Game time change: Chiefs and Kodiaks face off Sunday in KW at 8 pm

The game this Sunday, June 1 between the Six Nations Chiefs and Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks in KW, which originally appears in the league schedule as a 6 pm game, will start at 8 pm.

Lakers down Excelsiors 11-4 in season opener

Mark Steenhuis had 3 goals and 3 assists to lead Peterborough
over Brampton. (File photo: Tim Prothero)

The Peterborough Lakers blanked the Brampton Exceliors 4-0 in the second period to blow open a tight game and pull away to an 11-4 win in the first game of the 2014 Major Series Lacrosse season. The game was tied 2-2 after the first period. Peterborough took a 2-0 lead in the first five minutes but Brampton battled back to tied things up. Both teams were playing effective defence and both goalies were sharp.

In the second period, the Lakers got two quick goals early to grab the momentum. Scott Evans buried a sidearm shot as he was falling to the turf. Less than 30 seconds later, Matt Crough raced in from the bench to grab a loose ball on a broken play off a long breakout pass and tucked it home to make it 4-2. The Lakers added another pair in the period, including a spectacular shorthanded goal by Mark Steenhuis, who would lead all scorers on the evening with 3 goals (all shorthanded) and 3 assists.

Aaron Wilson and John Grant give Lakers offensive boost

John Grant Jr. is returning to the Peterborough Lakers for 2014. 

The Peterborough Lakers have given their offence a big boost, adding Aaron Wilson in a trade and announcing that John Grant Jr. will be returning to the team to play even though he is now living in Denver, Colorado.

Wilson comes over from the KW Kodiaks along with the Six Nations Chiefs pick in the second round of the 2015 MSL draft. In return, the Kodiaks receive the 2015 playing rights to goalie Davide DiRuscio, Peterborough's second round pick in the 2015 draft and other considerations. Wilson finished third in MSL last season with 80 points, including 27 goals. He is a veteran righty forward who won a pair of Mann Cups with Brampton. DiRuscio was Peterborough's fourth-round pick in this year's MSL draft. He is a goalie who went to multiple Minto Cups with the Coquitlam Adanacs and was the MVP of the Canadian Lacrosse League this past winter as a rookie with the Niagara Lock Monsters.

Lakers Head Coach and General Manager Joe Sullivan told the Peterborough Examiner, "We're just thrilled he wants to come back. He wants to win another Mann Cup in Peterborough. I think some of the additions we've made got his juices flowing again which, according to him, is exactly what he wanted to see happen."

Three MSL games to be webcast on opening weekend of action

The Major Series Lacrosse season gets underway this week, with the opener Thursday night featuring the young and spirited Brampton Excelsiors travelling to Peterborough to face the veteran Lakers. That game will be the first of three that will be webcast live through JVI Video on the opening weekend and a bit of action in the 2014 season, all of which happen to include the Lakers. The next game will be a matchup of the last two Mann Cup champions when Peterborough heads to Six Nations to take on the Chiefs Saturday. Then, kicking off the new week, the Lakers will play their third game in five days when they travel to the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre to take on the new-look Oakville Rock, who have thoroughly revamped their roster and look to be a much more competitive team.

The Thursday and Monday games start at 8pm; the game in Six Nations on Saturday starts at 7 pm. All games can be accessed via the Webcast Sports widget in the right-hand column of this web site. The full webcast schedule will be posted shortly.

Chiefs bolster offence by acquiring Jeff Shattler

Jeff Shattler, here with with Victoria Shamrocks last
summer, has been acquired by the Six Nations Chiefs.
(Photo: Dan Brodie)

The Six Nations Chiefs showed they aren't going to stand pat after winning the 2013 Mann Cup. Six Nations has acquired the rights to forward Jeff Shattler from the Brampton Excelsiors in exchange for  graduating junior defender Jack Donnelly, a first-round draft pick in 2015 and future considerations.

Shattler is currently playing in the National Lacrosse League playoffs with the Caglary Roughnecks, with whom he was the NLL MVP three years ago. Shattler, a native of Edmonton, played the last five summers with the Victoria Shamrocks but is believed to be returning to Ontario this summer. Before his stint on the west coast, Shattler spent three seasons in the MSL with the Excelsiors, winning a Mann Cup with the team in 2008, his final year.

Donnelly finished his junior career with the Six Nations Arrows after coming over in a trade from the Toronto Beaches last summer. The draft pick is KW's selection, which Six Nations received in a recent trade involving Dean Hill and the rights to Logan Schuss.

Shattler will have to miss the Chiefs' season opener against the Peterborough Lakers on May 31 because he will be playing for the Champions Cup with Calgary that night.

Dean Hill headed back to Six Nations in trade with Kodiaks

Logan Schuss' rights have been acquired by the Kodiaks.

The Six Nations Chiefs and Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks have consummated a trade just over two weeks before the 2014 MSL season opens. Six Nations receive forward Dean Hill and a first-round pick in the 2015 MSL draft. KW acquires the rights to forward Logan Schuss, a second round pick next year and other considerations.

Hill is a 29-year-old who has spent the past couple of summers in the Quebec Sr B league. Before that, his major career was divided between three years with the Chiefs then three years with the Victoria Shamrocks in the WLA. He has twice been a 20-goal scorer in major lacrosse and averaged over four points per game in his two QSLL seasons.

Schuss was the rookie of the year in the WLA last year, scoring 29 goals and 27 assists for 56 points in 12 games with the New Westminster Salmonbellies. He is also a leading candidate for the National Lacrosse League's top rookie award after posting 36 goals for the Minnesota Swarm. It is not known at this time whether Schuss will play in KW this year.

Buy Chiefs season tickets, get a game-worn jersey

The Six Nations Chiefs are selling seasons tickets for the 2014 season, and if you act quickly you can get a game-worn jersey along with your tickets. The Chiefs have posted an announcement that the first 50 fans to buy seasons tickets will receive a jersey as well. It's a great deal considering that the set of tickets to all nine home games is only $60. You can get the details by talking to Tracy at Arrow Express Sports at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena, by calling 905-768-2225 or by emailing contactus@aeslacrosse.com.

Pair of big trades in MSL

Jeremy Noble and his twin brother Jason will be suiting up
with the Oakville Rock this summer. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

A pair of big trades were announced by Major Series Lacrosse today. The Peterborough Lakers acquired goalie Matt Vinc from the Brampton Excelsiors in exchange for transition player Jimmy Purves, lefty forward Pat Saunders, a pair of second-round picks in the 2015 MSL draft and other considerations.
Vinc is the two-time defending NLL goalie of the year and led the Victoria Shamrocks to the WLA championship last year, after which they fell to the Six Nations Chiefs in the Mann Cup finals. Saunders enjoyed a breakout year in the NLL, scoring 25 goals for the Philadelphia Wings. He played only three games with Peterborough last year because of a broken hand.

The other big deal sees Jeremy and Jason Noble, along with defender Bill Hostrawser, go from the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks to the Oakville Rock. In return, the Kodiaks get three players as well as four first-round draft picks over the next three years.

KW receives AJ Masson, who played primarily forward for Oakville last year but is considered by many to be best suited as a transition player. That is the role he played with the Toronto Rock in the pair of games he dressed for this year after signing with the team. Hayden Smith is a defender familiar to Kodiaks GM Steve Dietrich, who is also his GM with the Buffalo Bandits. Smith is known as a tough-nosed stay at home defender. The Kodiaks also get Mike Woods, whose impressive transition play with Oakville last year led to him being drafted by the Rochester Knighthawks. The four first-round picks are one in 2015, two in 2016 and one in 2017.