NLL Insider

Man is Orangeville ever cleanin’ up.

Their 29 wins during the summer are well above any other team’s combined regular season and playoff total.

They’re 16-4 in their last 20 games, which next to the Edmonton Eclipse, who’ve only played in-and-around 20 games, is by far the best in the country in that stretch too.

Their trio of Adam Jones, Matt McLeod and Stephen Keogh is still firing on absolutely all cylinders and look as close to unstoppable as you’re gonna get this year. How do you think they stack up against last year’s slick trio in Six Nations of Shawn Evans, Cody Jamieson and Craig Point?

Here’s a quick rundown of the top trios left in this year’s post-season across the country (FYI, that Avg is the average amount of points said trio posts per game, while the game stats are combined for all three)…

Or are they that unstoppable? Actually, due to Jamieson’s ridiculous first half of the playoffs, the point totals are in the Arrows’ favor up top mainly cuz of him. But the orange and purple crew are averaging over ten points per game, and Jamieson is definitely not averaging nine or ten per right now, so read into that what you will.

Anyways, onto this week’s top ten in the country…

(1) Orangeville Northmen (OLA)   29-5-0 (combined regular season and playoff total record)
Last Week: 1
Playoffs: Lead Six Nations Arrows 2-0 in best of seven series

Like we said above, close to unstoppable right now, which the Arrows found out in the first two games of the series. Man was Keogh ever shootin’ the lights out in that first game. Although we mentioned the trio of Jones-McLeod-Keogh previously, the best thing with this O is that any number of guys are capable, and have, stepped up when need be. It’s probably one of the best team concept O’s we’ve seen in a number of years. Even without Beaches pickup Todd Hosmer in the lineup, still out with what was describied to NLL Insider as a foot injury, this is gonna be one helluva nasty O to put a leash on.

(2) Burnaby Lakers (BCJALL)   20-11-0
Last Week: 4
Playoffs: Lead Victoria Shamrocks 2-1 in best of five series

No one outside of Burnaby thought this was possible. Before the season kicked off I remember reading online some folks thought these guys would have trouble landing a gig in the post-season, let alone being one W shy of going to yet another Minto, and you better believe the boys with the dragons on their chest are feeding off that second guessing attitude that was dropped on ‘em. Are they kickin’ ass cuz of their roots, some crafty trade deadline day moves or were they really just that good all along? It’s probably a little from column A, a bit from B and a chunk outta C too.  Scott Lowe is making a solid case for playoff performer of the year… seriously. He’s been the definition of clutch and a big reason why the Lakers are a game away from dumping Victoria.

(3) Victoria Shamrocks (BCJALL)   20-7-0
Last Week: 2
Playoffs: Down 2-1 against Burnaby Lakers in best of five series

It’s the first time their backs have truly been up against the wall in the post-season and now we’ll see what the Shamrocks are really made out of. Like you can see on the chart above, their top dawgs kidna need to start producing at a higher rate, or at least finishing a bit more often. In their two losses to the Lakers, that top trio of Pires-Conway-Ratcliff have rifled off 47 shots and finished only fives times, resulting in a 10.5 shooting percentage (see Scott Lowe for reasons why). They are getting some help from intermediate stud, Casey Jackson, but they’re gonna need a consistent O showing to win the next two against Burnaby.

(4) Six Nations Arrows (OLA)   24-13-0
Last Week: 5
Playoffs: Down 2-0 against Orangeville Northmen in best of seven series

Man is there ever a ton of character on this year’s Arrows’ team. They got knocked for being a little lighter in talent this summer (no Evans, no Smith, no Squire, no Point, no VanEvery), but after coming from behind in badass fashion against St. Catharines, even though they’re currently down 2-0 against O’Ville, it’s tough to count them out just yet. They’re finding ways to win and still have guys like obviously Jamieson, Chris Courtney, Mitch Nanticoke and Jacob Kicknosway-Louks, that have been in the heat of the post-season before, so like we’re seein’ in Burnaby, it’s tough to hold a winning organization down no matter what the situation. Can’t count ‘em out until Orangeville actually has four whole wins in the bag.

(5) St. Catharines Athletics (OLA)   22-10-2
Last Week: 3
Playoffs: Eliminated from post-season against Six Nations Arrows 4-3 in best of seven series

And were they ever eliminated from the post-season. After Jamieson knotted it up in OT and Staats scored yet another game winner right after that, even though Game 7 was on the horizon, the momentum was 100% in the Arrows favor. Not the greatest way to head into an all-important Game 7. All in all though, it was a pretty decent summer for the A’s, who were underrated by most throughout the summer and showed that they were way more than just a team with a strong D. Should be interesting to see how things shake-out for next summer, but the futures lookin’ bright in St. Catharines.

(6) Coquitlam Adanacs (BCJALL)   17-7-0
Last Week: 6
Playoffs: Eliminated from post-season against Burnaby Lakers 3-0 in best of five series

(7) New Westminster Salmonbellies (BCJALL)   18-10-0
Last Week: 7
Playoffs: Eliminated from post-season against Victoria Shamrocks 3-0 in best of five series

(8) Akwesasne Indians (OLA)   19-13-1
Last Week: 8
Playoffs: Eliminated from post-season against Orangeville Northmen 4-0 in best of seven series

(9) Edmonton Miners (RMLL)   13-6-4
Last Week: 10
Playoffs: Lead Edmonton Eclipse 2-1 in best of seven series

They’ve outscored the previously almost unbeatable Eclipse 20-7 in their last two games, taking a lead in the best of seven series 2-1. Nate Schmidt has been on a bit of a tear (but what else is new), scoring four and helping out on seven during this two game streak. Combine that with a pretty unexpected performance on the score-sheet by Lucas Huyser-Wierenga and steady tending from Dave Marrese, who was recently voted the best keeper in Alberta, and the Miners are lookin’ pretty solid heading into an Eclipse team that is mad as hell right now. Plus, like Burnaby and Six Nations, these boys have that “been here before” attitude that only comes from, well, being here before. It’s an intangible that’s always nice to tap into.

(10) Edmonton Eclipse (RMLL)   18-3-3
Last Week: 9
Playoffs: Down 2-1 against Edmonton Miners in best of seven series

The Eclipse are in a tough spot right now, but if you talk to anyone off this team each one of ‘em will tell you that this series is far from being put to bed. Simon Giourmetakis is expected back tonight, as well as coach Dave Pym on the bench. One thing that we saw from the Eclipse this year is that they’ll go full-out from start to finish no matter the situation, so being down 2-1 probably isn’t fazing them too much. As long as they stay disciplined and play the kinda ball that got them here, there’s no reason to doubt they’ll take the Miners to the edge and maybe even end up pushing them straight over Wile E. Coyote styles.

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