NLL Insider

Road to the Mann Cup, Senior A

They said it couldn’t get any better…

Sir Donald Mann’s beautiful trophy was all shined up and we were just sixty minutes, or we thought, from crowing the 2009 Mann Cup Champion. 3300 fans packed into Queens Park Arena and tickets were a hot commodity as there were people on Craigslist looking for tickets and willing to pay upwards of $50 for their chance to be a part history. It was heartbreak for the Bellies and jubilation for the Excelsiors. For the fourth time in the series we went to overtime and for the fourth time, the eastern champs were able to pull through and claim their second straight Mann Cup title. I need a drink! READ MORE »

Road to the Mann Cup, Senior A

The plane tickets were worth the expense!

Well it’s safe to say that the email we got during game 6 requesting Jake Elliott needing a defibrillator is going to reign true tomorrow night. With the return of Dan Dawson, Anthony Cosmo, Mike Hominuk and Sandy Chapman,  the Brampton Excelsiors won their 3^rd overtime game of the series to force a game 7 tomorrow night.  Queens Park was sold out well before game time and there were rumors of people buying tickets for $30-$40. READ MORE »

Road to the Mann Cup, Senior A

Bellies are one game away from number 25

In front of a boisterous 2100 fans, the hometown New Westminster Salmonbellies put on an inspired effort to take game 5 of the 2009 Mann Cup finals 10-8. We continue to witness great game after great game as both teams are pulling out all the stops and most defiantly leaving it all on the floor. For the fans, it’s a shame that we have to wait until Friday night for game 6 but the players will welcome the day off. But when Friday does roll around, it will be standing room only as the Bellies look to wrap up their record 25^th Mann Cup title. READ MORE »

Road to the Mann Cup, Senior A

It’s all tied up. What did you expect?

Did you really expect anything else? After the double overtime marathon that was game 3, both teams took to the wooden floor at Queens Park and once again put on a fantastic showing for the 2500 fans. The series is now all tied up at two and we are set for a dramatic best of three series to determine the 2009 Mann Cup champion. Game 5 goes tomorrow night and after the first four games there is very little to decipher between the two squads. READ MORE »

Road to the Mann Cup, Senior A

It Just Keeps Getting Better

Its only game three and the 2009 Mann Cup is defiantly making a run for one of the greatest of all time! After the rest day Sunday both teams came out and put on a defensive clinic in a back and forth game that lasted over three hours and ended on a double overtime goal by Brampton’s Colin Doyle. The series continues to provide fans with great memories and pulse raising action. READ MORE »

Road to the Mann Cup, Senior A

A Day off and it’s well deserved

The two competitors in this year’s 2009 Mann Cup are taking a little more time in bed today and enjoying a much deserved day off.  Its rest day out west and after the first two games of the national championships we’ve pretty much already seen it all. What the remaining games have to offer is still up for grabs but if you aren’t keeping a close eye on this series, you aren’t a fan of lax. READ MORE »

Fight Club, Road to the Mann Cup, Senior A

Video: Mann Cup Bench Clearing Brawl from Game 1 in New West

The term bench clearing brawl gets thrown around a little too casually these days for NLL Insider’s liking.

A couple guys find a dance partner, throw the odd haymaker, and all of a sudden it’s classified as a brawl. Lame.

The true definition of a bench clearing brawl? The battle royale that ignited during last night’s Game 1 of the Mann Cup between the New Westminster Salmonbellies and Brampton Excelsiors.

For a play-by-play of last night’s classic, hit up NLL Insider’s Teddy Jenner’s post-game blog live from the press box at Queens Park Arena, but for vid evidence of what a bench emptyin’ throw-down really is, check it out after the jump. READ MORE »

Road to the Mann Cup, Senior A

How’s that for a game 1?

The Last time the New Westminster Salmonbellies hosted the Mann Cup was in 1995 and that series was made memorable for a bench clearing brawl. Well wouldn’t you know it, 14 years later, the Bellies found themselves involved in another one!

READ MORE »

B.C. Junior A, Road to the Mann Cup, Road to the Minto Cup, Senior A, WLA

Coquitlam Adanacs- off to the minto and fighting for their lives

In less than twenty-four hours the Coquitlam Adanacs will head off to Brampton, Ontario for the Canadian National Junior Lacrosse Championships – their first visit to this show in over twenty years. They are packing some pretty heavy heat – the best rookie in the country, who also happens to be the league’s top scorer (107 pts) and league MVP- Robert Church; the goalie of the year- Dan Lewis; the league’s most sportsman like player and play-off MVP- Trevor Moore; the league’s most inspirational player- Brandon Turner; and several league all-stars (Lewis, Church, Moore and former Six Nations Arrow Corbyn Tao) Not to mention the twenty other weapons in the arsenal. READ MORE »

Major Series Lacrosse, NLL, Senior A, The Beat

Grant, Jr. ready to hit the floor tonight; Links

It’s been a while, but John Grant Jr. is ready to hit the field again, according to an article in the Peterborough Examiner.

Grant, who hasn’t played since August of last year due to an infection that spread from an injured elbow to his knee, requiring emergency surgury, will play in the Peterborough Lakers’ final regular-season home game tonight against the St. Regis Indians.

“I’m going to be fired up, I’m not going to lie,” said Grant. “Last week, I warmed up and felt good to go, but I didn’t have a doctor’s note and I wasn’t quite mentally there. I had to watch that overtime game (an 11-9 win against the Six Nations Chiefs) and I had butterflies in my stomach the whole time.”

READ MORE »