NLL Insider

RMLL, Road to the Minto Cup

Miners take 2-1 series lead, Giourmetakis expected back for Game 4

Last night the Edmonton Miners dropped the Edmonton Eclipse 10-4 in Game 3 of their best-of-seven series, also taking a 2-1 series lead in what is turning out to be one of the most heated series in all of this summer’s Junior A post-season.

The Miners were led by Lucas Huyser-Wierenga’s three goals as well as Nate Schmidt’s four helpers, landing Schmidt at the top of Alberta’s playoff scoring race with now 23 points over six post-season games.

Game 3 saw the Eclipse without Co-Head Coach Dave Pym on the bench. Pym had been ejected from Game 2 in the series and was handed a one game suspension, which was served last night. READ MORE »

RMLL

Alberta Jr. A Coaches Poll

Out in Alberta they like to do things a little differently than maybe the rest of us are used to, and their Junior A lacrosse is no exception. Not only do these guys have to spend the summer slugging it out against the boys of Sr. B, but at the end of the year there are no league awards given out to the many deserving players of the RMLL. It may not be quite as good as a cheap plastic trophy with your name spelled incorrectly, but to take a look at who the coaches of Alberta Jr. A would have given those awards to had they existed, keep reading. READ MORE »

RMLL

Eclipse take game one win over Miners in finals

In the defensive battle that took place Thursday night in game one of the Alberta Jr. A finals, it was a last-minute tally from Richard Barnes that allowed the Edmonton Eclipse to edge out the Edmonton Miners 4-3, an ending suitable to the biggest rivalry going in Alberta lacrosse.

The Eclipse took the lead first, with Carlton Schuss scoring his first of two nearly nine minutes into the first period to go up 1-0. Both teams’ offenses would stay quiet until just over eleven minutes into the second when the Miners evened things up on a Nils Thompson marker. The Miners took the lead with just one second left in the second period thanks to Kevin Wallin on a feed from Nate Schmidt. The Eclipse’s Sean Reid struck first in the third to even things up again. The Miners lurched back out in front on another goal from Thompson eight minutes in but that would be the last of their celebrations on the night, as Schuss evened the score with six minutes remaining and Barnes put in the game-winner with 46 seconds left on the clock. Game two will take place tomorrow night, 7:00 PM MST at Sherwood Park Arena.

RMLL

RMLL Playoff Update

With just four teams in the Alberta Junior A league, when it comes to be playoff time these guys get right down to the serious business: semi-finals. Regardless of how hapless their regular season records may have been, each team earns a spot in the post-season and the right to battle it out in a best-of-five for a shot at the finals. And like we’ve already seen in game one of the Eclipse-Raiders series, whatever happened in the regular season can be thrown right out the window come crunch time. With each series already two games in, here’s a look at who’s fighting for their playoff lives, what team was handed their first loss of 2008, and what else we can expect from the boys in Alberta. READ MORE »

RMLL, Road to the Minto Cup

Fish out of Water: Playoffs Arrive!

The playoffs are time when a team develops a new purpose.

Throughout the season, it’s tough to have the playoffs come into perspective, until they are on top of you. It is now the end of the year and the playoffs are about to be in full swing. Playoffs beards and mohawks can be seen on almost every sideline as teams across the country fight for a berth to their respective Cup tournaments. With the playoffs going haywire in B.C. and in Ontario, things are about to get interesting in Alberta. With only four teams in the province, everyone plays for a Minto Cup birth, and with the Jr. Mounties hosting this year, it leaves three teams playing for that birth.
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RMLL

Fish out of Water: The regular season wraps up

This past week was the last full week of lacrosse for the Jr. A Raiders. Another three games have come and gone, tough contests against other Jr. A teams that brought us to the end of our season.

With only one game left this coming Wednesday, it is turning into playoff time for the Raiders. Playoffs brings a different kind of feeling to a lacrosse game and it is beginning to enter the back of everyone’s mind. Teams in our league have been hot with the trades in the past couple weeks in hopes their team will be playing for the Minto Cup in Calgary in a couple weeks; playoffs make everything that much more interesting.
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RMLL

Fish out of Water: First Win

The past week has been a long one. With three games and two practices in seven days, my life has been full of lacrosse. But it has paid off as this past Wednesday we finally got our first win. It took half the season but our team was finally able to put together a full 60 minute game.

This may sound a little pathetic to some but it was a big step for our team. With the amount of talent in Canada it can be tough to win games. Each and every team has good players; their wins and loses are determined by how the team puts each game together. We finally overcame the lack of our team to put together a full game as we came out on top 9-4 over the Jr. A Mountaineers. READ MORE »

RMLL

Carlton Schuss to join Eclipse

The Edmonton Eclipse have worked a little more trade deadline magic, this time adding Delta Islanders tough guy Carlton Schuss.

“Carlton is all heart,” said Eclipse coach Dave Pym. “A character kid willing to lay it on the line game in and game out. He has a good shot to go along with the tremendous competitive intangibles we love in a player.”

With his 141 penalty minutes this season, Schuss should have no problem fitting in with the rough and tough Eclipse roster as they continue their push for a Minto berth. When not in the box Schuss has managed to rack up 27 points on 11 goals and 16 assists so far this season with the Islanders, good enough for second in scoring on the team. Schuss joins former Mississauga goaltender Marc Nano as the second big-name Edmonton Eclipse import. The Eclipse and their revamped roster take on the Edmonton Miners tomorrow night at 8 pm MST.

RMLL

Fish out of water No. 3: Almost there

The Calgary Stampede is right around the corner. For those of you who do not know, which included me until I traveled up here, it is basically one massive party. For ten days in the beginning of July, the whole city of Calgary basically shuts down. People travel from all over the world to attend this city-wide outdoor country western festival. Country concerts, rodeos, chuckwagon races, rides and games, cowboys boots and cowboys hats fill downtown Calgary for “the best time of your life”, so I’ve heard. But before I can start celebrating Stampede there is still lacrosse to be played.

As I wrote about last week, it has been a tough season for the Jr. A Raiders lacrosse team. We have not won a game but we have lost a few very close ones. It has been two weeks since our last game and we were gearing up for a game against the best Jr. A team in Alberta so far, the Edmonton Eclipse. This looked as if it was playing out to be a very tough game and this proved to be very true.
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RMLL

Edmonton Eclipse gearing up for Minto run, add Marc Nano to roster

When it comes to be trade deadline time in Jr. A lacrosse it isn’t unusual to hear of Ontario players heading West for a Minto Cup run. But heading to Alberta? That’s a little different. After nearly a month of negotiations the Edmonton Eclipse–the only undefeated team left in Jr. A lacrosse–have worked out a deal to put Mississauga Tomahawks goaltender Marc Nano between their pipes.

Eclipse coach Dave Pym has indicated that Nano will arrive in Edmonton Monday, join the team for practice Tuesday, and be in the line-up Wednesday to take on the Edmonton Miners and get his first glimpse of the fiercest rivalry going in Alberta Jr. A. The addition of a consistent number one goaltender is expected to further solidify the first-place Eclipse roster, and all indications are that this Edmonton team is making a serious march towards the Minto. READ MORE »