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It’s kinda like watching re-runs of Seinfeld. We’ve seen this episode plenty of times, but we just can’t change the channel. Biggest difference? The ending isn’t always the same, and that’s what’s got us amped for the Major Series Lacrosse finals for 2009 between the Peterborough Lakers and Brampton Excelsiors. Both squads clinched their respective series 4-1 this week, and they’re set to battle it out for yet another OLA title. It’s a storied series, for sure, and the last time any team other than Brampton or the ‘Borough won the OLA title was the 2000 Brooklin Redmen. Since then, Brampton and Peterborough each have 4 OLA crowns to their credit, and one of ‘em will have a fifth this decade by the time this series is done.

Plenty of stuff to consider as the scheduling for this series still is being sorted. The teams played each other three times in the regular season, but their first meeting wasn’t until June 25, an 11-5 Peterborough victory. They closed their regular seasons against each other with Brampton scoring a 9-7 win on July 12 and a 7-6 win on July 16.

So what’s going down in the playoffs? You know as well as we know that it’s impossible to predict, but it’s still fun to crunch the numbers. First, that 2-1 series win for Brampton in the regular season doesn’t really mean a whole lot. The June 25 was a weird game, if ya think about it. Peterborough didn’t have John Grant Jr. or Tracey Kelusky in the lineup, and Brampton didn’t have Colin Doyle or Dan Dawson in its lineup. Still, the Lakers pulled out an impressive 11-goal performance against a Brampton defense that didn’t have Anthony Cosmo in goal.

So what happened when all these offensive guns were back on the floor? The defensive attitude was cranked up a notch. Junior had 2-3 and TK had 3-0 for Peterborough in the July 12 loss to Brampton, but the Excelsiors also had Pat Campbell in goal. They also had Dan Dawson (2-2) and Colin Doyle (1-3) on the floor to account for nearly half of the team’s offense. And after an 0-fer on the power play in that June loss to the Lakers, the Excelsiors cranked it up to go 5-for-9 on the PP, including 4 PP goals in the second period.

In the July 16 game, TK was held to 1-1 and Jr. didn’t score a point as Cosmo anchored a Brampton defense and Dawson (0-2) and Doyle (1-1) helped guide an offense that did enough to win the regular-season finale for both squads.

So as these teams gear up for the series that counts, you know the offense is there. Both squads have the snipers, no doubt. For Peterborough, which has 9 playoff games under its belt already, Shawn Evans is on fire with 35 points (18-17), while Kelusky has 26 (10-16) points. What coach Jamie Batley has got to like, though, is the contribution of the other fellas. Evans and TK can be counted on to produce, and Junior’s availability is limited due to the bum knee, but Cory Vitarelli (9-13, 22), Josh Wasson (8-12, 20) and Nick Cotter (12-7, 19) have brought steady offense.

On the other side, Brampton’s getting the usual offense from Josh Sanderson (11-13, 24), Shawn Williams (7-11, 18), Doyle (5-10, 15) and Blaine Manning (3-12, 15).

But as any coach will tell you, it’s going to be the defense that decides it, and both teams have plenty of that, too. Question is, which D will hold the longest and strongest? Pat O’Toole’s been stellar, especially in the series against Six Nations. With the exception of the Chiefs’ 14-7 win on Sunday, O’Toole held SN to single digits in each game including just 2 goals allowed in Tuesday’s series-clinching win. He’s played a bulk of the minutes in cage for the Lakers, posting a .794 save percentage while making 227 saves.

O’Toole’s counterpart is Cosmo, of course, who was tested early in the series with St. Regis but settled in to hold the Indians to a combined 15 goals in the last 3 games. He’s made 91 saves for a .711 save percentage.

So what if these D units hold steady? What are some of the X factors that could come into play? There are plenty. Peterborough was 3-5 on the road in the regular season, but is 5-0 on the road in the playoffs … The Lakers also have Geoff Snider on faceoffs, where he’s won 65-of-95, so how is Brampton’s Sandy Chapman (29-of-48) going to respond? … Peterborough’s killed 72-percent of its penalties in the playoffs; Brampton just 68-percent … The Lakers have converted just 32-percent of its power plays, while the Excelsiors have cashed in on 39-percent … Dan Carey didn’t play in Peterborough’s last game. Will he be back? Will Junior be ready to roll for the Lakers? And how about Scott Evans? He’s seen some limited action too as he recovers from a knee injury. All three are impact players for Peterborough, and not just on the scoreboard … And finally, how confident is Peterborough with its goaltending situation? O’Toole’s played more than 400 playoff minutes already this season, but can Derek Collins or Craig Robertson get the job done if they’re called? Should Brampton need a change from Cosmo, they’ve got a proven veteran in Campbell to turn to.

However it all plays out, this we know is the truth: This series will have it all and it’ll be fun to see the answers to our questions reveal themselves.

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