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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.

These six teams from three Provinces will battle it out for three open spots. While the postseason is the most intense part of the year, it only gets more intense now, especially since these teams are playing for a Provincial Championship and a spot to play for the Cup. Check out these matchups:

Coquitlam Adanacs vs. New Westminster Salmonbellies
A team that tore through the regular season versus a team that has torn through the postseason. Coquitlam was on fire throughout the summer, finishing the regular season 20-1, taking the League Championship. But in their first series against Burnaby, they struggled to put a scrappy Lakers team away. In the final game, the three players that led the Adanacs all season stepped up huge. Trevor Moore, Robert Church and Corbyn Tao all had monster games as the Lakers were completely smothered.

If this game shows anything of what is to come from this team, it can only lead to good things. This team struggled against a determined Lakers team. But to turn this around, things will need to start changing on the defensive end. With goalies Dan Lewis and Chris Seidel playing solid between the pipes, the rest of the team will begin to put together the pieces. It is important this team comes out hot against New West in the final.

On the other side, New West was up and down in the summer but has been absolutely scorching in the playoffs. They ran through Nanaimo and then followed up by stomping a Victoria team who many thought would challenge Coquitlam for the Provincial Championship. While the A’s have three main guys who have held together their offense, the ‘Bellies also contain three top players who lead their offense. Kevin Crowley, Tyler Digby and Curtis Dickson picked up this New West offense and have put it on their backs this postseason. All three guys have been throwing up ridiculous numbers in the playoffs: all have 20+ going into this series.

Like it was said about the Adanacs, goaltending becomes a huge factor during the postseason. Look for Neil Tyacke and Brandon Mulligan to step up and lead their defense and their team. Although Coquitlam won all three matchups during the season, now these two square up in the playoffs and fight for the chance to represent B.C. in the tournament.

Orangeville Northmen vs. Brampton Excelsiors
In Ontario, these two teams have already punched their tickets to play for the Minto Cup. Since Brampton is hosting, they get the automatic bid, and since Orangeville is playing them in the OLA final, they get in as well. This certainly does not mean these two heavyweight sluggers won’t duke it out for rights to say they are Ontario Provincial Champs.

Both these teams have been on top of Ontario this year. Orangeville gets a crack at a second Minto Cup in a row. While they owned the top spot in Ontario and in the country for most of the year, the Northmen seem to have turned it up another notch in the playoffs. Their first-round sweep of Whitby was followed up by a second-round sweep of Six Nations. To sweep a team of a caliber as Six Nations is very impressive. Standout Adam Jones has already recorded almost 50 postseason points, putting up 48 thus far. ‘08 Goalie of the Year Nick Rose has been stellar, as expected, with his defense absolutely locking down the opposing offense. This team does not want to slide into the Minto because they played Brampton in the final. They want to outright win the OLA championship and go to the Cup as the Ontario champion.

The Excelsiors have done almost everything in their power to get to the position they are in right now. With their automatic bid to the Minto, they were able to gain players from multiple places in this quest to win the Cup. Shipping in guys from B.C. and top-notch players from other OLA teams has helped Brampton to the Provincial finals. While Adam Jones has an astounding 48 points, former St. Catherines stud Andrew Potter has thrown up 42 so far. Both these guys are incredible playmakers for their respective teams and will have to continue to do so in this battle of the heavyweights. Rookie tender Steve Fryer has carried his incredible regular-season play over into the playoffs. This series could set up a very heated matchup when these two teams meet during the Minto tournament. Look for this series to be one of the best series seen in a long time.

Calgary Raiders vs. Edmonton Eclipse
This may be the most interesting matchup in the playoffs. These two teams battled it out in the regular season five separate times with the Eclipse taking the series 3-2. Now they get to meet again when it matters the most. Two things about these teams that have been talked about all year is the offense of the Eclipse and the defense of the Raiders. These two factors are what keeps these two teams winning.

Simon Giourmetakis takes the floor to lead his teammates against the Raiders. Giourmetakis has been a stud player so far, as he has put up 16 points in four games versus the Miners. But not only is he scoring but many many other players on the roster are producing too. If one player is having an off game, there are still three or four other guys who the Eclipse can trust with the rock in their stick. That’s what makes this offense difficult to match up against. If the defense and Marc Nano keep playing well, this could be a more interesting matchup than expected, if that is possible.

The Raiders’ trademark has been defense this year. Lockdown, high-pressure D has gotten the team this far and they will rely on it to continue to do the same. Many believe that a good team is built on the back end, and it looks as though the Raiders share that same view.

Although the defense stands out for this team, the offense does not get much love. One guy in particular is senior player Casey MacIntyre. Not only is he putting up points throughout the playoffs so far, but he is picking up loosies left and right, playing solid D and leading his team to the Alberta Final. Tendies Adam Shute and Greg Hallet will both need to be on their game to withstand the barrage put on by the Eclipse offense. This series could possibly be decided by a seventh game.

What a beauty that would be.

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