NLL Insider

The Junior A playoffs are heating up across Canada. Here’s a look at the three big series in each region.

Victoria Shamrocks vs. New Westminster Salmonbellies

This series seems to be the most surprising series in all of Canada. A Victoria team which most thought would be facing Coquitlam in the B.C. finals is down 2-0 to a New West team which has come out in the postseason playing like a whole new team.

Victoria has struggled quite a bit in this series versus New West. They have played well but their defense has not been able to keep the New West O in check. Not only has their defense struggle but the Shamrocks offense is not doing much either. They only have two guys over 5 points in the postseason in Joel Henry and Kory Kowalyk. It is tough to win a lacrosse game if these two factors are not working for a team. Victoria needs to step things up seeing as they are now one loss away from being eliminated for playoff contention. One bright spot for Victoria has been in goalie Adam Hickey who has kept both games close. Only allowing 10 goals and 8 goals in two games is certainly impressive and by keeping these numbers low, it gives the offense the opportunity to win games. JOTY nominee Matt Yager will have to show why his name is on that list. He needs to step up and lead his team to some W’s if the Shamrocks have any hope to continue playing into August.

While Victoria has struggled, New West has absolutely flourished. Their offense is on fire and their defense is playing solid. Victoria’s offensive numbers are low and New West boasts 5 of the top 10 leading scorers in this years playoffs. JOTY nominees Kevin Crowley (Stony Brook) and Curtis Dickson (Delware) currently sit fourth and fifth in postseason scoring with only a single point seperating them (17 and 16). The ‘Bellies also have 6 guys on their roster with double digit points including Tyler Digby and TJ Cowx. Not only has their offense been significantly producing, their defense has kept their opposition in check. Goalie Neil Tyacke and Brandon Mulligan have combined to keep the Victoria offense at an average of just 6 goals in two games so far. This type of play combined with great offensive production makes this ‘Bellies team  a different one than what we saw during the regular season. If these guys can stay consistent and keep playing this way, they could make a statement in the B.C. final should they make it there. Game 3 goes down Saturday evening at Victoria’s home barn.

Burlington Chiefs vs. Brampton Excelsiors

The Minto host versus the Minto hopefuls. These two teams matched up against each other makes for a beauty of a series. The two spilt the regular season series one to one and with the possibility of seven games, this series could heat up very quickly.

Brampton came out and snatched game 1 away from Burlington, taking it 6-2. The game started off slow with Brampton leading 2-0 at the end of the first. Solid defensive play by Defender of the Year nominee Kyle Rubisch and Goalie of the Year nominee Steve Fryer, kept the Chiefs off the board for a good chunk of the game. Two huge goals by Cameron Flint led the Excels to the victory. With offensive stud and JOTY nominee Andrew Potter putting a goose egg on the score sheet, secondary scoring is going to have to become a huge factor in Brampton’s game if they want to not only be the Minto host but the Ontario champion as well. The Excels have gotten unbelievable play from tendy Steve Fryer all season and with the help of guys like Flint, Scott Tinning, Dane Stevens, and Rookie of the Year nominee Michael Burke, this becomes a scary team. Getting the automatic bid for being the Minto host is not enough. This group of guys wants to put a notch in their belt and take the Ontario provincial championship.

Although the score board shows Burlington did not do well offensively, there was one major bright spot for them: they kept stud Andrew Potter with out a single point in this matchup. If the Chiefs want to take this series further than four games, this is one guy they are going to have to key on every time he steps on the floor. With tender Cameron Watts only allowing six goals, it is tough to ask anything more out of this kid. His 37 saves in game 1 is one of the major reasons this game was so low scoring. Burlington’s offense is going to have to step up and support the defense’s stellar play. Ryan Learn, Kiel Matisz and Kevin Brownell are going to need to be the guys that give this offense a jump start. But one place a team gets momentum is at center. With draw man Jordan MacIntosh being one of the best in Ontario, he can really get his team going at center and also on offense (73 regular season points). Hopefully the first game is just a minor bump in the road for easily the best Burlington team the lacrosse world has seen in years. I am sure Coach of the Year candidate Shawn Cardy made some adjustments which should make game 2 that much more exciting.

Calgary Jr. Raiders vs. Edmonton Eclipse

Although the Raiders are the only team to punch their ticket to the provincial finals, with the way the series between the Eclipse and the Edmonton Miners is going, the Eclipse look like they will be the team to face the Raiders for a chance to go to the Minto Cup.

With a series sweep just completed versus cross-town rivals the Mounties, the Raiders are going in the finals with some momentum which they lacked towards the end of the regular season. Some late game heroics by Chad Mitchell in game 3 put the Raiders up with only one second showing on the clock. Game 4 followed with OT in which the Raiders stepped up their game and finished off the Mounties. The series was made up of some great performances. From the Mounties, Kiel Donahue (B.C.) stepped up and put some big goals in the back of the net. Tyler Melnyk produced some big points to keep the Mounties going offensively but it was tough for them to get significant scoring from other places. For the Raiders, the play of tenders Adam Shute and Greg Hallett was what keep the Raiders on top of the Mounties. The goalies and the defense kept the Mounties offense under wraps allowing the transition game  and the play of guys like Jake Hayes and Casey MacIntyre to stand out and and make an impact.

So far, the Eclipse have absolutely rolled through their series with the Miners. In each game, the Eclipse have put double digits up on the score board. There is already five guys on their roster who have 10+ points so far in the playoffs.  The same high powered offense that pushed the Eclipse through their regular season schedule has certainly carried over into the postseason. The play of goalie Marc Nano has been top notch as well. The most he and the defense have given up in three game versus the Miners is 8. If this type of play continues, both offensively and defensively, a potential matchup between the Raiders and the Eclipse could be very heated and very interesting.

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