NLL Insider

Road to the Founders

Anonymous Scouting Report: Alberta Jr. B lacrosse finals, Mounties vs. Warriors

Looking at the Alberta Jr. B lacrosse championship match-up from over here in Ontario is just a little bit of head-scratching and stat-crunching and then a whole lot of posturing, so for your last-minute look at the impending Calgary Mountaineers and Edmonton Warriors clash, we threw the preview reins to one of the best lacrosse minds in the province. The series starts tomorrow night, but the analysis starts right now, so without further ado, here’s your anonymous scouting report. READ MORE »

The Life

Chicago Cloverz are your Fann Cup champs

Chicago may not have the Shamrox anymore, but the Cloverz know how to represent our game in the Midwest. The Cloverz hosted the 2009 edition of the Fann Cup and won it all last weekend. The Cloverz defeated the Toronto Roadies 6-5 in the championship game and, according to organizers, it’s just the third time in the eight-year history of the event that the host team won the Cup. “This year’s tournament showed what the Fann Cup is all about,” tournament president Ray Kincaid said. “Lots of friends, lots of lacrosse, and lots of fun.” Read on for details, and a picture of the winners. READ MORE »

Road to the Founders

Ontario Jr. B lacrosse announces award winners

Though he’s likely a little too busy with the Elora Mohawks at the moment to truly care, Six Nations Rebel Jason Johns (pictured at left) has been named the 2009 Western Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

Not a whole lot of surprises in the 2009 award winners, but plenty of deserving players and coaches. For a look at who joins Johns as a 2009 Ontario Jr. B lacrosse award winner, READ MORE »

B.C. Junior A, Ontario Junior A, Road to the Minto Cup

Junior A Lacrosse Games of the Week: Six Teams Remain in Hunt for Minto Cup

With the lacrosse season now over for some teams, there will be guys getting ready to go back to school in the States and begin focusing on NCAA field lacrosse. But for six teams in Canada, there is only one thing on each player’s mind: the Minto Cup. The National Championship of Jr. A lacrosse is one of the most prized trophies in the box lacrosse world.

READ MORE »

NLL Notebook

Merrill eager to help Rush get back on track, plus the links

Derek Keenan has been through this before in the National Lacrosse League, so when he again found the challenge staring him in the face, he went back to what worked the first time. After building the now-defunct Portland LumberJax into a perennial contender, Keenan finds himself behind the bench for the Edmonton Rush as coach and he wasted little time in getting Brodie Merrill in a Rush uniform. Why Merrill? Well, Keenan dropped names like Gretzky and Jordan when telling the Edmonton media about Merrill’s impact on the game. READ MORE »

B.C. Junior A, Road to the Minto Cup

One Hot Night In Coquitlam

The barn was packed, the boys were ready, the refs were ready, high above the floor we were ready to call the game, the only thing missing was the A/C! Game 5 of BC Junior A semis between the Coquitlam Adanacs and the Burnaby Lakers was one of the hottest games I have ever watched and everyone from the coaches to the fans and of course the players felt the heat. Nothing makes 37 degree temperatures even more mind melting than the do or die scenario of game 5. Coquitlam, having lost only one game all regular season found themselves having lost the last two games in the series and desperately trying to find a way to keep the Lakers from a dramatic comeback. In game 5 they put their foot down with a size 15 steel-toe boot. READ MORE »

Inside the Numbers

The Money Ballers: Jr. A Post-Season Edition

Burlington Chiefs game breaker, Kevin Brownell.

He may have played his last Jr. A game for Burlington last night, the Chiefs eliminated from this year’s post-season by the Brampton Excelsiors, but clutch performer Kevin Brownell didn’t go away quietly, leading The Money Ballers this week after scoring more big goals right up until the end of his Jr. career.

Brownell’s stick was critical in the Chiefs’ lone win in the series against this year’s Minto Cup hosts, his four game winning points during this year’s playoffs the best total anywhere in the country so far in ‘09. READ MORE »

WLA

WLA: Semi-final Playoff Schedule Released

The Western Lacrosse Association (WLA) playoffs start up next week, providing westcoast lacrosse fans an opportunity to see some of the very best National Lacrosse League (NLL) players. Four of the seven WLA teams made the post-season, all with a legitimate shot of winning the WLA title and hosting the Mann Cup championships in September. Here is your schedule for the first-round of WLA playoff action. READ MORE »

Behind the Scenes, Major Series Lacrosse, NLL, The Life

Steve Toll’s blogging, and it’s LEGIT

What’s Steve Toll of the Rochester Knighthawks thinking these days? Well, as he’s helping St. Regis in the Major Series Lacrosse playoffs, he’s got some thoughts on Knighthawks teammate Shawn Williams and his MSL trade to Brampton. He’s also got some thoughts on the shuttle between playing for St. Regis and trying to make it to see his daughter play lacrosse, and he’s also got some thoughts on what it’s like to help a neighbor move a tree. Yes, move a tree. It’s all discussed in his latest blog installment, posted at Knighthawks.net. Check it.

B.C. Junior A

BCJALL: Getting to the Good Stuff Faster

The Adanacs and Lakers battling in this year's BCJALL post-season. Would you have liked to have seen it go past a best of five series?

Jen Mutas of the British Columbia Junior A Lacrosse League checks in with NLL Insider with a special report currently available on the league’s website, bcjunioralacrosse.com. Check out the site for more on this past season’s Jr. A season and complete coverage on the West’s final between the Coquitlam Adanacs and New Westminster Salmonbellies.

Growing almost as fast as the talent in the BC Junior ‘A’ Lacrosse League, is the development by executives to make sure the league is as advanced as possible. With the increasing success of the midget draft over the last three years, the concentration has now shifted to what happens at the end of the season—playoffs. READ MORE »