Redmen vs Chiefs semifinals schedule

Dates have been set for the Brooklin Redmen vs Six Nations Chiefs MSL semifinals. The series opens this Sunday at Brooklin's Iroquois Park Sports Centre at 7pm and continues at Six Nations' Iroquois Lacrosse Arena Tuesday at 8pm. The full schedule is below.

Game 1 Sunday August 3rd at 7pm at Iroquois Park
Game 2 Tuesday August 5th at 8pm at ILA
Game 3 Thursday August 7th at 8pm at Iroquois Park
Game 4 Saturday August 9th at 7pm at ILA
Game 5 Monday August 11th at 8pm* at Iroquois Park
Game 6 Tuesday August 12 at 8pm at ILA*
Game 7 Thursday August 14th at 8pm* at Iroquois Park

*= If Necessary

Brampton versus Peterborough tonight at Memorial Arena

Tonight's game (Thursday July 31) between the Brampton Excelsiors and the Peterborough Lakers will be played at Brampton's Memorial Arena, not at Century Gardens as it had been scheduled. Game time is still 8 pm.

Playoff positioning taking shape; Wednesday game will determine order of final two spots and semifinal pairings

Brandon Miller and the Six Nations Chiefs assured themselves of a post-season berth when they downed the Rock 8-7
in Oakville Monday night. The Chiefs will now face the KW Kodiaks for third Wednesday. (Photo: Darryl Smart)

The Six Nations Chiefs pulled out an 8-7 win Monday night over the Oakville Rock. As a result, the Chiefs are in the playoffs and the Rock are out of them. With Brooklin having clinched first and Peterborough locked into second, the only thing to be determined is who will finish third and who will take fourth. That will be decided Wednesday night when the Chiefs face the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks. Both teams currently sit at 9-8, so the winner will take third place and face the Lakers in the semifinals. The loser will finish fourth and face the Redmen in the semis. If they happen to tie, KW will earn third place based on a better record between the two teams this season.

Oakville led 3-1 after the first period Monday at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre and were up 5-2 past the midway point of the second. Then the Chiefs went on a four-goal run to take the lead for the first time in the game. Danny Lomas' second goal of the game for Oakville evened things up at 6-6 heading into the final 20 minutes. The Rock kept the momentum going when they got the first goal of the third, from Mike Mawdsley just 53 seconds in. That would prove to be their last goal of the night, though, as Brandon Miller shut the door from there out.

Chiefs edge Rock 7-6 to strengthen playoff positioning

By Darryl Smart

The push to the Major Series Lacrosse playoffs continued for the Six Nations Pro-Fit Chiefs.
In front of a good crowd at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena, the defending Mann Cup champs came away with a 7-6 win over the Oakville Rock.
With the Rock ahead for much of the game, Kasey Beirnes tied things up for the fifth time, seven minutes into the third period, before Cody Jamieson scored his third goal of the game with just over six minutes remaining to give the Chiefs the victory. For photos from the game CLICK HERE 
With the win, the Chiefs improve to 8-8 and sit in a two-way tie for third with the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks.
"Every game is like a playoff game now," Chiefs coach Rich Kilgour said before the game. "We thought we'd be battling for top spot at this time of year. Right now we're battling to get in."
Danny Lomas led the Rock in the first period, scoring three times. Colin Doyle and Jamieson responded for the Chiefs.
Jamieson continued to heat up in the second period, while Randy Staats added one, and St. Catharines junior A call-up Eric Fanell netted his first MSL goal.
Patrick Corbett, Rob Hellyer and Brenden Thenhaus scored for the Rock.
Brandon Miller was at times outstanding between the Chiefs pipes, stopping 32 shots, while his Toronto Rock teammate, Nick Rose was tagged with the loss in a 29-save effort.
The Chiefs' playoff push continues Monday, when they go to Oakville, before wrapping things up Wednesday at the ILA, when they host the Kodiaks. Both games are at 8 p.m.

Redmen master late-game heroics in pair of wins

Zack Higgins and the Redmen, here facing Peterborough,
won a pair of games with late goals this week.
(Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Brooklin Redmen made the most of their late opportunities, scoring goals in the last five seconds to win back-to-back games over the Oakville Rock and Six Nations Chiefs Monday and Wednesday. Against Oakville, the Redmen trailed 3-1 after the first period but rebounded to be tied 6-6 after 40 minutes. They led 8-7 but the Rock tied it up when Rob Hellyer connected with 44 seconds to play in regulation time. Brooklin got the ball with just over 30 seconds to play and called a timeout in which they pulled the goalie and drew up a play to get the ball to Kiel Matisz in the slot. They managed to get it to him and he buried a behind the back shot with just three seconds on the clock for the winner and the 9-8 final. Redmen Head Coach Wayne Colley said his team was a bit lucky to pull out the win but they're pleased to have done so. "It clinches first place overall which is one of the destinations we wanted to achieve along the way. That's only one; we've got a couple more to go," Colley said. "We played hard. In the first period we didn't play very well. Second and third we played not too bad at all so things turned around."

Kodiaks win back to back games, improve to .500

Steve Fryer, here against Oakville, won both games as KW
swept a home and home with Brampton. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks swept a home and home series with the Brampton Excelsiors Sunday and Tuesday, improving their record to 8-8 and moving into third place while eliminating the Excelsiors from the playoff race. KW won 10-5 on Sunday in Waterloo behind a pair of goals each from Ryan Benesch, Luke Laszkiewicz and Jay Thorimbert. They led 4-1 after the first period, 6-3 after the second then scored the first two goals of the third to pull away.

On Tuesday, things were much closer in Brampton. KW led just 5-4 after two periods and, while they again scored the first two goals of the third, the Excelsiors refused to go away. Brampton fought back to within a goal thanks to four third-period goals from Joe Resetarits, who also had an assist for a 5-point night. Defender and captain Chris Corbeil helped on the offensive end with two goals and an assist. Benesch led the Kodiaks again with three goals and two assists. Jamie Rooney chipped in with two and two as the Kodiaks passed the Six Nations Chiefs for third and moved closer to clinching a playoff spot. Steve Fryer earned both wins in goal for KW.

Major Series Lacrosse players win medals at world field lacrosse championships

Dillon Ward, of the KW Kodiaks, was the all-star goalie and
MVP as Canada won the world field lacrosse championships.

It was a big Saturday for 18 Major Series Lacrosse players at the World Field Lacrosse Championships in Denver. Eleven MSL player were with the Team Canada side that won the gold medal, beating the USA 8-5 with a brilliantly designed and executed game plan. Seven other MSL players were members of the Iroquois Nationals, who won their first ever medal at the worlds, beating Australia 16-5 to capture the bronze.

The MSL players who were part of Team Canada's win were Matt Vinc, Adam Jones and John Grant Jr. (Peterborough Lakers), Cam Holding (Brooklin Redmen), Dillon Ward (Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks), Dan Coates and Jesse Gamble (Six Nations Chiefs), Jeremy Noble, Jason Noble and Jordan MacIntosh (Oakville Rock) and Kyle Rubisch (Brampton Excelsiors). Ward was named the tournament's all-star goalie and the Most Valuable Player.

The Iroquois players, all coming from the Six Nations Chiefs, were Craig Point, Roger Vyse, Cody Jamieson, Vaughan Harris, Sid Smith, Jeff Shattler and Randy Staats.

Kodiaks beat Lakers 11-8, Rock take out Excelsiors 12-5

Craig England (left), here against Oakville, had 2 goals Thursday as KW
downed Peterborough 11-8. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks made a statement Thursday night: that they can play with anybody in Major Series Lacrosse. The Kodiaks went into Peterborough, the home of the Lakers who were rated first in the latest IL Indoor MSL Power Rankings, and won 11-8 to keep their playoff hopes moving forward. The win allowed KW to keep pace with Oakville at 6-8. The Rock downed Brampton 12-5 in Thursday night's other game.

“We've got a good team here. Everyone thinks that we're cellar dwellars and everything else, but we can compete with anybody and be in any game,” said Kodiaks assistant coach Jamie Dubrick. “We had a rough week last week with the two losses against Oakville, two games we should have won, I think. Our guys just didn't show up to play. This is a big game for us, to come up here and beat a team like this that has won a couple of games the last little bit. [Peterborough's] a strong squad, that's a Mann Cup contending team right there. So I think we can compete with anyone. I think this is going to be good for the week coming up. We've got two big games Sunday and Tuesday [against Brampton] and we'll see what happens.”

Peterborough Lakers down Brooklin Redmen 12-9

Scott Evans had a hat trick to lead

Peterborough over Brooklin. 

(Photo: Tim Prothero)

In a battle between the top two teams in Major Series Lacrosse Wednesday night, the Peterborough Lakers had to overcome a slow start to take away a 12-9 win over the Brooklin Redmen. Brooklin jumped out to a 5-1 lead, largely because they outworked the Lakers and won pretty much every loose ball battle all over the floor in the first half of the first period. After John Lafontaine scored back to back transition goals for Brooklin, the second at 11:40, Peterborough pulled starter Tyler Carlson and put in Davide DiRuscio. The change seemed to awaken the Lakers, who played much better defence and worked harder in both ends in front of the replacement.

Redmen captain Shawn Williams, who led all scorers with a goal and 5 assists, acknowledged that it wasn't the goalie's fault that Brooklin took an early lead, but making the change made a big difference. “I think once we got Carlson out of the game they woke up and said 'That's on us, that's not on him.' Good teams battle back through that and they did,” Williams said.

Kiel Matisz scored 3 goals and 2 assists for Brooklin. Scott Evans led the Lakers with a hat trick and an assist. Mark Steenhuis had 2 goals for Peterborough, which got 2 or more points from 11 different players. The Lakers turned the momentum around after falling behind thanks to some hard work from Robert Hope, Nick Weiss and Chad Culp, all of whom led the charge. The whole team seemed to respond in the second half of the first period and throughout the rest of the game. Peterborough was particularly strong in the third period, in which they outscored the Redmen 5-1 to pull away for the win.

Rock sweep home-and-home by downing Kodiaks 9-7 in Oakville Monday night

Mike Mawdsley and the Oakville Rock beat KW 9-7, pulling into a tie with the Kodiaks for fourth in MSL.
(Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Oakville Rock stepped to the plate and hit big double, taking a 9-7 win over the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks Monday night to finish off a home-and-home sweep of the Kodiaks on consecutive nights. Rob Hellyer's hat trick and Stephan Leblanc's 4 assists were key components as the Rock's offensive leaders stepped up to help the team pull into a tie with KW for the fourth and final playoff spot in Major Series Lacrosse.

Oakville Head Coach Phil Sanderson was happy with his team's teams efforts all over the floor. “Both ends. Robbie was our leader out there on offence along with Steph. I thought Ethan O'Connor had a hell of a game for us, too. I thought he took control for us in the back end. Brad Gillies has been really good for us too lately. Those guys have been stepping up for us big time.”

Rock score last three goals to edge Kodiaks 7-6 Sunday evening

Nick Rose, here against Peterborough, allowed only six goals
as the Rock edged KW 7-6 Sunday. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Oakville Rock scored three goals in the final 4:21 to pull out a 7-6 win over the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks in the first half of a home and home series with huge implications in the Major Series Lacrosse playoff race. Mike Mawdsley and Stephan Leblanc scored to tie the game up then Rob Hellyer connected for the winner in the final minute of play. Leblanc (2g goals, 1 assist) and Hellyer (1g, 2a) were the game's leading scorers. Mike Melnychenko scored his first two goals for the  Kodiaks in his second game with the team after coming over from Brooklin in a deadline trade.

The teams were tied 1-1 after the first period then KW outscored the Rock 5-3 in the second period to take a 6-4 lead into the third. Nick Rose shut the door on the Kodiaks in the third, allowing his Oakville teammates to pull out the win, which pulls the Rock within a game of KW for fourth place and the final playoff spot. Another Oakville win in tonight's game at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre would move the teams into a tie, while a KW win in the rematch would put them back to two games ahead. If the Rock win and Brampton can beat Peterborough for their third straight win, there would be a three-way tie at 5-8 for the fourth spot.

You can watch tonight's game in Oakville live via JVI Video webcast. Just click on the Webcast Sports link in the right hand column of this web site. The broadcast starts at about 7:55.

Excelsiors edge Chiefs 4-3 behind standout performance from Tye Belanger in goal

The Brampton Excelsiors had plenty of new faces in the lineup for their Saturday night game against the Six Nations Chiefs, but they didn't let that stop them from pulling out a 4-3 win thanks to a phenomenal performance by goalie Tye Belanger. He made 53 saves to lead the Excels to their fourth win of the season and a game ahead of the Oakville Rock in the win column for fifth place. Brampton scored three times in the first period, added a goal in the second then held on to earn the victory over a Six Nations team whose lineup was also featuring several different players than usual. Nine Chiefs players are currently taking part in the world field lacrosse championships.

One player who was on the floor for the Chiefs was Colin Doyle, the veteran leader who had missed the entire season so far because of an injury. Doyle was thrilled to be back on the floor. “It felt awesome. I missed it. It's what I love to do,” Doyle said. “Obviously my timing was off. My shooting was poor. But I got involved in the game. It was a good game. I didn't feel like I played great but I got involved and that was all I really expected from tonight. It was disappointing we didn't win but felt great to be out there.”

Brampton beats Brooklin 14-12 in OT, Lakers trounce Rock 13-5

Joe Resetarits had a 6-point night to help Brampton upset
Brooklin 14-12 in overtime Thursday. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Brampton Excelsiors pulled off the upset of the Major Series Lacrosse season, coming back to beat the first-place Brooklin Redmen 14-12 in overtime Thursday night. Brampton put together a 6-3 third period including scoring the last 4 goals of regulation time to force the extra 10-minute period. Their transition game came up big for them in the overtime as Mike Kirk and Chris Corbeil chipped in goals, in addition to Joe Resetarits' second of the game to go with 4 assists. Kevin Ross led the way with 3 goals and 4 assists for the Excelsiors, who move into a tie with Oakville for fifth place with a 3-8 record. Curtis Knight was the top gun for Brooklin with 4 goals while Shayne Jackson added 2 goals and 2 assists and rookie defender Graeme Hossack pitched in with a pair of goals.

Brooklin led 3-2 after one period and 8-5 after two, then stretched their lead to 9-5 when Steve Priolo scored an unassisted marker two minutes into the third. Brampton got a couple of goals back through Ross and Brady Heseltine 25 seconds apart. Just a few minutes later, though, Knight and Hossack connected 35 seconds apart to restore the 4-goal margin. Corbeil struck for his second of the game at 8:59. Then, starting at 14:59, Brampton got goals from Mike Burke, Mark White and Ross in less than two minutes. Neither team could score in the final three minutes, setting up the extra period.

Brooklin downs KW 12-7 behind Poulin's 50 saves

Kiel Matisz, here against Brampton, had a shorty and 4 assists
as Brooklin downed KW 12-7.

The Brooklin Redmen and KW Kodiaks met for the first time since their trade deadline deal that saw Mike Poulin head to the Redmen, and the veteran goalie made 50 saves to lead his new team to a 12-7 win over his old team. Kiel Matisz had a shorthanded goal and 4 assists for Brooklin. Curtis Knight and Kyle Aquin each scored twice for the Redmen, who improve to 11-1 and extend their lead atop the Major Series Lacrosse standings to eight points over second-place Six Nations.

Mitch Wilde scored KW's only goal of the first period as the Redmen took a 5-1 lead into the intermission. The game was closer the rest of the way; Brooklin outscored KW 7-6 in the second and third periods. Mat McLeod scored twice for the Kodiaks. Steve Fryer, who was one of the players going the other way in the Poulin trade, made 42 saves in taking the loss.

MSL action resumes tonight when the Oakville Rock visit the Peterborough Lakers for an 8pm start.

Lakers appeal is denied; three games will remain forfeited

The Ontario Lacrosse Association has denied the appeal of the Peterborough Lakers seeking to reinstate the three games they forfeited at the beginning of the season for playing ineligible player Scott Evans. The OLA's ruling was succinct, telling the Lakers "The appeal by the Peterborough Lakers MSL team was denied. The Automatic Fine Policy must be followed. It is the team's responsibility to manage their game suspensions."

With the lost appeal, the Lakers remain at 6-6 in the standings, rather than the 9-3 they would be had the three wins been returned to them on appeal. Brampton, Oakville and Brooklin each received one win for games they had lost to the Lakers.

Oakville Rock double Brampton Excelsiors 12-6

Rob Hellyer, Stephan Leblanc and Shayne Adams all had huge nights to lead the Oakville Rock to a 12-6 win over the Brampton Excelsiors Monday. Hellyer led all scorers with 8 points off 3 goals and 5 assists. Leblanc scored 3 goals and 4 assists and Adams had 2 goals and 5 assists. The key to the game was the second period. Things were all tied up 4-4 after the first 20 minutes, but Oakville outscored the Excels 4-0 in the second to take control of the game. Adams put the exclamation mark on the second-period run, scoring both of his goals just 29 seconds apart late in the frame. Joe Resetarits had 3 goals and 2 assists to lead Brampton, who remain in last place at 2-8 while Oakville moves one game ahead of them at 3-7.

Lakers handle Kodiaks with ease, win 15-7

Tyler Carlson and the Lakers allowed only 7 goals in upending the Kodiaks
on Sunday evening. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Peterborough Lakers enjoyed a pair of 5-goal runs as they dominated the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks en route to a 15-7 win in Major Series Lacrosse action Sunday night at the Waterloo Recreation Complex. Cory Vitarelli had a hat trick and five other players scored twice each for the Lakers, while Mark Steenhuis led all scorers with a goal and 5 assists for 6 points.

Jay Thorimbert opened the scoring for the Kodiaks six minutes into the game, then the Lakers ran off five straight goals before the period ended. KW battled back into the game, drawing within 6-4. Then the Lakers got rolling again and ran off five more goals in a five-minute span to take thorough control. The outcome was never really in doubt after that.

Kodiaks hold on to beat Chiefs 9-8, Redmen come back to down Excelsiors 9-7

The Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks took an early lead then battened down the hatches and weathered the storm that was the Six Nations Chiefs comeback to take a 9-8 win in Major Series Lacrosse play Saturday at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena. The Kodiaks scored twice in the first 1:01, led 4-2 after a period and were up 8-3 after two periods. Then Mike Woods broke away alone and tucked the ball past the feet of Brennor Jacobs for what would prove to be the only goal they'd get on the Chiefs backup goalie, who replaced Evan Kirk after KW's eighth goal. Luckily for the Kodiaks, that one third-period goal would be the only one they'd need. Six Nations came back to get the final five goals of the game but weren't able to find the equalizer.

In last night's other game, Brooklin staged a successful comeback to beat the Brampton Excelsiors 9-7. The Redmen trailed 7-5 after Mike Burke opened the third period with a goal for Brampton, but they rebounded with the final 4 goals of the game, including an empty netter, to improve their league-leading record to 10-1. Junior callup Austin Shanks led the Redmen with 2 goals and 1 assist, the same stat line produced by his former Whitby Warriors teammate and current Brooklin rookie Curtis Knight. Kyle Perreira had a hat trick for the Excelsiors and Burke led all scorers with his goal and 3 assists.

Brooklin downs Peterborough 11-9 to extend lead atop MSL standings, Chiefs keep pace with 7-4 win over Brampton

The Brooklin Redmen rode a four-goal run in the third period to an 11-9 win over the Peterborough Lakers, maintaining their lead over the Six Nations Chiefs at four points while pulling eight points ahead of the Lakers in third. Shawn Williams had yet another 5-assist game--his fourth along with one 6-assist game in seven contests this season--to lead the Redmen to the win. Curtis Knight, Shayne Jackson, Dan Lintner and Mark Cockerton all scored twice for Brooklin. Adam Jones had a hat trick for Peterborough, Mark Steenhuis 2 goals and 3 assists and Shawn Evans 4 assists.

In Brampton, Six Nations got a hat trick from Kasey Beirnes and 5 assists from Cody Jamieson to beat the Excelsiors 7-4. The Chiefs led 3-1 after the first period and 5-2 after the second en route to their seventh win of the season against five losses.

Peterborough jumped out to a 3-0 lead that could have been more, thoroughly controlling play and outshooting the Redmen, but Zach Higgins was excellent in the Brooklin net and the Redmen responded well to Peterborough pushes. Four times in the game Brooklin scored within a minute of a Peterborough goal, including after the third Lakers marker. That goal by Cockerton at the exact mid-point of the first period took a bit of the wind out of the 3,170 fans at the arena and started the Redmen on their way back into the game.

Pair of deadline deals bolster Redmen and Chiefs defences

Mike Poulin heads from KW to Brooklin, where he will try to help the
Redmen reach the Mann Cup for the first time since 2000.
(Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Brooklin Redmen and Six Nations Chiefs both made trade deadline deals to strengthen their defences. Brooklin picked up former Major Series Lacrosse MVP Mike Poulin from the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks while the Chiefs grabbed Patrick Merrill from the Brampton Excelsiors.

The Poulin involved several players. Brooklin also received Mike Teeter. Going the other way is a haul made up of Joel Matthews, Mike Melnychenko and Steve Fryer. As part of the trade, Poulin retains the right to go back to KW next summer at the trade deadline. If he chooses to do so, then Fryer will return to the Redmen along with a second-round draft pick in 2015. Merrill goes to the Chiefs in exchange for second- and third-round draft picks in 2017 and other considerations. He hadn't played in Brampton for the past couple of seasons.

Lakers overcome slow start to down Rock 11-6

Mark Steenhuis leads all MSL scorers with 23 goals and 21
assists for 44 points. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Peterborough Lakers were shut out for the first period Monday night, but they made up for it with 5 goals in the second period and another 6 goals in the third to take an 11-6 win over the Rock in Oakville. John Grant Jr. and Mark Steenhuis each scored 3 goals and 3 assists to lead the Lakers, who  finally climbed back to .500 (5-5) after forfeiting three wins from the beginning of the season. Mike Mawdsley had a pair of goals to lead the Rock.

Oakville led 1-0 after a first period that saw some chances but both goalies were almost unbeatable. Nick Rose turned aside everything that came his way through the first. Matt Vinc gave up just one goal in each of the first and third periods.

The Lakers pull within one win of Six Nations for second place while the Rock drop to 2-7 and sit in last place in Major Series Lacrosse. Oakville is off till next Monday when they play host to Brampton in a battle for fifth place. Peterborough plays host to Brooklin on Thursday.