Rose, Jones, Guerin, Jackson and Acquin's rights switch hands

Adam Jones

The Major Series Lacrosse rights to a handful of lefty forwards have changed hands in a trade between the Brooklin Redmen and Oakville Rock, along with a rather notable goaltender. Toronto Rock goalie Nick Rose, whose rights had been with the Redmen, will now be Oakville property when he is scheduled to return to Ontario following the 2013 season in the Western Lacrosse Association. Rose has spent the last few seasons with the Coquitlam Adanacs, during which he has grown from a developing young goalie into last summer's WLA most valuable player.

Oakville also receives the rights to Adam Jones, who was just released by the Redmen to play with the Langley Thunder for the balance of this summer. He appeared in half a dozen games with Brooklin between the regular season and playoffs last year while he was playing for the Owen Sound North Stars in Senior B. Jones was the National Lacrosse League rookie of the year in 2012.

In return, Brooklin acquires the rights to Jesse Guerin and Shayne Jackson for when they return from the WLA, as well as Kyle Aquin. Guerin was second in MSL scoring last summer and is spending this year with Coquitlam. He is expected back in Ontario in 2015. That will be a year after the anticipated return of Jackson, the fourth overall pick in last year's NLL draft who had a strong rookie season for the Minnesota Swarm. Jackson went to the Mann Cup finals with Langley last year and is hoping to go back alongside Jones and the rest of the Thunder this summer. 

The final piece of the trade is the only one that will make a current team switch. Aquin is in the midst of an impressive rookie campaign in MSL. He is second on the team in goals and fourth in points with an 11/6/17 line despite having played only six games. Aquin should help an attack that has struggled to score lately. 

Peterborough Lakers down Brooklin Redmen 8-6 as Grant, Sorensen return

Kurtis Wagar was one of several Lakers who enjoyed

a successful return Wednesday night. For Wagar, it was a 

return to Brooklin where he used to play. He allowed only

6 goals as Peterborough won. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Peterborough Lakers enjoyed the return of John Grant, Jr. and Kyle Sorensen, taking an 8-6 win Wednesday night over the Brooklin Redmen that moved them into first place and set up a battle for top spot in Major Series Lacrosse tonight with the Six Nations Chiefs. Had the Redmen won, they would have leapfrogged the Lakers and moved into a first-place tie with Six Nations, although the Chiefs have two games in hand on both of the other teams. Peterborough currently has 16 points (8-3 record), Six Nations 15 (7-1-1) and Brooklin 13 (6-4-1).

Grant scored twice—including the Lakers' first goal of the night—and added 2 assists in his first game with the Lakers this summer. Scott Evans had a hat trick, Matt Crough scored 2 goals and Josh Gillam had 1 goal and 2 assists for Peterborough. Kiel Matisz led Brooklin with 3 goals and 2 assists. Kevin Brownell (2g, 1a), Mike Melnychenko (1g, 2a) and Shawn Williams (3a) each added 3 points.

Brooklin held a series of one-goal leads through the first period as the teams alternated scoring, with the Redmen heading to the dressing room up 3-2 after the first 20 minutes. Peterborough scored the only two goals of the second period. Crough buried a quick-stick on a gorgeous cross-crease feed from Grant 1:54 in, then it was almost 12 minutes till Evans tucked a shot on the crease past the feet of Zach Higgins. The period was a long one, with tempers getting almost as hot as the thick, muggy air in the Iroquois Park Sports Centre. A total of 14 minor penalties were called. For all the power plays, only two goals were scored on the man advantage all night, one for each team.

Vyse, Belanger, Self and Teeter earn player of the week honours in MSL

Transition Player of the Week Brad Self

Six Nations Chiefs top goal scorer Roger Vyse has been named Offensive Player of the Week.  Vyse, who also leads the Chiefs in points scored (39) this season, opened scoring on Thursday and tallied an assist in the second in the 7-5 win in Brampton.  Vyse again opened scoring for the Chiefs on Sunday, recording a total of three goals and two assists in the 10-6 home win against the Excelsiors.

Picking up a win and a tie in two low scoring games, Oakville Rock goal tender Tye Belanger has been named Defensive Player of the Week.  In both outings, Belanger held Rock opponents, the Brooklin Redmen on Wednesday and K-W Kodiaks on Saturday, to only 6 goals.

Currently ranked second among transition players in points (20), Peterborough Lakers’ Brad Self has been named Transition Player of the Week.  Self recorded 4 points (3G, 1A) in the Lakers only game of the week, a 14-13 win over the K-W Kodiaks.

Leading the rookies in points (26), K-W Kodiaks Mike Teeter has been named Rookie Player of the Week.  Teeter recorded 8 points in the Kodiaks’ 3 games last week; a goal and two assists in both Tuesday’s 8-7 win against Brooklin and Thursday’s 14-13 loss in Peterborough, and another 1 goal and 1 assist in Saturday’s 6-6 tie in Oakville.

Lakers announce signing of Chris White and Kyle Sorensen

Peterborough Lakers press release:

The Peterborough Lakers announce the signing and return of two local terrific defenders, Chris White and Kyle Sorensen to solidify the Laker defense for the rest of the 2013 MSL season.

The Peterborough Laker’s defense has been greatly augmnented by the signing of local Peterborough boys who are also very strong defensive players. Both Chris White and Kyle Sorensen have agreed to contract terms with Laker GM , Jamie Batley for the rest of the 2013 MSL season.

Chris White has been the former captain of the Buffalo Bandits in the NLL. Chris has also previously been named the top defender in the MSL. Kyle Sorensen is the present captain of the Washington Stealth in the NLL. Both are rugged hard nosed defenders and have been vital parts on many Laker Mann Cup championship teams.

“These two players add experience, leadership, communication and great skill to our Laker defense,” states Laker GM Jamie Batley. "Both players will be in the Laker line-up in Brooklin Wednesday night and back here against Six Nations on Thursday night."

Kodiaks take firmer hold of fourth place with 11-4 win over Brampton

Mat McLeod had a pair of goals to help KW beat 

Brampton Tuesday. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks avoided creating a morass of the race for the final playoff spot in Major Series Lacrosse Tuesday night, downing the Brampton Excelsiors 11-4 to take firm hold of fourth place for now. The win was KW's fourth of the season, to go along with six losses and one tie. That gives them nine points, four ahead of Oakville and five up on Brampton. Had the Excels won last night, the standings would have seen KW with seven points Brampton with six and Oakville with five.

Aaron Wilson led the way for the Kodiaks with 3 goals and 2 assists, Jay Thorimbert had 2 and 2, and Dhane Smith collected 4 assists. Mike Poulin stopped 38 of the 44 shots Brampton directed at him to earn the win. Four different players scored for Brampton and only Shane Scott--with 1 goal and 1 assist--scored multiple points for the Excels.

KW Kodiaks and Oakville Rock tie 6-6

The last time the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks and the Oakville Rock met in Oakville, the Rock held a 6-5 lead with four minutes left to play. KW scored a goal to tie it up, then Mike Poulin hit Mitch Wilde with a perfect breakout pass that Wilde buried for the game winning goal. Last night, the Rock led 6-5 with four minutes to play. KW scored a goal to tie it up. Neither team could find the back of the net the rest of the way, though, so it was off to overtime. And this time, it was the Rock with the chance to win it on a breakout play as Tye Belanger led Graham Bergsma perfectly with a lofted pass straight up the middle of the floor with just over two minutes to go in the extra frame. No dice on a game winner this time, though. Daly's shot went just wide, the teams played the rest of overtime without scoring and they finished in a 6-6 tie.

Six Nations Chiefs down Brampton Excelsiors 7-5 Thursday night

The Six Nations Chiefs won a low-scoring game in Brampton Thursday night, downing the Excelsiors 7-5 in the second of two Brampton games this summer to be played at the Memorial Arena. Cody Jamieson scored twice and added an assist and winning goalie Evan Kirk helped his own cause with 3 assists as the Chiefs moved to 6-1-1 and stayed within a point of Peterborough for first place in Major Series Lacrosse while having two games in hand on the Lakers.

Shane Scott had a pair of goals and Joe Resetarits 1 goal and 2 assists for the Excelsiors. They fall to 2-7, two points behind the KW Kodiaks and tied for last with Oakville, while having played two more games than the Rock.

Peterborough Lakers pull out another comeback win, this time 14-13 over KW Kodiaks

Joey Cupido was the only Kodiak able to beat Kevin
Croswell in the third period, although not on this shot.
(Photo: Tim Prothero, VintageLax)

The Peterborough Lakers seem to be developing a habit of making third-period comebacks. One week after recovering from 7-1 and 10-6 deficits to edge the Oakville Rock 13-12, the Lakers overcame a 12-9 Kitchener-Waterloo lead after the second period to pull out a 14-13 win Thursday night in Peterborough in front of 2,895 fans.

Each team scored three shorthanded goals in the run and gun affair. Two of KW's came just 7 seconds apart near the end of the first period. Mike Teeter finished off a tic tac toe passing play at 18:20 to tie the score at 3-3, then Jamie Batson put the Kodiaks ahead when he won the ensuing faceoff and darted between a pair of Lakers defenders to create a breakaway.

Peterborough scored 5 goals in the second, which should generally be enough to win a period, but KW lit up goalie Kevin Croswell and poured in 9 goals in the frame, including one on backup Cole Murray before Croswell returned to the net.

Croswell came out for the third with a bit of an attitude, he said after the game. “To tell you the truth, I got a little pissed off. I was a little mad about that second period. I took a couple of minutes to myself and thought, I've got to figure this out. I need to win this game.” He held the Kodiaks to just one goal in the final 20 minutes, before which the Lakers had scored the five they would need to squeak out the win.

MSL Week 4 Players of the Week: Williams, Corbeil, Steenhuis and O'Connor

2012 regular season points leader Shawn Williams has been named Offensive Player of the Week.  The Brooklin Redmen forward recorded 12 points in two games last week.  Williams, who currently sits second in the league in points (38) had two goals and six assists in Wednesday’s 15-3 win against Brampton and four points (3G,1A) in the 9-9 tie in Six Nations on Saturday.

Currently playing in his fourth season with the Brampton Excelsiors, Chris Corbeil has been named Defensive Player of the Week.  Corbeil, who sits second amongst defensemen in points (7) this season, recorded one assist in the 15-3 loss to Brooklin on Wednesday and two goals and two assists in Thursday’s 12-10 win against the KW Kodiaks.

Chosen first overall by the Peterborough Lakers in the 2010 dispersal draft, Mark Steenhuis has been named Transition Player of the Week.  Steenhuis more than doubled his weeks 1-3 points tally, recording 11 of his current 20 points in week 4; picking up two goals and two assists in Monday’s 13-5 win in Oakville, three assists and the game winning goal in Thursday’s 13-12 win against Oakville, and two goals and one assist in Sunday’s 8-5 win in Brampton.

Brampton Excelsiors transition player Ethan O’Connor has been named Rookie Player of the Week.  Drafted in the first round (fifth overall), O’Connor had one assist in Wednesday’s 15-3 loss to the Brooklin Redmen. He continues to play solid defence and push the ball up the floor when opportunities arise.

Oakville Rock down Brooklin Redmen 7-6 in overtime

Last Thursday, the Oakville Rock came agonizingly close to pulling off an upset of the Peterborough Lakers. Last night, they did themselves one better by managing the feat against the Brooklin Redmen. Oakville got a goal from Kyle Aquin with just 12 seconds left in overtime to edge the Redmen 7-6 for their second win of the season.

Aquin and Stephan Leblanc each scored twice and added an assist as the Rock finally pulled out a one-goal win after losing three such games earlier in the season. Oakville led 3-2 after scoring the final 3 goals of the first period.

Brooklin responded by taking the second fram 2-1 when Dan Ball scored an empty net goal with just three seconds left to play. The Redmen had to come back again late in the third. Gavin Prout scored his second goal in the final minute of play to even things up at 6-6 and force the 10-minute overtime.

Both goalies excelled and it may have been fitting had neither been saddled with a loss, but Aquin made sure his team got to celebrate a huge win when he potted the winner. Prout and Derek Hopcroft each scored twice for Brooklin, with Prout adding 2 assists and Hopcroft 1.

Oakville is back in action Saturday night when they play host to the KW Kodiaks in a 7 pm start at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre in a game that can be seen via live webcast. Just click the Webcast Sports logo in the right column of this site, under the video webcast schedule.

Brooklin's next game is next Monday, when they will visit the Rock looking for a little revenge. That game will also be available via live webcast, starting at 8 pm.

Kitchener-Waterloo pulls out 8-7 win over Brooklin Redmen; Kodiaks move into fourth place

Tuesday night's Major Series Lacrosse game between the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks and the Brooklin Redmen was a defensive battle where goals were hard to come by...except for the eight-minute stretch in the second period where KW scored six of their goals to pull out an 8-7 win.

Brooklin's Kiel Matisz scored the only goal of the first period and Tyler Patterson made it 2-0 a little over four minutes into the second. Then the Kodiaks made their big run. Aaron Wilson got things rolling with a pair of goals 41 seconds apart. Ryan Benesch, making his first appearance with the Kodiaks this summer, sandwiched a pair around markers by fellow lefty forwards Jordan Critch and Mike Teeter and KW was up 6-2 just like that.

Shawn Williams took advantage of a 4-on-3 power play arising from roughing penalties following Benesch's second goal to snap the Kodiak streak just 11 seconds later and the Redmen pulled within one when Mike Melnychenko and Derek Hopcroft scored in the first three minutes of the third period.

Peterborough Lakers move atop Major Series Lacrosse standings with 8-5 win over Brampton Excelsiors

Mark Steenhuis had two goals and an assist to help lead the

Peterborough Lakers to an 8-5 win over Brampton. 

(Photo: Tim Prothero) 

The Peterborough Lakers took over the points lead in Major Series Lacrosse with an 8-5 win over the Brampton Excelsiors Sunday night. Brampton shut the Lakers out for the first 19:25 of the opening period and controlled play for most of that 20 minutes. Momentum swung in Peterborough's favour when they connected for a goal just before the shot clock expired. Mark Farthing threw a floor-length pass to Matt Crough, who had to reach down below his knee to catch it on top of the crease and immediately whipped a behind the back shot past Anthony Cosmo in the Brampton goal.

The Lakers took control in the second period and scored the frame's first three goals, including two in the first three and a half minutes. The Excelsiors refused to go away, though, and when Joe Resetarits scored late in the period, they pulled to within a goal at 4-3, which was the score after 40 minutes.

Scott Evans connected a long-distance bomb just 25 seconds into the third period to stretch Peterborough's lead, but when Shane Scott and Resetarits each buried their second of the game, it was all tied up at 5-5.

Peterborough at Brampton Sunday evening game available to listen live or watch later

When the Peterborough Lakers head to the Powerade Centre Sunday evening to face the Brampton Excelsiors, fans will have three ways to check out the action. First, of course, is turning up to arena to watch the game in person. For those who can't get there, Scott Arnold will have the call live on the Lacrosse Radio Network starting at 7 pm. The game will also be recorded for video webcast to be posted later Sunday night by JVI Video, with Stephen Stamp on play by play and Matthew Caruk on colour commentary (the game can't be video cast live because the internet bandwidth at the Powerade Centre is insufficient). Links for both the radio and video webcasts are in the right hand column of this web site.

Six Nations Chiefs and Brooklin Redmen remain tied atop MSL standings after 9-9 draw Saturday night

The Brooklin Redmen travelled to the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena Saturday to take on the Six Nations Chiefs with the situation clear for both teams. Win and you're in first place. The teams entered the game with identical 5-1 records. After battling hard for 70 minutes, they exited with identical 5-1-1 records and nothing decided after a 9-9 tie that included a goal by each team in the 10-minute overtime.

The game was close throughout--the score was 4-3 Brooklin after the first period, 6-6 after the second and 8-8 after the third.Stephen Keogh scored at 3:47 of the overtime but Jake Hayes responded at 8:10 with the game's final goal.

Roger Vyse led the scoring for Six Nations with 3 goals and 3 assists and Cody Jamieson also had a hat trick. Kevin Brownell and Shawn Williams each scored three times for Brooklin; Brownell added 2 assists and Williams 1. Derek Hopcroft had 2 goals and 2 helpers for the Redmen. Zack Higgins made 45 saves for Brooklin and Evan Kirk made 30 for Six Nations.

Brooklin returns to action Tuesday night when they travel to KW to face the Kodiaks. Six Nations next game is Thursday at Brampton as the first part of a home and home that sees the Excelsiors come to the ILA next Sunday. 

Brampton Excelsiors beat KW 12-10, pull into fourth-place tie with Kodiaks

The KW Kodiaks outshot the Brampton Excelsiors, won most of the faceoffs and were more successful on the power play, but the Excelsiors led in the most important category, outscoring the Kodiaks 12-10 to move out of the Major Series Lacrosse basement and into a tie with KW for fourth place and the final playoff spot. Mike Hominuk and Dustin Caravello had hat tricks for Brampton. Chris Corbeil and Chris Attwood each added 2 goals and 2 assists.

Brampton took a 3-0 lead but then Mike Teeter struck for a natural hat trick for KW, scoring 3 goals in 2:29. Teeter wound up with 4 goals and 2 assists in the game. Aaron Wilson had 3 goals and 5 assists and Mat McLeod had a goal and 4 assists in his debut with the Kodiaks after being acquired in the trade with Six Nations for Jesse Gamble.

The teams were tied 4-4 after the first period and KW pulled ahead 6-5 in the second, but Brampton went on a three-goal run in the middle of the period sparked by Hominuk's shorthanded marker. Brampton was ahead 11-8 when Chris Attwood took a major penalty for spearing at 14:20 of the third, giving the Kodiaks a chance to get back into the game. KW took advantage quickly, getting power play goals from Brandon Ivey and Wilson just 29 seconds apart to pull within on goal.

They couldn't find the tying goal, though, and Hominuk sealed the deal when he scored into the empty net with 7 seconds to play. Anthony Cosmo made 35 saves on 45 shots to earn the win in net.

Brampton's next game is this Sunday at 7 pm when they play host to the Peterborough Lakers. KW returns to the floor next Tuesday at home against the Brooklin Redmen in an 8 pm game.

Peterborough Lakers come back from 7-1 deficit to beat Oakville Rock 13-12 with final 4 goals of the game

Shawn Evans had 9 points (3 goals, 6 assists) in 

Peterborough's  comeback win over Oakville Thursday.
(Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Peterborough Lakers dug themselves out of 7-1 and 12-9 holes to earn a 13-12 win over Oakville in a game that was almost an historic first for the Rock. It would have marked the first time they had beaten Peterborough since joining the league as the Ajax Rock in 2010. They looked like they had a great chance when they jumped out to a 3-0 lead after a first period in which Tye Belanger turned aside all 23 shots he faced, then added 4 of the first 5 goals in the second period.

With Oakville up 6-1, the Lakers felt that Eric Pitre got away with a slash that dropped Josh Gillam to the ground. The Lakers' Mike Thomas immediately went after Pitre and the two fought, leading to fighting majors and game misconducts for both and an extra 5-minute instigator major for Thomas.

Connor Daly connected on the ensuing power play to stretch Oakville's lead to six, but it was while killing that penalty that Mark Farthing got the Lakers started on a roll that pulled them almost all the way back into the game. Farthing grabbed the ball in his own end and burned up the floor after a quick peak towards the bench to see if anyone was coming out to get a breakout pass. He swooped in on Belanger and buried a goal at 12:10 that ignited the crowd of just under 3,000 and seemed to give the Lakers some life. After that, Shawn and Scott Evans alternated on four goals that made it 7-6 for Oakville heading into the second intermission.

Lakers acquire Pat Saunders to help left side of offence

The Peterborough Lakers have added Pat Saunders in a trade with the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks. In return, KW receives Peterborough's second-round pick in the 2015 Major Series Lacrosse draft and other considerations.

Saunders is a talented lefty forward. He has 19 goals in five games with the Senior B Owen Sound North Stars this summer and potted 55 in 20 CLax games with the Brampton Inferno over the past two years.

Peterborough has leaned on Josh Gillam (12 goals, 13 assists) and Cory Vitarelli (7g, 15 a) on the left side so far this season. With Brian Croswell breaking his wrist in the first game, John Grant Jr. unavailable for most of the season and no final word on whether John Tavares is returning, the Lakers needed some help. No other lefty forward has more than one goal for them so far.

Saunders hadn't appeared in a game for the Kodiaks this summer. He scored 13 goals and 11 assists in 10 games with them in 2012. KW continues to add draft picks to a team that is already built largely on youth and speed.

Six Nations takes over first place with 9-8 win over KW Kodiaks

Cody Jamieson had 5 points for Six Nations

For the fifth time in the last eight Major Series Lacrosse contests, a game was decided by one goal or in overtime. Last night it was the Six Nations Chiefs scoring four straight goals spanning the second and third periods to pull out a 9-8 win over the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks. Colin Doyle scored 3 goals and 3 assists and Cody Jamieson 2 goals and 3 assists to lead the Chiefs to their fifth win of the season against a single loss, moving them into first place in the league. Aaron Wilson (2g, 3a) and Mike Teeter (1g, 4a) each had 5-point nights to lead the Kodiaks, who fall to 2-4 and sit in fourth place.

KW took a 5-2 lead through the first half of the first period, but the Chiefs came back with three straight power-play goals from their left side—one each from Doyle, Jamieson and Roger Vyse—to tie the game at 5-5 after 20 minutes. The Kodiaks responded with a pair of man-up markers of their own from Teeter and Jamie Rooney before Six Nations went on their run.

Rodd Squire, Jr. got it started at the 12-minute mark, then Doyle and Jamieson connected a minute apart late in the frame to make it 8-7 after two periods. Doyle extended the lead to two when he rounded out his hat trick at 3:51 of the third. That was it for scoring until Teeter connected with goalie Dillon Ward pulled for an extra attacker with 1:11 to play. Ward made 41 saves in a losing effort while Evan Kirk made 40 saves to earn the win.  

Resetarits, Poulin, Thorimbert and Noble earn Week 3 MSL Player of the Week awards

Major Series Lacrosse has announced its Player of the Week awards for Week 3, covering games from Monday June 3 to Sunday June 9.

Brampton Excelsiors 2012 regular season points leader Joe Resetarits has been named Offensive Player of the Week after an impressive 10 points in two games. In Saturday’s 9-8 win in Oakville, Resetarits recorded seven points, scoring four consecutive Excelsior goals and three assists; on Sunday, Resetarits netted one goal and two assists in Brampton’s 13-7 loss to Six Nations.

Returning to his hometown Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks a week before the MSL season began in May, goaltender Mike Poulin has been named Defensive Player of the Week. Poulin played in both Kodiaks’ wins last week, holding the Rock to only 6 goals on Monday and not allowing any OT goals on Saturday as the Kodiaks defeated the defending champion Lakers in the First Capital Cup. 

Dominating the faceoff circle in all three Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks games last week, Jay Thorimbert has been named Transition Player of the Week. In addition to stellar performances on Monday and Wednesday, Thorimbert had two assists in Saturday’s 11-8 KW win against Peterborough.

Making his MSL debut last week, Jason Noble, the 2012 OLA Jr. A defender of the year, has been named Rookie Player of the Week. Noble, drafted by the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks in the first round (second overall) in the 2013 entry draft, recorded four points in KW’s three games last week.Noble had one assist the Kodiaks’ win on Monday, another assist in the Wednesday loss, and two goals in Saturday’s victory.

Chiefs beat Excelsiors 13-7

The Six Nations Chiefs dominated the first and third periods and outshot the Brampton Excelsiors 48-25 en route a 13-7 win Sunday afternoon at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena. Four different players scored twice for the Chiefs: Colin Doyle (who also had 5 assists), Cody Jamieson, Tom Montour and Roger Vyse. Todd Kozak and Mike Burke each had 2 goals and an assist to lead Brampton. 

Six Nations scored the only 4 goals of the first period but Brampton responded with the first three of the second. The Excels added a couple more in the frame to keep it close after 40 minutes, trailing 7-5. The Chiefs poured it on again in the third, though, and pulled away, outscoring Brampton 6-2.

Between them, Craig Point and Sid Smith won 21 of the game's 22 faceoffs to continually give Six Nations possession of the ball.  

Kodiaks down Lakers in OT, Excelsiors get first win over Rock

Lacrosse fans in Kingston got even more than they bargained for at the Inaugural First Capital Cup Saturday. The KW Kodiaks and Peterborough Lakers went to overtime when Scott Evans scored his second goal of the game for the Lakers to tie it 8-8 late in the third period. The Kodiaks scored the only 3 goals of the overtime to win the game, and the Cup, 11-8.

Jason Noble, Brandon Ivey, Aaron Wilson and Jamie Rooney each scored twice for the Kodiaks. Evans and Mark Steenhuis had a pair each for Peterborough, who drop to 3-3 on the season with three wins at home and three losses on the road. Kitchener is now 2-3.

Brampton earned their first win of the season, narrowly avoiding overtime as Mike Hominuk scored with two seconds remaining and Anthony Cosmo pulled for an extra attacker. The Rock had just tied the game nine seconds earlier when Brendan Muise buried his second of the day on a hard outside shot on the powerplay. 

Brampton and Oakville both moved to 1-3 with the result. 

First Capital Cup goes tonight in Kingston

The Peterborough Lakers and the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks will meet in the inaugural First Capital Cup tonight at 7 pm at Kingston's K Rock Centre. It's a home game for the Kodiaks and is serving as a fundraiser for Kingston minor lacrosse. Ticket sales are reported to be going well and a big, enthusiastic crowd is expected to be on hand, including many participants in the Kingston Krossfire minor tournament that is running all weekend.

The game will be shown in Kingston and Peterborough on TVCogeco and is also available as Major Series Lacrosse's first radio webcast of the season. Scott Arnold will call the game on the Lacrosse Radio Network. The full list of radio webcasts appears in the right-hand column of this site. To listen to the game, click on the LRN logo below the radio webcast schedule.

For those in the Greater Toronto Area, you can catch some matinee MSL action at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre. The Oakville Rock play host to the Brampton Excelsiors at 2 pm.

June 29th game switched to June 22

The date of the game between Kitchener-Waterloo and Oakville at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre that was originally scheduled for Saturday June 29 has been changed. The game will now be held one week earlier, on Saturday June 22 at 7 pm.

Peterborough Lakers beat Brooklin Redmen 7-4 behind Scott Evans' hat trick

Scott Evans had 3 goals.
(Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Peterborough Lakers won a defensive battle to knock Brooklin from the ranks of the undefeated, downing the Redmen 7-4 at home in Major Series Lacrosse play Thursday night. Scott Evans led the Lakers offence with a hat trick and an assist.

Both goalies—Tyler Carlson for Peterborough and Zach Higgins for Brooklin—were perfect for the first 16:48 till Kevin Brownell was finally able to break the scoreless deadlock for the Redmen. Cory Vitarelli countered just over a minute later and the teams headed to the first intermission tied 1-1.

The Evans brothers combined to lead the Lakers to a strong second period. Scott had 2 goals and an assist and Shawn a goal and 2 assists as Peterborough outscored Brooklin 4-1 to take control of the game. Jake Hayes and Mike Triolo sandwiched goals around Scott's third of the game in the third period to pull Brooklin within 2 goals at 6-4 at the 7:13 mark.

The Redmen had some chances to get closer but Carlson and his posts turned aside everything else they directed at him. Mark Steenhuis finished off the scoring with an empty-net goal with one second remaining that led to some ill will in the handshake line, after which Steenhuis and Gavin Prout were guided away from the floor by the referees.

Brooklin Redmen pull out a 7-6 win over KW Kodiaks to remain perfect four games into 2013 MSL season

Dillon Ward was outstanding but Gavin Prout and the
Brooklin Redmen prevailed 7-6 over the KW Kodiaks.
(Photo: Tim Prothero, VintageLax)

The Brooklin Redmen continue to find ways to win lacrosse games. The Redmen moved to 4-0 on the Major Series Lacrosse season by playing strong defence, getting a solid performance from goalie Steve Fryer and scoring just enough to eke out a 7-6 home win over the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks Wednesday night. Brooklin got a pair of second-period goals, including a key shorthanded marker, from Shawn Williams then won the third period 2-1 to earn the victory.

The Redmen's winning goal came when they had the tallest right side in the league on the floor. Kiel Matisz, Mike Triolo and defender Steve Priolo—averaging about 6'5”--worked together to create space and Triolo completed a high touch pass over a defender to Matisz, who walked towards the crease and snuck the ball past Dillon Ward at 11:39 of the third.

Brooklin was up 3-1 after the first period but the Kodiaks had an outstanding specials teams second to even things up. They connected for 3 power play goals (2 by Aaron Wilson) and a shorthanded goal by Ryan Dilks to outscore Brooklin 4-2 in the frame. Dilks' goal came when he finished a perfect cross-floor pass on a two-on-one with Jason Noble, who stole the ball in the defensive zone and skidaddled down the floor to create the scoring opportunity.

Evans named MSL offensive player of the week for the second straight week; Higgins, Montour and Attwood honoured

Taking home weekly honours in back-to-back weeks, Peterborough Lakers’ Shawn Evans has been named Offensive Player of the Week. Evans, the league points leader, notched 8 points (1G, 7A) in the Lakers’ 13-8 win over the Excelsiors last Thursday and another 7 assists in the 12-9 loss at Six Nations on Sunday.

Currently in his third season with the Brooklin Redmen, goalie Zach Higgins has been named Defensive Player of the Week. Higgins picked up his season win of the season in Wednesday’s 10-9 win over the Six Nations Chiefs.

Six Nations Chiefs' Tom Montour has been named Transition Player of the Week. Playing in two of three Chiefs games last week, Montour notched 1 goal and 3 assists, all in the 18-10 win at Oakville last Monday.

Acquired by the Brampton Excelsiors in the first round (7^th overall) of the 2013 Entry Draft, Chris Attwood has been named Rookie Player of the Week. The 2012 CLax scoring leader recorded 1 goal in the Excelsiors’ 13-10 loss versus Oakville last Tuesday and another 3 goals in the 13-8 loss in Peterborough last Thursday.

Kodiaks score twice in final 3:26 to edge Rock 7-6 Monday night

Mitch Wilde once scored 19 goals in a Junior B season, but it was still stunning to see him take a perfect over-the-shoulder breakout pass from goalie Mike Poulin, break away from a pursuing Nic Grasby, throw a hard, hard shot fake low then dunk the ball in over the shoulder of Tye Belanger for the winning goal in last night's 7-6 Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks win over the Oakville Rock. Wilde is a big, rugged defender who was playing his third game in Major Series Lacrosse after graduating from the Whitby Warriors Junior A program.

“First shot I had that one breakaway and I shot it right in his pads,” Wilde said. “Poulie pointed out that he likes to dip low and I saw [Jamie] Rooney put it short side so I threw a couple of fakes and put it short side and it ended up going in.” It's all part of the learning process for a young player, Wilde added. “Just watching all the veteran guys, taking notes on what they do and try to implement that into my game day by day, game by game, shift by shift.”

First Capital Cup pits Kodiaks against Lakers in Kingston this Saturday, June 8

This Saturday, June 8 at 7 pm is the first ever First Capital Cup. The Cup is a regular season game between the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks and the defending Mann Cup champion Peterborough Lakers at the K Rock Centre in Kingston. The game has been organized to align with the Kingston Krossfire minor lacrosse tournament being held this weekend and tickets to the game are part of the registration package for the tournament, so the game should enjoy the highest attendance at a Major Series Lacrosse game this summer. First Capital Cup organizers are anticipating over 4,000 to be on hand for the game.

Good tickets are still available and can be purchased by going to the First Capital Cup web site. KW currently sits last in MSL with an 0-2 record, but the Kodiaks have lost to the top two teams in the league, the Six Nations Chiefs and Brooklin Redmen. They face the Oakville Rock tonight in a game that can be seen via live webcast: just click the webcast sports logo in this site's right-hand column to watch the game.

Peterborough is third, also having lost to Six Nations and Brooklin while beating Brampton twice to sit at 2-2. The Lakers' Shawn Evans is fresh off a National Lacrosse League scoring title and MVP award and has carried on his success this summer, posting 28 points in his first four games to lead MSL in scoring. KW features Mike Poulin, a former MSL MVP and the 2012 NLL goalie of the year.

Six Nations Chiefs down Peterborough Lakers 12-9

Cody Jamieson had 6 points in Six Nations'
12-9 win over Peterborough Sunday.
(Photo: Tim Prothero, VintageLax)

The Six Nations Chiefs won a battle between last year's Major Series Lacrosse finalists on Sunday, downing the Peterborough Lakers 12-9. Cody Jamieson (4 assists), Roger Vyse (3a) and Kasey Beirnes (1a) each scored twice for Six Nations and Craig Point added a goal and 7 assists to lead the Chiefs offence.

Scott Evans had a hat trick for Peterborough while Shawn Evans contributed 7 assists. Josh Gillam (4a), Cory Vitarelli (3a) and Mark Steenhuis each added 2 goals for the Lakers.

Six Nations led 4-3 after a first period that was delayed for several minutes when a pane of glass between the Chief penalty box and bench broke when a player slammed shut the penalty box door. They pulled out to a 7-3 lead with the first 3 goals of the second period but then ran into serious penalty trouble. The Lakers took advantage to score 4 straight power play goals to even the score.

Marty Hill put the Chiefs back on top with a shorthanded goal, Six Nations' third of the game. Peterborough scored twice shorthanded and went 5 for 8 on the power play.

The win puts Six Nations into a tie atop the standings with 6 points, although Brooklin has a game in hand on the Chiefs.

Peterborough is back in action Thursday when they play host to the Brooklin Redmen. The Chiefs don't hit the floor again until Sunday when Brampton comes to the ILA.

Sunday's game to be webcast tape delayed, Monday night's game live

Another pair of games have been added to the Major Series Lacrosse webcast package. Sunday's game between the Peterborough Lakers and the Chiefs in Six Nations will be posted to the archives later in the day, so you may want to avoid checking out the results before you watch the game. Monday, JVI Video will present Kitchener-Waterloo at Oakville live at 8 pm from the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre. All games that have been webcast are available to be seen in the archives. For live or archived games, just click on the Webcast Sports logo in the far right column of this site.

Chiefs acquire Jesse Gamble from Kodiaks for Mat MacLeod and Corey Fowler

The Six Nations Chiefs have given their transition game a shot of adrenaline, acquiring Jesse Gamble from the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks in exchange for Mat MacLeod, Corey Fowler and other considerations. Gamble is one of the best transition players in lacrosse. He finished second in IL Indoor's voting for National Lacrosse League Transition Player of the Year and in 2011 was named Major Series Lacrosse's top defender. The lefty played primarily offence for most of that season and scored 45 points, but switched to defence when John Lovell took over as head coach and shone in the role immediately. Lovell is also the 25-year-old Gamble's coach with the Toronto Rock, where he had a breakout season in 2013, showing outstanding defensive improvement and continuing to impact games with his blazing speed.