington Wave, just because it’s the first title tilt. Of course, there’s Philly’s 1994 win over the Bandits, where Gary Gait scored eight freakin’ goals and who can forget Toronto’s 2000 win over the Knighthawks, when Kaleb Toth scored the winning goal with 1.1 seconds left? I’m pretty sure Knighthawks fan remembers that one, but doesn’t want to. Buffalo’s back to back wins in 1992 and 1993 were pretty solid with the ‘92 game going to OT and the ‘93 matchup decided by a single goal. John Tavares was MVP in both of those games.

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This list isn’t definitive. It’s just a start to get you thinking long and hard about your vote. And if ya have second thoughts after you voted, swing on over to WingsZone where you can not only vote again, but you can add your 2 cents.

• Bandits schedule victory rally for Thursday: Bandits.com
• “Play Lacrosse” launched by NLL, Reebok: NLL.com
• It’s a lacrosse invasion: Boston Herald
• Vote for Crystal or Megan today: NLLInsider.com

The Beat

Tragic lacrosse related accident takes the life of a Toronto teen

A lacrosse related death has grabbed headlines across the country this morning, after 15-year-old Toronto Beaches prospect Jamieson Kuhlmann succumbed to what appear to be head and neck injuries sustained in a field lacrosse game this past Monday evening.

The game was being played in Newmarket against Mississuaga. Kuhlmann had dished off a pass and was hit by an opposing player just minutes into the first quarter. Reports indicate that both players connected with each-other in the shoulder, neck and head area. Kuhlmann dropped to the ground where he told the team trainer he wasn’t feeling well. READ MORE »

The Beat

Through the eyes of a Jax fan

Yeah, there were 18,000-plus at Saturday’s National Lacrosse League title game, but not all of them were fans of the Buffalo Bandits.

In the days before the game, I scoured WingsZone and was pleasantly surprised to find that a few Portland LumberJax fans were gonna try to make the trip out East. Knowing plane tickets on such short notice ain’t cheap, I figured that’s REAL dedication. As it turns out, just one fan that I know of was able to make the trip, although there were plenty more Jax fans in attendance that night. Mostly, it was friends and family of Jax players who were from Ontario and I even chatted briefly with a woman wearing a Jax sweatshirt who said her son was faceoff guy Pat Jones. Still, I wanted to find someone making the trip from out West and I found David.

I really wanted to catch up with David and get his thoughts and we actually did talk on the phone Saturday before the game. Yet somehow, our paths kept crossing. And, unfortunately, it just didn’t happen. I had to get up to press row before the game and although I wasn’t able to catch up with David in person, he was kind enough to provide us with a written account of his trip to Buffalo. So if ya turn the page, you can find out what it was like to be a LumberJax fan in hostile territory on the day a title was at stake.

READ MORE »

Major Series Lacrosse, WLA

Iannucci, Evans, and Roik still up in the air

With the WLA already more than a week deep and the MSL ready to kick-off their season this weekend, a number of high profile players are still being linked to a number of rumours that will likely see them switching teams in the near future.

As NLL Insider reported a couple weeks back, it still doesn’t appear that New Westminster Salmonbellies’ forward Athan Iannucci has officially made a move to the East, whether that be to St. Regis or one of a number of other Ontario based clubs that have apparently shown interest in the NLL MVP.

The Cornwall Standard reported today that Iannucci is still on the Indians’ radar and that a potential signing is still being discussed but is not yet finalized. The paper also reports that Steve Toll, Pat Maddalena, Peter Jacobs, Joe Hall and Lee Thomas have all committed to St. Regis this year, joining a cast that already sports players like John Tavares, Kevin Dostie, Brett Bucktooth and keeper Mike Thompson. READ MORE »

B.C. Junior A, WLA

Coquitlam hops into first in Jr, Victoria downs Langley in Sr

There was a shaky start to it — a 6-6 tie halfway through the second period — but in the end Joel Weber got into the Coquitlam net, blocked 19 of 20, and the Adanacs got the win that was expected, a 16-7 victory over the South Fraser Stickmen that pushes them into first place with a 6-1 record.

Scott DeFrancesco led the Adanacs with five goals and four assists while Jordan Weir added three goals and Jarrett Davis scored one and helped on seven. Mitch Dibblee had three goals and two assists for the Stickmen. With the loss the Stickmen fall to 0-9.

Elsewhere in British Columbia lacrosse, the Victoria Shamrocks handed a home opening loss to the Langley Thunder, 11-9. With the win the Shamrocks improve to 2-0.

Langley got the early jump, going up 3-0 to start the game but the Shamrocks battled back with five straight goals and kept it close until almost halfway into the third when Ryder Bateman and Lewis Ratcliff teamed up to score three goals in just over one minute and put the game just out of reach.

Ratcliff had four goals and three assists overall, Bateman had three and two, and Kelly Hall, Teddy Jenner, Luke Hinton and Tyler Heavenor had three points apiece. Nick Patterson — last week’s WLA player of the week — held the Thunder to three goals in the pivotal third period, stopping 15 of 18. Tom Johnson led Langley with two goals and two assists.
Photo credit: Gary Woodburn

NLL Insider

Blazers Kick Off Summer Events

As the National Lacrosse League season comes to a close, Boston Blazers operations are in full swing.  Yesterday, we had a meeting with our seven summer interns followed by their first task of assembling our IKEA office furniture.

Final touches are being put on our permanent office space, across the street from the TD Banknorth Garden.  It is an exciting time here in Boston as we prepare for the biggest lacrosse event of the year … the NCAA Final Four in Foxboro, Mass.  Skeptics believed having the Final Four in New England would negatively affect attendance.  All reports so far suggest another record crowd this weekend. 

READ MORE »

The Beat

Silcott surprised by his firing

Our own Ty Pilson let us know about Kurt Silcott’s firing late Tuesday night, and Kurt was just was surprised as everyone else.

Sure, the Calgary Roughnecks made the National Lacrosse League playoffs but the expectations were oh so much greater and bigger. Thing is, it’s not too difficult to see why the season didn’t pan out as planned. Concussions to gunner Tracey Kelusky and goalie Steve Dietrich kept them on the shelf for a period of time, but their return, along with the trade of Lewis Ratcliff to bring in Josh Sanderson seemed to get the Riggers on track. They won four of their final five games and beat Colorado in the first round of the playoffs before losing to Portland in the West final. Apparently, though, the decision was based on more than the win-loss record, according to the Calgary Herald.

“I don’t have good reasons for why this happened,” Silcott told the Calgary Sun. “I think this is a catastrophic move on their part.”

• Bandits thundered down the stretch: Buffalo News
• Champion’s Cup photo gallery: NLL.com
• It’s Crystal vs. Megan in the NLL Girl of the Week: NLLInsider.com

Ontario Junior A

KW, Brampton and Whitby with Wednesday night wins

Thanks to a 4-0 first period, the Kitchener-Waterloo Braves were able to outlast being outscored 3-2 in the second and 2-0 in the third to take a 6-5 victory over the St. Catharines Athletics. With the win the Braves improve their record to 3-2 while the Athletics’ record evens out at 2-2.

Braves goalie Evan Kirk packaged up the win for his team with 46 saves on 51 shots while Matt Hummel had two goals and two helpers and Adam Payerl, Shawn Udema, and Josh Crone had two points apiece. For the A’s, Mike Bowen stopped 35 of 41, Geoff McNulty had two goals and one assist, and Dan Williams had four helpers.

In other Jr. A action, the Brampton Excelsiors doubled up on the Burlington Chiefs 8-4. With a Dylan Evans goal at 16:22 in the second the Excelsiors took the lead and never gave it back, scoring four straight in the first half of the third to put the game out of reach despite a late goal from Burlington’s Tommy Hurley. JJ Laforet led the Excelsiors with two goals and two assists while goaltender Tyler Carlson stopped 35 of 39 and chipped in with one assist. Brampton and Burlington now hold identical records of 1-1.

The Whitby Warriors bounced back from a 4-0 deficit, scoring two in the second to chop the lead to 4-2, and then outscoring the Mississauga Tomahawks 3-1 in both the third and overtime periods to earn the 8-6 win.

Whitby goaltender Jesse Gill turned away 50 shots while also assisting on four goals to lead his team in points. Matt Cockerton, Mark Cockerton and Mark Matthews pitched in three points apiece. For the Tomahawks, Simon De Sousa, Todd Kozak and Mike Cameron each had one goal and two assists. Marc Nano made 67 saves. Whitby improves to 2-5 while Mississauga falls to 0-3.