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Road to the Mann Cup, WLA

WLA: ‘Bellies are Ontario Bound

After finishing second in the Western Lacrosse Association (WLA) each of the previous two years, the Salmonbellies are finally headed to the big dance.

“Our goal is to win the Mann Cup,” added WLA Playoff MVP Ilija Gajic, after New Westminster captured the West title with a 4-0 series sweep of Coquitlam last Monday. “Winning this doesn’t mean anything.”

Winning the next best of seven series won’t be an easy task, however. READ MORE »

Major Series Lacrosse, Road to the Mann Cup

MSL: Game 7 showdown in Brampton

So it’s come down to this. Which is nothing really new or surprising when it comes to a seven-game Major Series Lacrosse series against the Brampton Excelsiors and Peterborough Lakers.

The Excelsiors on Tuesday night outscored the Lakers 4-0 in the third period en route to an 11-7 Game 6 victory that ties the series, 3-3. So that leaves us with a Game 7 — for the third time in five seasons — set for Thursday night at 8 in Brampton to decide which OLA team is heading to the Mann Cup. And just because the game is in Brampton, don’t count out the Lakers. Two of their three of their wins in the series have come on the road, but their inability to defend the pick-and-roll Tuesday night is what doomed the squad. “They got three goals like that tonight and it hurt,” Peterborough coach Jamie Batley told the Peterborough Examiner.

Blaine Manning led the winners with three goals and Jeff Shatler added a pair. For a photo gallery of Game 6, check out what the Peterborough Examiner has up on its Web site.

Major Series Lacrosse, Road to the Mann Cup

Lakers on verge of 5th straight title

No John Grant Jr., no problem. Well, it may not have been that easy for the Peterborough Lakers, but when the Lakers called on Mat Giles to step into some giant offensive shoes, he responded with the game-winner and a goal for good measure.

“With Johnny out we needed a big body up front with a decent stick. I ended up getting a couple at the end. It was good,” Giles told the Peterborough Examiner as he helped the Lakers to a 12-10 win Saturday for a 3-2 lead in their OLA Major Series Lacrosse finals series against the Brampton Excelsiors. With Grant in Boston helping the Rochester Rattlers win the Major League Lacrosse championship over the weekend, and Brampton without Brodie Merrill and Colin Doyle for the same reason, both MSL coaches knew balance would be the key and the Lakers responded with nine different players scoring goals.

Peterborough can clinch its fifth straight OLA Major Series title with a home win Tuesday night. Faceoff is set for 8 p.m. and with the MLL season finally finished, both squads expect a full lineup.

Road to the Mann Cup

Peterborough takes 3-2 lead, New West up 3-0

Last night the Peterborough Lakers went into Brampton and rebounded from Friday night’s 10-3 thrashing to take game five 12-10 and take the lead in the series. Tied 9-9 heading into the third, Ryan Sharp and Dan Dawson each scored for their respective teams but it was captain Mat Giles scoring the final two goals of the game, putting his Lakers ahead and then out of reach.

Sharp and Scott Evans also contributed two goals apiece, while Tracy Kelusky, Shawn Evans, Nick Carlson, Lindsay Plunkett, Josh Gillam, and Kyle Sorenson each added one. Blaine Manning exploded for six goals for the Excelsiors. Game six is Tuesday night, 8:00 PM in Peterborough.

Out west, the seemingly unstoppable New Westminster Salmonbellies took a 3-0 stranglehold in their series with the Coquitlam Adanacs with a 12-5 win. Chris Gill, Jamie Floris, Ilija Gajic and Peter Morgan each scored twice for the Bellies while Tyler Richards made 32 saves. Jason Wulder led the Adanacs with three goals and one assist. New West will have the chance to lock up a trip to the Mann Monday night in Coquitlam, 7:45 PM PST.

Major Series Lacrosse, Road to the Mann Cup

MSL: Junior playing through the pain

John Grant Jr. isn’t exactly hobbling around out there, but he’s not 100 percent either.

Gotta give dude credit, though. He’s playing through the pain. Grant Jr. told the Peterborough Examiner he’s got three broken fingers and a bum elbow and that might the reason he’s dropping the ball that’s still “no excuse.” What’s not to like about that attitude? That’s the kinda grit that’s found on the road to the Mann Cup and it’s the kinda grit that helps build one of the best rivalries in lacrosse, says Brampton coach Troy Cordingley. Injuries and grit nothwithstanding, Game 3 of the Major Series Lacrosse finals are set for 8 tonight at Brampton and the winner will emerge with a 2-1 lead in the series. Grant managed to set up the tying goal and then score the winner in Game 2 Sunday, so it’ll be interesting to see if a day or two of rest will improve his ailments.

Road to the Mann Cup, WLA

WLA: Finals start Tuesday

New West and Coquitlam will meet in the Western Lacrosse Association (WLA) finals. The best of seven series kicks off on Tuesday night in Queens Park Arena at 7:45pm PST.

The New Westminster Salmonbellies advanced to the final with a 4-0 series sweep of the Victoria Shamrocks and have been waiting a week to get going. Up 3-1 in their semi-final series, Coquitlam was pushed to Game 7 by Burnaby before capturing the series with a 9-5 win last night. READ MORE »

Road to the Mann Cup, Uncategorized, WLA

Free time not free travel

With an early exit from the WLA play-offs my fellow Victoria Shamrocks and I are off to the golf course to enjoy the last three weeks or so of the gorgeous west coast summer. The golf courses have been calling my name for months, so here’s hoping I can bring my handicap down a few strokes! With all this free time I have now I’ve been able to do a little reflecting on the season that was in the WLA.

READ MORE »

Major Series Lacrosse, Road to the Mann Cup

Brampton, ‘Borough set to collide

It’s come down to another battle between Brampton and the ‘Borough, and it all kicks off Thursday night.

Brampton and Peterborough finished 1-2 in the Major Series Lacrosse regular season standings and the Excelsiors won two of the three meetings this seaosn. The clubs also played to a 10-10 draw, but those games obviously mean little now as the series for the right to advance to the Mann Cup finals begins with an 8 p.m. faceoff Thursday night in Brampton. Both clubs bring in plenty of offensive firepower, but there’ll be no shortage of defense with some of the game’s best goalies on the same floor. Brandon Miller and Anthony Cosmo of Brampton rank 1-2 in final MSL stats for the Excelsiors, and the return of Pat O’Toole coupled with the steady play early this season of Derek Collins gives the Lakers a solid anchor on the D end as the defending Mann Champs chase their fourth Cup in five seasons.

• Peterborough Fan Bus info for trip to Brampton: Lakers Web site

Road to the Mann Cup

Brampton sweeps into finals

With both the MSL Rookie of the Year and Coaches of the Year, there appears to be big things in store for the young and hungry Brooklin Redmen, but that’ll all have to wait until next year as they were eliminated last night by the Brampton Excelsiors four games to none in their best of seven semi-final. Game four ended 11-5. And over in the WLA, the Coquitlam Adanacs and New Westminster Salmonbellies both have a 2-0 lead in their semi-final match-ups after the Bellies dropped the Victoria Shamrocks 12-4 last night. READ MORE »

Road to the Mann Cup

7 games in 11 days!

So there I sat, immersed in a bowl of 5-spice Edamame beans from The Local Kitchen (my favorite restaurant in Victoria), enjoying my ritualistic night before game meal when the bartender, a buddy of his and I got onto the topic of sports. The buddy had mentioned he played rugby and the bartender said he ‘would never put his body through that’! I had to agree with him. Rugby players are some of the toughest athletes out there and I have a ton of respect for them and no way would I want to be at the bottom of one of those rucks! So the friend asked me what sport i played and I said I played lacrosse for the Shamrocks. Almost immediately he shot back with, ‘I’d never put my body through that!’ I laughed but thought to myself, ‘man, if rugby guys think that about us, hell we must be doing something right’! READ MORE »

Road to the Mann Cup

Six Nations, Orangeville and Burnaby through to semis

Even with two Ontario teams winning their best-of-sevens in the last two days, all eyes were probably on the situation in Burlington as the Chiefs and Indians took time out of their regularly scheduled series to replay the much-contested game two last night. On Tuesday night prior to game six—which the Burlington Chiefs won 10-7—a three-man panel of OLA executives overturned the original ruling (which was that the game two win should be awarded to the Chiefs because of Akwesasne’s use of two ineligible players). Though the exact reasoning for Akwesasne winning their appeal hasn’t been made clear, it does seem to have something to do with Burlington GM Glen Little not trying hard enough to be a mind reader. So last night, game two was replayed and Akwesasne walked away with the 9-4 win. With the series now tied 3-3, game seven will take place Friday night in Akwesasne. READ MORE »

Road to the Mann Cup

Growing up in the CLA

There has been some discussion on the NLL Forums about the draft process in the Western Lacrosse Association (WLA) and the league itself. So here’s a quick overview, and then in the post below, how the draft is finally paying dividends for the Langley Thunder.

Levels: In the B.C. Lacrosse Association (BCLA), a member of the Canadian Lacrosse Association (CLA), players start playing box lacrosse as early as five year’s old in mini-tyke and work their way up through the minor system eventually playing at the Intermediate, Junior and Senior levels.

In B.C., Intermediate is for players aged 17 to 18 years old, and Junior is for players aged 19 to 21. There are two tiers, ‘A’ and ‘B’, with the top talent suiting up in the ‘A’ division. At the age of 22, you’re pushed to the Senior rank.

READ MORE »

Road to the Mann Cup, Road to the Minto Cup

Friday and Saturday results

Ontario Jr. A

Friday, May 30

• It was a lot closer than it was last time these two teams met, but the Six Nations Arrows remained undefeated with a 10-8 win over the K-W Braves
• There was a wider margin over in Orangeville where the Northmen downed the Mississagua Tomahawks 14-3
• The Orillia Rama-Hammond Kings got things going offensively and tied the Peterborough Lakers 9-9 in OT

Saturday, May 31

• Just one game in Ontario Jr. A last night. The St. Catharines Athletics handed the Akwesasne Indians just their second loss on the season, however they did it convincingly. Final score 7-1 for the Athletics.

READ MORE »

Road to the Mann Cup, Road to the Minto Cup

Catching up with the playoffs

The Canadian playoffs are well underway and so far I would say that the only playoff surprise is that the Brampton Excelsiors are one game away from sweeping the Barrie Lakeshores as they took a 3-0 stranglehold on the series after last night’s 10-8 victory.

Out West, the Burnaby Lakers are headed to the BC junior A finals against the winner of the Coquitlam vs. New West series. In Western Senior lacrosse semifinals, Athan Iannucci’s New Westminster Salmonbellies lead Kaleb Toth’s Nanaimo 2-1 while Burnaby leads Coquitlam 2-1. In Ontario, the Junior A finals are set to begin with the first place Six Nations Arrows matching up against the second place Orangeville Northmen for the right to travel west for the Minto Cup.

READ MORE »

Road to the Mann Cup, Road to the Minto Cup

Mann and Minto Cup analysis from Ted Jenner

This week I want to update you with the action out west. Both the Mann Cup and the Minto will be played in British Columbia this year. The Junior A New Westminster Salmonbellies are the predetermined hosts of the Minto Cup while the host of the Mann Cup will be the winner of the Senior BC playoffs (New Westminster looks like the favorite). Since BC is about 2000 miles away from me, I’ve asked Ted Jenner of Victoria BC do my work. Ted plays for the Edmonton Rush of the NLL and also had stops in Rochester, Anaheim, and Minnesota. He has also played for the Victoria Shamrock for the last 6 years, going to the Mann Cup 5 times - winning it twice.

Here’s Ted’s analysis:

Hey Shanny,
In Junior A right now Victoria and Port Coquitlam (POCO) are headed to game 5 on Saturday. The home team has won every game and I don’t see that changing, so look for the Jr. Rocks to meet their long time nemesis in the Burnaby Lakers. The Lakers are 11 time BCLA champs, ELEVEN TIMES!! That’s just all around impressive if you ask me. I really don’t see anyone knocking them off. They finished the season with the top three scorers in the league, and finished atop the standings with a 19-2 record. Curt Malawsky (NLL’s Arizona Sting) has gone from being one of the top players in the league, to the ultimate coach. He knows how to motivate his team and get them ready for the big games. Look for the Lakers to make it to the finals again!

READ MORE »

Road to the Mann Cup

Canadian box report: Gearing up for the playoffs

With less than a week left in the Ontario Major Series Lacrosse regular season it’s shaping up to be quite the finish as only two of seven positions are decided. In a week the playoffs begin and the winner of the Ontario Major Series playoffs gets the right to travel across the country to fight for the Mann Cup against the BC champs. Unlike the NLL’s one-game playoff eliminations, the Canadian lacrosse playoffs are a marathon. Depending on where you finish in the standings, a team has to win a three out of five and two four out of seven series just to get to the Mann Cup, which is another four out of seven series.

In the current Ontario Lacrosse Association’s format, the first and second place teams get a “bye” through the first preliminary round series. That’s why the dogfight between the Peterborough Lakers, Brampton Excelsiors and the Barrie Lakeshores for those two positions is so important. The longest route to the Mann Cup championship is 26 games, but the shortest can be 12 straight victories (if a team skips the preliminary round). I am not going out on a limb by predicting that the Ontario champs will be one of the two top teams, so these last few regular season games will have a huge bearing on who wins the Mann Cup.

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Road to the Mann Cup, Road to the Minto Cup

Scouring the Canadian summer ranks

John Grant, Dan Dawson, Lewis Ratcliff, John Tavares, Shawn Williams, Gavin Prout, Tracy Kelusky, Scott Evans, Josh Sanderson and Pat Maddalena. These box lacrosse stars were the top 10 scorers in the NLL this past season. What do they all have in common? Six of them won a World Indoor championship for Canada in May. Three of them won a World field lacrosse championship last July for Canada. A few of them are in the MLL this summer. Yes, all of them are Canadian but that’s still not what I’m talking about. Every one of them is playing summer box lacrosse in Canada’s Senior league. We’re talking about the quest for the Mann Cup here – the ultimate amateur lacrosse trophy in Canada. Some will say that the Minto Cup – the trophy given to Canada’s best Junior lacrosse team is even harder to attain since the duration of a Junior career (5 years) is much shorter than the potential length of a Senior career – and I wouldn’t argue with them. But, in a nutshell, the Canadian Senior league features most of the best indoor lacrosse players in the world (current NLL stars), while the Junior league features many future NLL stars as well as many NCAA stars (Zack Greer, Garrett Billings).

READ MORE »