The 2025 Minto Cup came to an end on Friday night in St. Catharines, ON, with the Coquitlam Adanacs once again on top of the junior lacrosse world. The Adanacs of the British Columbia Jr. A Lacrosse League defeated the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League’s Orangeville Northmen in the Finals, 2-0, taking Game 2 by a score of 11–10.
They also won the title in 2024, beating Orangeville in two games.
“It was definitely a little different last year,” Adanacs captain Ty Banks told Ashley Docking. “Having it at home was an advantage — getting to sleep in your own bed, you got a little bit of a feel for the court — whereas out here you’re dealing with the time zone difference, you’re in a hotel, bigger floor. Lots of different variables. But at the same time, a Minto Cup is a Minto Cup regardless of location, so it helps having a few under your belt.”
It is the first time since 1977 that a Western team has won the Minto Cup in the East (almost 50 years!) and the first time since 2014–2015 that a team has won back-to-back titles (last accomplished by the Six Nations Arrows).
Ryan Colesy was the star of the game, leading Coquitlam with five goals and two assists.
“It’s amazing. I thought winning one Minto was everything I ever wanted, but winning two is that much better,” Colesy told Docking. “A West team hasn’t won since ’77 — almost 50 years of a West team never winning it in the East — so we knew this would be the hardest thing we’ve ever done, and I think we prepared for it beautifully.”
Coquitlam had a 3–0 lead by the 6:53 mark of the first period on goals from Colesy, Parker Kennedy, and Oscar Lucas, whose quick-stick subshot was a thing of beauty. Owen Rahn (Colorado Mammoth) got Orangeville on the board with 30 seconds left in the period.
Orangeville flexed their muscles in the second with four straight goals for a 5–3 lead. Max Kruger scored, and then the Northmen were forced to kill off a penalty — at that point, their penalty kill in the tournament was 100%. Afterward, Vinc Onofrio tied the game. Goals from Dylan Sanderson and Trey Deere forced Coquitlam to call a timeout. Colesy came out of the timeout fired up — he quickly tied it up at 5–5 with two outside goals. Rahn’s second goal of the game temporarily put Orangeville back in front, and Northmen goaltender Evan Constantopoulos (Buffalo Bandits) made a great stop on Parker Kennedy, throwing out the left leg with 9.7 seconds left in the period. But Elijah Edwards had taken a penalty on the play, and Coquitlam needed only seven seconds to break Orangeville’s perfect PK record, with Colesy recording his fourth goal of the game after cutting to the middle to receive the pass.
The third period was back and forth as each team tried to hold a lead. Kruger and Deere put Orangeville up 8–6. Aidan MacDonald replied for Coquitlam with an underhand blast from the outside. Dylan Sanderson restored the two-goal lead for the Northmen.
And that’s when the Adanacs found a second gear, with four goals in the next seven minutes and an 11–9 lead. Colesy scored his fifth; Cody Malawsky picked up his tournament-leading 15th goal after Nathan Miller picked off a pass from Constantopoulos; Kennedy made a great face dodge to score; and Nathan Chalmers snuck one in on the right side during another power play.
Sanderson put a shot up the middle to get Orangeville back within a goal with 3:41 left — his third of the game — but the Northmen couldn’t find the equalizer. It came down to the last 10 seconds, and Orangeville managed to get three shots off in that time, but Coquitlam goaltender Jack Kask turned them all away.
“There are so many people who put so much work into this, especially the players and how hard they work,” said Adanacs head coach Pat Coyle after the game. “The guys are all bleeding. To see the smiles on their faces really makes it all worth it.”
After their initial celebration with the Cup, the Adanacs rushed over to celebrate in front of the section containing the loud crowd of supporters who had travelled across Canada to cheer for them.
“[These] guys are like my brothers,” stated captain Ty Banks. “We’ve been through hell together. We’ve all grown up playing together since we were five years old. We have all of our family and friends in the stands supporting us, so you can’t ask for anything better.”
“This is the most special group of guys — we’re just so close,” added Colesy. “I love all these guys. They’re just amazing, and they sure know how to win.”
Colesy and Sanderson were named the players of the game, with Keaton Zavitz of the St. Catharines Athletics named Most Sportsmanlike of the tournament, and Cody Malawsky the tournament MVP.
