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So we’re good to go with the Major Series Lacrosse semifinals, and more excited we cannot be because we’ve got some superb lacrosse in front of us. The St. Regis Indians locked up their spot in the semis with what looked to be a thrilling 11-10 double-overtime victory over the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks on Saturday night. That sets up their series with Brampton. In the other semifinal, we’ve got a dandy with the Peterborough Lakers taking on the Six Nations Chiefs and if it’s fireworks you want, fireworks are pretty much what we can count on in this semifinal matchup.

First, the St. Regis win. Last week, there’d been some stories floating around that Mark Steenhuis was hurt. Again. And the fact that he didn’t play in Game 1, a 14-5 K-W win, didn’t help douse the rumors. But Steener showed up in games 2, 3 and 4 and poured in 3 goals and 1 assist, 5-5 and 4-2, respectively, for a 12-8 total in three games. His final goal of the series was the Game 4 winner and series-clincher at 3:12 of the second overtime. If he’s hurt, he’s playing through the pain quite well.

Steenhuis was not alone, though. He got plenty of help from the traditional sources. Athan Iannucci, John Tavares, Pat McCready and Pat Maddalena each put up big numbers throughout the series for the winners who got great tending between the pipes from Mike Thompson and Angus Goodleaf.

Up next for the Indians is defending Mann Cup champ Brampton. It’s easier said than done, of course, but the Indians have got to avoid whatever disappearing act happened to the offense in Game 1 of the series with K-W. That was a 14-5 loss for the Indians and they know 5 goals just ain’t gonna cut it against Brampton, which sports one of, if not THE best MSL defense. Hard not to when you have Anthony Cosmo and Pat Campbell manning the goal.

Game 1 goes live tonight at the Powerade Center in Brampton. Hit this link for the rest of this series’ sked.

The other series? It’s Peterborough vs. Six Nations and it all gets started tonight at Six Nations.

This one could be downright explosive. Peterborough brings in offensive studs like Shawn Evans, Dan Carey and Tracey Kelusky. If John Grant Jr. gets healthy, it could be even scarier for the Lakers. Six Nations brings in an offense led by MVP, Rookie of the Year and scoring champ Cody Jamieson. Six Nations led the circuit with 203 goals and the Lakers were right behind them with 201, the only two teams in the regular season to score more than 200.

Outside of that, you know we’ve got to ask this: Will Peterborough’s Geoff Snider and Six Nations’ Tim O’Brien drop the gloves? Hard to say at this point of the season with so much on the line, but you know neither one is afraid to go after it if the situation dictates. Oh, how juicy that potential matchup is, eh?

Both series have a ton of potential for exciting lacrosse as the boys of summer work their way through the playoff system. Can Brampton defend? Can Peterborough regain its form? Are we gonna have an all-Native teams finals? What’s Jamieson have in store as the playoff pressure builds? Can Cosmo and Campbell keep the defense as tight as it’s been all summer? Worthy questions, all. And the only way we’ll get the answers to these questions is if we play some ball.

Tonight, it all gets started.

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