It’s championship season for Canadian summer box lacrosse! From kids in Peewee to the pros in Senior A, playing for a national championship is a rite of passage.
The major action kicks off this weekend with the Minto Cup, the Junior A championship, and continues with the Sr. B President’s Cup, and Sr. A Mann Cup.
Read on to learn about three levels of the upcoming Canadian championships and find out which team your favorite players are representing this season.
MINTO CUP – JR. A CHAMPIONSHIP
AUGUST 17 – 25, COQUITLAM, BC
Four teams compete for the Minto Cup – the pinnacle of junior lacrosse – including one host team and three league winners from the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League, Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League and British Columbia Jr. A Lacrosse League.
Players in Jr. A are aged 16-21 and dream of playing in the NLL one day. There are only a handful of current NLL players or draftees still playing junior; many others will hear their names called at a future NLL draft.
CURRENT PLAYOFF PICTURE
This year’s tournament will be hosted by the Coquitlam Adanacs (fun fact: Adanac is Canada spelled backward). They defeated the Port Coquitlam Saints 3-0 in the BCJALL finals, but both teams will play in the Minto Cup. Coquitlam finished first in the regular season with a record of 15-3, with PoCo right behind them at 12-5-1.
Pat Coyle is the head coach of the Adanacs, with Chris Gill and Ethan Ticehurst as his assistants. Travis Cornwall is the head coach of the Jr. Saints, and his brother Jeff serves as the defensive coordinator. Vancouver’s Brayden Laity and Halifax’s Caelen Mander are members of the Jr. Saints.
In Ontario, the Orangeville Northmen, featuring standout player Trey Deere, defeated the Mimico Mountaineers in seven exciting games. They finished first in the regular season with a 17-3 record and led the league with a +77 goal differential.
Nick Rose is the general manager of the Northmen, and Andrew Suitor is his assistant. Rusty Kruger is the head coach and his assistants include Phil Sanderson and Rylan Hartley.
The RMLL finals also went to seven games – the Jr. A Raiders (based out of Calgary) defeated Miners LC (Edmonton) in a seven-game series. The Raiders finished second in the regular season behind the Miners, with an 11-4 record. Creighton Reid and Brett Hickey are assistant coaches for the Raiders.
All Minto Cup games will be held at the Poirier Sports & Leisure Complex in Coquitlam, and will be streamed at https://www.jradanac.tv. Round-robin games begin August 17, with playoffs beginning August 20. Fourth place is eliminated, second place will play third place in a one-game semi-final, and the first place team gets a bye through to the finals, which is a best-of-three series.
PRESIDENT’S CUP – SR. B CHAMPIONSHIP
AUGUST 25 – 31, DELTA, BC
Rather than a seven-game series, the President’s Cup is a tournament featuring a host team and the winners of six different leagues from Canada and the Northeastern United States. This year’s tournament is being hosted by the Ladner Pioneers in Delta, BC at the Ladner Leisure Centre. The Pioneers have won the last two President’s Cups and are looking to make it a three-peat.
Snake Island Muskies (Three Nations Senior Lacrosse League)
Ladner, Snake Island and Six Nations are making their third consecutive appearance in the tournament. Victoria and Edmonton will be making their second consecutive appearance.
MANN CUP – SR. A CHAMPIONSHIP
SEPTEMBER 6, ONTARIO
Fans at every level of Canadian lacrosse will tell you that their trophy is the most prestigious, but it’s hard to argue that the Mann Cup isn’t the true crowning jewel on most players’ resumes. Contested since 1910, thousands of players have dedicated their summers to playing 2-3 games a week followed by 2-3 playoff rounds of best-of-seven series! Summer lacrosse is a grind, but it’s done for the love of the game and the love of community.
The Mann Cup is a seven-game series between the winners of Major Series Lacrosse (Ontario) and the Western Lacrosse Association (British Columbia), switching provinces each year. This season, it will be hosted by the winner of the MSL.
The Six Nations Chiefs are the defending champions.
CURRENT PLAYOFF PICTURE
In the MSL, the Peterborough Lakers are facing the Chiefs in the final. It is the eighth time in the last nine seasons the two teams have played in the final. As of Friday, the Lakers lead the series 2-0, after handing the Chiefs their first two defeats of the season, 9-8 on Tuesday and 8-5 on Thursday. Game 3 is in Six Nations on Tuesday.
In the WLA, the New Westminster Salmonbellies are the defending league champions, but they were knocked out Thursday night by the Victoria Shamrocks 3-2 in a best-of-five series. Victoria, like Six Nations, also went undefeated in the regular season. In the other semi-final, the Langley Thunder beat the Maple Ridge Burrards 3-1.
Langley Thunder: (COL) Connor Robinson, (SD) Matt Abbott, Graydon Bradley, (SASK) Robert Church, Nathanial Kozevnikov, (VAN) Chase Scanlan
New Westminster Salmonbellies: (ALB) Justin Geddie, (CGY) Jeff Cornwall, Logan Schuss, (COL) Owen Down, Sean Kriwokon, Tyson Gibson, (PCLC) Brandon Goodwin, Tony Malcom, Will Malcom, (SD) Drew Belgrave, Jake Govett (VAN) Adam Charalambides, Kevin Crowley, Ryan Martel, Brett Mydske, Tyrell Hamer-Jackson, Justin Salt
Victoria Shamrocks: (CGY) Jesse King, (HFX) Clarke Petterson, Max Wilson, (LV) Marshal King, Thomas Vaesen, (OTT) Cam Dunkerley, (PCLC) Mathieu Gautier, Cole Pickup, (SASK) Patrick Dodds, Adam Jay, (SD) Chris Origlieri, Chris Wardle, (VAN) Brad McCulley
Allegany Arrows: Gowah Abrams, (BUF) Frank Brown, Chris Cloutier, Chase Fraser, (GA) Leo Stouros, (OTT) Jay Thorimbert. Billy Dee Smith is the head coach.
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