NLL Insider

It’s getting hot up north. Not only do we have a three-team logjam at the top of Major Series Lacrosse with Peterborough, Six Nations and St. Regis all sporting 12 points, the Six Nations Chiefs pulled the trigger on a deal that brings Chad Culp and Tim O’Brien to the team. Culp’s situation in Barrie wasn’t a good one, so when when Six Nations general manager Duane Jacobs got the call that Culp was available for a trade, he didn’t hesitate. Because not only does the trade bring a fine stick to the Nation, it keeps that stick away from any other MSL contenders.

Dewey and Culp go back a bit, having been together for a few seasons with the NLL’s Minnesota Swarm. But this trade gives Six Nations a left side that is absolutely stacked. Culp joins a lefty lineup that already includes Cody Jamieson and Roger Vyse, along with support from Sean Greenhalgh, Gewas Schindler and Kim Squire.

“He’s one of the best five-on-five players out there right now,” Jacobs told The Brantford Expositor. “He’s very good on loose balls in the offensive zone and he’ll bring a lot of movement to our offensive set. He’s a guy who doesn’t need the ball in his stick to be effective. He has the ability to create his own shot as he’s a very good one-on-one guy.”

And, of course, bringing in O’Brien toughens up a lineup that Jacobs says has been taken advantage of in recent games because opponents haven’t really had anything to fear. O’Brien’s one of the toughest enforcers the game has known, and his rep still makes foes take notice. O’Brien comes to Six Nations via Kitchner-Waterloo in exchange for a third-round draft pick in 2011, a third-round pick in 2012 and some cash. Barrie gets defender Kyle Goertz for Culp.

Six Nations was idle this past week, but the tie atop the standings comes after Peterborough won a pair in convincing fashion and St. Regis split a pair. The loss for the Indians was to Peterborough, which emerged from a 9-9 tie after two periods to outscore St. Regis 5-1 i the third en route to a 15-9 victory.

The Chiefs (6-2) should get their first look at the new lineup in a Saturday game at Barrie, but the juicy game of the week has got to be the next day, when Peterborough (6-3) comes to Six Nations. St. Regis (6-4) has a pair of home games against Kitchener-Waterloo, but don’t count the Kodiaks (5-3) out of anything. They’ve won three straight and are tied with Brampton (5-4) for second place with 10 points each, so by the time this weekend is finished, the MSL standings could have quite the shakeup.

Loose balls: A bum left leg has been giving Brian Croswell trouble since July of 2007 but now that he’s healthy, he and the Peterborough Lakers are giving everyone else trouble, writes The Peterborough Examiner … The Brooklin Redmen thought they were back on track, but a pair of losses last week drops them to 2-8 and offers a sobering realization, according to NewsDurhamRegion.com … Tracey Kelusky is thrilled to be making his return to Peterborough, writes The Peterborough Examiner.

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