Brooklin beats Six Nations to remain unbeaten in game that had to switch rinks to be completed

CLax scoring champ Corey Fowler's 4 goals weren't enough
 for the Six Nations Chiefs, who fell 9-8 to Brooklin.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, but Cody Jamieson may have been reconsidering after the fact. The Six Nations Chiefs led the Brooklin Redmen 5-4 with 7:39 to play in the second period Wednesday night when referees Brent McCauley and Stephen Line made the proper decision to suspend play because slippery floor conditions were making it unsafe to continue. It was announced over the PA system that the game was being called, the teams lined up and shook hands and headed to their dressing rooms. But Jamieson had an idea that bore fruit. Officials checked the other pads in the Iroquois Park Sports Centre and found that Pad 3 was available as a game had just finished there. So the teams and fans headed over and completed what turned out to be the game of the year so far in Major Series Lacrosse, a 10-9 Brooklin win that leaves them as the only undefeated team in the league.

Rock win first game as Oakville, down Excelsiors 13-10 at Brampton's Memorial Arena

Stephan Leblanc is paying immediate dividends for the Oakville Rock. The tall lefty forward has 7 goals and 5 assists in two games, including 4 and 3 in the Rock's first win since moving to Oakville for this season, a 13-10 victory over the Brampton Excelsiors.

The Rock put together a 5-goal run in the final three minutes of the first period to lead 6-2 heading into the intermission and they held on to pull out the win. The teams each scored 5 times in the second period and Brampton fought back to make it close, scoring the first 3 goals of the third period to pull within 11-10. But Oakville added a goals from Leblanc and Brendan Muise in the final five minutes to seal the deal. 

Brendan Thenhaus scored a hat trick and an assist while Nic Grasby contributed 1 goals and 5 assists for Oakville. Dan Dawson was Brampton's top scorer with a goal and 5 assists while Mike Burke chipped in 2 goals and 2 assists. 

Brampton fell to 0-2 to start the season for the first time in 13 years. The positive side to that stat for Excelsiors fans is that in 2000 the team rebounded from the slow start to reach game seven of the MSL finals. That iteration of the team, by the way, included for one game a young Jr A callup named Sandy Chapman. The Brooklin team that beat the Excelsiors in the finals and went on to win the Mann Cup was led by current Redmen Shawn Williams and Gavin Prout. 

Brooklin Redmen improve to 2-0 with 11-9 win over KW Kodiaks

Shawn Williams had 6 points to lead
Brooklin. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

Special teams often spell the difference between winning and losing. It’s usually power play goals that propel a team to wins, though. Last  night, the Brooklin Redmen scored 3 shorthanded goals, including a pair just 21 seconds apart in the third period to provide the margin of victory in an 11-9 win over the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks. The win moves the Redmen to 2-0 on the young Major Series Lacrosse season and drops KW to 0-2.

Derek Suddons scored the first of the shorthanded markers at 17:10 of the second. It was the final goal of the period and gave Brooklin an 8-7 lead. They were up 9-7 when defender Jeff Gilbert took a checking-from-behind double minor at 5:25 that ostensibly gave KW an opportunity to get right back in the game. But Shawn Williams and Cam Holding scored during the second half of the penalty to extend the lead to what proved an insurmountable 4 goals.

KW got one back with a shortie of their own, Aaron Wilson scoring his third of the game to go with 2 assists just over halfway through the period. They couldn’t get another, though, until the final minute of the game when they had goalie Mike Poulin pulled for an extra attacker.

Derek Hopcroft had a hat trick for the Redmen while Williams scored twice and added 4 assists for a game-high 6 points. Jesse Gamble had two goals for the Kodiaks, both coming on passes from Poulin. Steve Fryer stopped 37 of the 46 shots he faced to earn his first MSL win.

Evans, Gillam and Prout named IL Indoor MSL 3 Stars

Shawn Evans, Josh Gillam and Gavin Prout were named the Major Series Lacrosse 3 Stars for the first week of the 2013 season by IL Indoor. Evans led MSL scoring in the first week with 4 goals and 9 assists for 13 points as the Peterborough Lakers split a pair of games. Gillam also shone for the Lakers, in particular in their second game as he had a hat trick and 4 assists. Prout made his return to the Brooklin Redmen a successful one with a 7-point night to lead them to a 15-9 win over the Lakers.

Six Nations Chiefs down Oakville 18-10 in Rock opener at the TRAC

Craig Point led the way with 4 goals and 4 assists as the Six Nations Chiefs dumped the Oakville Rock 18-10 in the first Major Series Lacrosse Game played at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre. The Chiefs, expected to put on a big push for a Mann Cup berth, were simply too much for the young Rock, although Oakville had some promising stretches. The problem for the Rock was that, even when they did some things right, they often went wrong for them. Point provided two of the best examples.

The righty forward worked his way across the slot with the ball in the second period with Bryan Campbell engaged on defence. Campbell had good position on Point and even shifted slightly to the back shoulder as Point moved to his right, taking him to a position where a behind the back shot was probably his best option. Unfortunately for Campbell and Oakville goalie Tye Belanger, Point ripped a perfect low back-hander just inside the post for a goal. There was very little either could have done to stop it.

May 27 Six Nations at Oakville game added to webcast schedule

The Oakville Rock will play their first game in their new home, the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre, Monday May 27 at 8 pm versus the Six Nations Chiefs. If you can't make it to Oakville for the game, you can still watch it live. The game has been added to the Major Series Lacrosse webcast schedule. It will be produced, as all this season's MSL webcast games are, by JVI Video. Just click the link at the right-hand side of this web site to view the game live.

Peterborough Lakers open season with 14-4 win over Brampton Excelsiors in front of 3,031 fans

Tyler Carlson, here in last year's Mann Cup, was stellar
for the Peterborough Lakers in their season-opening win.

After a shaky first five minutes, just about everything went right for the new-look Peterborough Lakers as they opened the 2013 Major Series Lacrosse season with a 14-4 win over the visiting Brampton Excelsiors. The crowd of over 3,000 was roaring in pre-game as the 2012 Mann Cup banner was raised to the rafters, but they were eerily quiet after a pair of goals from Mark White and Mike Burke gave the visitors an early lead. Then the Lakers settled down and the offence got the ball moving in vintage Lakers fashion, leading to a quick-stick power play goal by Cory Vitarelli that started a 5-goal run from which Peterborough never looked back.

The score was 6-3 after the first period and the Lakers took total control in the second period, outscoring Brampton 4-0 in the frame. Shawn Evans, fresh off an NLL scoring title and MVP award, kept his roll going with a 10-point night (2 goals, 8 assists). For a team where much of the external talk was about who wasn't there (including John Grant, Jr., John Tavares and Tracey Kelusky), the player who were there made it clear that they're capable of carrying the load. Jordan MacIntosh scored 4 times and added 3 assists. Vitarelli and Josh Gillam each scored twice; Vitarelli had 3 assists and Gillam 2.

Defender Darryl Gibson returning to Peterborough Lakers

Peterborough Lakers GM/Head Coach Jamie Batley has announced via Twitter that veteran defender Darryl Gibson, who had retired immediately following last year's Mann Cup championship, will be returning to the team. Gibson spent the past seven years with the Lakers, winning four Mann Cup titles during that time. Before that he was with the Six Nations Chiefs for a season after starting his career with the Brooklin Redmen for seven years. Gibson also won a Mann Cup with Brooklin in 2000.

The 36-year-old lefty was named the Lakers defender of the year in 2011. He was actually an accomplished scorer in his junior days. Gibson finished sixth in scoring in the OLA Jr B league in 1996 when he potted 50 goals and 63 assists for 113 points with Scarborough. 

Major Series Lacrosse partners with Lacrosse Radio Network

Major Series Lacrosse is pleased to announce that it has agreed to a partnership with Lacrosse Radio Network to present radio coverage of six games during the 2013 season. LRN Radio Director Scott Arnold will have the play by play call of six Peterborough Lakers road games, beginning with the June 8th First Capital Cup against the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks in Kingston.

The full schedule of games that Arnold and LRN will be producing is:
Sat June 8       Peterborough vs Kitchener-Waterloo at Kingston
Sun June 16    Peterborough @ Brampton
Wed June 26   Peterborough @ Brooklin
Sun July 14    Peterborough @ Brampton
Tue July 23    Peterborough @ KW
Mon July 29   Peterborough @ Oakville

"The Lacrosse Radio Network is very excited to partner up with MSL for this upcoming season," Arnold says. The Peterborough-based Arnold adds that LRN would be keen to provide coverage of more games if they can find qualified announcers to call games of other teams. He encourages announcers who are interested to contact him at scottarnold12@ymail.com.

Mann Cup dates set

The Western Lacrosse Association has set the dates the for the 2013 Mann Cup, to be played at the home of the WLA champions. The best of seven series to decide the Canadian senior lacrosse champions will open on Friday September 6 and, if it goes the distance, will conclude with Game 7 on Saturday, September 14. The full schedule:

Game 1  Fri. Sept 6
Game 2  Sat Sept 7
Game 3  Mon Sept 9
Game 4  Tues Sept 10
Game 5  Wed Sept 11 (if necessary)
Game 6  Fri Sept 13 (if necessary)
Game 7  Sat Sept 14 (if necessary)

Prout returning to his roots with the Brooklin Redmen, eager to get back on the floor

Gavin Prout was looking forward to returning to Major Series Lacrosse with the Peterborough Lakers this summer after a National Lacrosse League season that didn't end the way he would have liked. Now, as it turns out, his return will be with the Brooklin Redmen, the team with which he won a Mann Cup when he was the MSL rookie of the year back in 2000. Prout was dealt, along with defender Mike Hobbins, to Brooklin in exchange for defender Stephen Hoar.

“I was pretty surprised myself,” the righty forward said of hearing that he'd been traded. “I was actually talking to [Peterborough GM Jamie] Batley about what my role was going to be on the team. I understand where he's coming from. He has a couple of holes back on the defensive end with some of the guys who aren't coming back with injuries and things and obviously that's not my forte. He wanted me to potentially come and play a bit of a transition game but with Steve Hoar he's made a good trade for what's best for Peterborough and I thank him for my time in the Boro and we'll go from there.”

Hobbins and Prout head to Redmen, Hoar joins Lakers in Major Series Lacrosse trade

Gavin Prout is headed back to the Brooklin Redmen

The Brooklin Redmen and Peterborough Lakers have exchanged a pair of Toronto Rock defenders as the 2013 season approaches. Brooklin has sent Stephen Hoar to the Lakers and in return will receive Mike Hobbins and Gavin Prout. The soon-to-be 31-year-old Hoar hasn't played Major Series Lacrosse since the 2009 season, his sixth with the Redmen after graduating from the Whitby Warriors Jr A program. Hobbins missed last summer after having shoulder surgery following the completion of the Rock's NLL season. He's a 29-year-old who was part of three Mann Cup champions with the Lakers.

The 35-year-old Prout played five seasons with Brooklin, the last in 2007, then joined the Lakers in a trade for Jeff Gilbert in 2011. He scored 11 goals and 14 assists for 25 points in 11 games that summer then didn't play last summer because of work commitments.

The switch of defenders makes geographical sense for both players. Hoar is now living in the Peterborough area and Hobbins lives near Whitby and works in Toronto.

Chiefs and Kodiaks pull off huge goalie trade: Poulin and Kirk switching teams

Mike Poulin will be back in the black of the
KW Kodiaks after being traded for Evan Kirk.

Mike Poulin is headed back to Kitchener-Waterloo. The former league MVP for the Kodiaks has been traded from the Six Nations Chiefs, who acquired him from KW in 2011, back to his former team. The Kodiaks also receive the Chiefs' second round draft pick in 2016 and considerations. Going the other way is Evan Kirk, who emerged as a star in Major Series Lacrosse after Poulin was dealt away.

At the time of the trade, KW said that part of the reason was to give Kirk a chance to showcase himself for the National Lacrosse League draft, in which he wound up going sixth overall to the Minnesota Swarm, with whom he has played the past two seasons. Poulin was the 2012 NLL Goalie of the Year with the Calgary Roughnecks.

In a separate deal, the teams traded yet another goalie. Angus Goodleaf goes from KW, for whom he didn't play after being acquired from the Peterborough Lakers last year, to Six Nations in exchange for a third round pick in the same 2016 draft.

D'Orazio rounds out Excelsiors coaching staff, adds Burton and McLean as assistants

The Brampton Excelsiors have filled out their coaching staff. Head Coach Clem D'Orazio reports that he has added Al Burton and Bill McLean to his staff. "Al Burton brings over 30 years of coaching experience at all levels," D'Orazaio says. "Al will be the offensive coach. He previously coached the Sr. B Oakville Titans to a league-best record last season I'm excited to work with Al. He has a great outlook on the game and we share several of the same philosophies."

McLean played 10 years of senior lacrosse between Major Series and Sr. B and played for the Oshawa Machine in the inaugural CLax season of 2012. "I recently coached with Bill during the CLax season (prospects) where we took home the championship," D'Orazio says. "Bill brings a lot of character to the staff and will be responsible for the defensive side of things, along with the one on one corrections needed for success."

The season is fast approaching. The Excelsiors kick off their schedule with a home game against the Oakville Rock at the Brampton Memorial Arena on Tuesday May 28 at 8 pm.

Brampton Excelsiors tab Clem D'Orazio as new head coach

Clem D'Orazio wasn't out of Major Series Lacrosse for long. The young coach, who was replaced by the Rock when the team moved from Ajax to Oakville, has been hired as the new head coach of the Brampton Excelsiors after a search conducted by team governors Zenny Lipinski and Ziggy Musial, Assistant GM Steve McCullough and departing coach Mike Hasen.

D'Orazio inherits a lineup that retains the core of the defensive unit that has helped to keep the Excelsiors competitive over the last couple of years while the offence has undergone some transition. “I'm not going to try to reinvent the wheel,” D'Orazio says. “Mike Hasen is a great coach and I've got guys like Sandy Chapman who could pretty much run the defence on their own. I'm going to go in and keep things moving and hopefully correct issues as necessary as we go.”

D'Orazio says that he made sure the majority of the team was returning before he accepted the position, so he's looking forward to working with players like back-to-back NLL Defensive Player of the Year Kyle Rubisch, with whom he had the chance to play in junior. He's also confident that the offence will be a force even without the likes of Josh Sanderson and Blaine Manning, who have decided not to continue in summer lacrosse for now.

Peterborough Lakers acquire transition player Brock Boyle from Oakville Rock for a third-round pick in 2014

Brock Boyle was a thorn in the Peterborough Lakers
side over the last two seasons. Now he is joining the team.
(Photo: Tim Prothero, VintageLax)

The Peterborough Lakers have added speedy transition player Brock Boyle in the wake of losing yet another defender from their roster. Andrew Watt was injured in Minnesota's National Lacrosse League semi-final last weekend and is likely out for the season, said Lakers Head Coach and General Manager Jamie Batley. In exchange for Boyle, the Lakers sent a third-round pick in next year's Major Series Lacrosse draft to the Oakville Rock.

“We've had a few guys go down this year and we just had Watt go down and it doesn't look like he'll play the rest of the year, so we needed to scramble to get a guy to fit in,” Batley said. “Brock Boyle's a veteran player. I think he's pretty decent defensively and he transitions very well, which is the style we like to play. Any time we've played against him in the last couple of year's he's played really hard and usually scores a goal or two against us, playing for Ajax. It was a guy we thought we could get to more or less replace Watt.”