Lakers win 10-9 overtime thriller over Chiefs to force Game 7

Andrew Suitor (red helmet inside post) dives to stop the ball from crossing the goal line and prevent the Six Nations Chiefs from tying the game late in overtime. Peterborough won 10-9 to force Game 7 in the MSL finals.
(Photo: Darryl Smart)

Missing their starting goalie and the league MVP, the Peterborough Lakers prevailed 10-9 over the Six Nations Chiefs Friday night in a thrilling overtime win that forces a seventh and deciding game in the MSL finals. Tyler Carlson stepped in for Matt Vinc, who was away at a wedding, and played well in goal for the Lakers. Carlson got a little help from Andrew Suitor, who dove to stop the ball on the goal line as it was trickling in with seconds left in the overtime period.

That play saved the Lakers from giving up another late tying goal after Jeff Shattler had forced overtime with a shot through a screen with just eight seconds to play in the third period. John Grant Jr. scored both Lakers overtime markers on lasers from the outside. The first gave them a 9-8 lead and the second came 1:14 after Roger Vyse had tied it up for the Chiefs. Both Vyse's goal and Grant's winner came on the power play.

“When you've got a defence like this it's pretty easy to come and just do what you've got to do,” Carlson said. “Vinc is a great goalie and it's awesome sitting behind him. He's going to come out next game and we're going to kick ass again. We're going to win again and we're going to take it to the Mann Cup.”

Game 6: Chiefs will look to take advantage of second chance to clinch MSL finals

Adam Jones and the Lakers will face Jesse Gamble, Mike McNamara and the Chiefs in Game 6 at the ILA.
(Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Six Nations Chiefs are looking to book a trip to play the Victoria Shamrocks again defend their Mann Cup title. The Peterborough Lakers are looking to force a Game 7 back in their home barn. Expect both teams to come to fired up to play and to put on another tremendous display of lacrosse in tonight's Game 6 of the MSL finals at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena.

Cody Jamieson of Six Nations leads all playoff scorers with 40 points, three ahead of John Grant Jr., Shawn Evans and Jeff Shattler. Grant is the top goal scorer with 21 (one more than Jamieson) and Shattler leads in assists with 23 (one more than Evans and Colin Doyle).

Evan Kirk has played every minute of the finals in goal for Six Nations after Brandon Miller shone in the semifinals. Matt Vinc has played every playoff game for the Lakers but will not be available tonight, so Tyler Carlson or Davide DiRuscio gets the chance to play hero for Peterborough.

If you can't make it down to the arena for tonight's critical matchup, you can watch JVI's PPV webcast for just $7. Click on the Webcast Sports logo in the right column of this site and follow the directions to purchase the game.

Lakers win Game 5 to stay alive in MSL finals

Cory Vitarelli's hat trick helped the Lakers take Game 5 and force Game 6 in Six Nations. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Peterborough Lakers won Game 5 of the MSL finals 9-6 in Peterborough to force a sixth game. The Six Nations Chiefs now lead the best of seven series 3-2 with Game 6 back in Six Nations Friday night. Shawn Evans led the way for the Lakers with 4 goals and 3 assists, including a pair of shorthanded goals that helped Peterborough take a 6-1 lead in the second period.

The Chiefs got a pair of goals each from Cody Jamieson and Stephen Keogh to battle back within two goals with a minute and a half to play. Evans finished things off with an empty net marker with 10 seconds left.

Evans said he and his teammates had plenty of incentive to win the game. "We needed to play. If we lose, we're done and it's golf season. We don't want that. We want to keep playing lacrosse," Evans said. "I don't like to lose and I don't like to give up just like that and give them a 4-1 series win. We needed to step it up and play to win and we played to win all 60 minutes of that game. The outcome showed it."

Chiefs beat Lakers 9-7 to take 3-1 lead in MSL finals

Evan Kirk and the Six Nations Chiefs turned aside the Peterborough Lakers in Game 4 of the MSL finals to put themselves
on the verge of returning to defend their Mann Cup title. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Six Nations Chiefs have put themselves on the verge of heading back to the Mann Cup to defend their title, downing the Peterborough Lakers 9-7 in Game 4 of the MSL finals to take a 3-1 series lead Monday night. Six Nations started strong, taking a 5-1 lead after the first period and extending that to 6-1 when Roger Vyse scored 7:25 into the second. The Lakers fought back to make it a close game thanks largely to the sharpshooting of John Grant Jr., who had 4 goals and added an assist.

The Lakers were denied a potential momentum-shifter at the end of the second period. Six Nations pulled goalie Evan Kirk for an extra attacker with over 30 seconds to play. When a rebound ricocheted up the floor, Brad Self ran it down and fired the ball into the empty net what looked and sounded like just before the final buzzer. The goal was waived off and rather than going into the locker room on a high, the Lakers trailed 7-3.

They still came out with a flurry in the third, though. They scored three times in the first three minutes to pull within a single goal. Despite plenty of pressure, though, they couldn't get the tying marker. Eventually the Chiefs responded, with Craig Point and Kasey Beirnes firing home goals that put the game away for Six Nations.

Cody Jamieson led the way for Six Nations with 2 goals and 3 assists, Colin Doyle had 4 helpers and Jeff Shattler had a goal and 3 assists. Shawn Evans added 4 assists for the Lakers.

“The boys on the bench just said let's take a deep breath, get back to what we were doing, get back to packing it in and they're going to work for anything they get,” Chiefs coach Rich Kilgour said of his team's response to the Lakers run in the third period. “That's what our defence has done all year and that's what they did tonight.”

The one thing he'd like to change for Game 5, tonight at Peterborough's Memorial Centre, is better discipline. “We had them 6-1 and had an undisciplined four-minute penalty. We had them 7-3 to start the third and we took a penalty there,” Kilgour said. “We talked about, why give them a chance. We gave them a chance, the refs called it and we let them right back in it, they got rolling a bit. If we get them down a bit we have to be more disciplined and then keep the run going. That's the only thing I want to work on.”

MSL Finals Game 3 available for pay per view webcast

Game 3 of the Major Series Lacrosse finals between the Six Nations Chiefs and Peterborough Lakers will be played Thursday night in Peterborough. The game can be seen as a pay per view webcast by JVI. To order the game, follow the steps below.

Click on the Webcast Sports logo in the right hand column of this web site. That will take you to JVI's home page.
Scroll down and click on the button labeled August 21st PPV.
Click on the button that says "USD 7 for 3 hours of access".
A Confirm Purchase box will come up; click on Submit.
A box will come up asking for you to submit and confirm your email. Do so.
A box will come up with the option to pay with Credit Card or PayPal. Make your selection and complete form to make your payment.
Enjoy the game.

Chiefs stage huge comeback to down Lakers 8-5, even MSL finals 1-1

Vaughn Harris has 5 goals in two games for the Six Nations Chiefs. (Photo: Darryl Smart)

For 53 minutes Tuesday night, the Six Nations Chiefs had trouble scoring and they trailed the Peterborough Lakers 5-3. Then they started to find the back of the net, scoring 5 goals in three and a half minutes to take an 8-5 win and even the Major Series Lacrosse finals at one game each.

Kasey Beirnes started the decisive run when he converted a Colin Doyle pass on top of the crease at 13:24. Just 25 seconds later, Cody Jamieson shovelled a one-handed pass to Roger Vyse who banged it home from almost the same spot where Beirnes had scored. Jesse Gamble then fired back to back goals on outside shots in transition that snuck past Matt Vinc on the near post. Jamieson finished the run ripping one home 16 seconds after Gamble's second goal.

"We said stick to the game plan," said Chiefs Head Coach Rich Kilgour. "I know the guys were getting frustrated but it paid off. Working, working, working then when they started dropping they started dropping. It was a great game. As great as it was, it's still 1-1."

Lakers take opening game of MSL finals 9-7 behind Grant's 7-point night

John Grant Jr. had 7 points to lead the Lakers to a 9-7 Game 1 win in the MSL finals. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Peterborough Lakers drew first blood in the Major Series Lacrosse finals, downing the Six Nations Chiefs in a fast-paced and well-played opening game at the Peterborough Memorial Centre Thursday night. The game went back and forth throughout, with neither team taking more than a one-goal lead. John Grant Jr. led the way for Peterborough with 3 goals and 4 assists. Shawn Evans added a goal and 4 assists and Chad Culp a pair of goals, including the game-winner, and an assist. Vaughn Harris posted a hat trick for the Chiefs and Cody Jamieson added 2 goals and 2 assists. Matt Vinc made 49 saves to earn the win as the Chiefs outshot the Lakers 56-40.

Evans started the scoring 2:06 into the game. Colin Boucher tied it up on a breakout with Jesse Gamble at 10:20 and Harris gave the Chiefs what would be their only lead of the game 14 seconds later. Grant scored all three of his goals in the rest of the first period as the Lakers headed to the break up 4-3. 

All the scoring in the second period took place in its first four minutes. Harris tied it up 30 seconds in. Stephen Hoar's holding call 1:53 in was the first penalty of the game and both teams scored on it. Brad Self took a pass from Andrew Suitor for a shorthanded marker then Jamieson notched a power play goal. Matt Crough restored the Lakers' lead just 20 second later when he took a perfect pass from Grant in traffic on top of the crease and tucked it past Evan Kirk. 

Gamble tied things up again, at 6-6, when he broke away to score unassisted 1:23 into the third period. Culp and Harris traded goals to make it 7-7 before the Chiefs took a too many men penalty to give the Lakers their only power play of the game. Peterborough took advantage of it. Culp took a pass from Grant near the goal line, fired a cross-crease pass to Evans then bounced home the return pass on a quick stick for what would prove to be the winner. 

Mark Steenhuis added an insurance with a little under five minutes to play. The Lakers combined strong defence, great goaltending from Vinc and the help of a few posts to hold on for the 9-7 win. 

MSL Finals schedule

Game 1. Aug. 14^th Six Nations @ Peterborough 8pm.

Game 2. Aug. 19^th Peterborough @ Six Nations 8pm.

Game 3. Aug. 21^st Six Nations @ Peterborough 8pm.

Game 4. Aug. 25^th Peterborough @ Six Nations 8pm.

Game 5. Aug. 26^th Six Nations @ Peterborough 8pm.

Game 6. Aug. 29^th Peterborough @ Six Nations 8pm.

Game 7. Aug. 31^st Six Nations @ Peterborough 8pm.

Lakers and Chiefs earn berths in MSL finals to start Thursday

The Peterborough Lakers and Six Nations Chiefs will meet for the MSL title after wrapping up their semifinal series Monday night. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

The MSL finals matchup is set. The Peterborough Lakers and Six Nations Chiefs finished off their semifinal series in five games each Monday night. Peterborough dominated the KW Kodiaks to take a 12-2 lead then cruised to a 13-9 win behind a spectacular performance from John Grant Jr. The Lakers star scored 7 goals, most of them in breathtaking fashion, and added 3 assists. Mark Steenhuis' big night was overshadowed by Grant's brilliance; Steenhuis scored 3 goals and 5 assists. Peterborough took a 3-2 lead after the first period then ran up a 6-0 second to take total control of the game. They added three more to open the third before taking their foot off the pedal and giving up 7 of the game's final 8 goals. Mitch Wilde led KW with a hat trick and 2 assists. Corey Fowler and Ryan Benesch each scored twice and added 3 assists.

In Whitby, Six Nations got the last two goals of the game from Cody Jamieson to pull out a game that went back and forth in a series of runs. Jamieson, who had 4 goals and 3 assists total, potted the winner with just 22 seconds left in the game. Jeff Shattler added 2 goals and 4 assists. Curtis Knight led the Redmen with 3 goals and 4 assists; Shawn Williams added 2 goals and 5 assists.

The MSL finals will start Thursday night in Peterborough at 8pm. The rest of the schedule has not yet been finalized.

Redmen stay alive with 9-7 win over Chiefs, force Game 5 Monday

Mike Teeter and the Brooklin Redmen won Game 4 9-7 to stay alive in the series. (Photo: Darryl Smart)

The Brooklin Redmen staved off elimination with a 9-7 win over the Six Nations Chiefs in Game 4 of the MSL semifinals Saturday night behind a 52-save effort from Zach Higgins and four transition goals. Dan Lintner had 2 goals and an assist, Shawn Williams a goal and 3 assists and John Lafontaine a goal and 2 assists for the Redmen. Vaughn Harris led the Chiefs with 2 goals and 4 assists, Cody Jamieson had a hat trick, Jeff Shattler a goal and 3 assists and Colin Doyle 4 assists.

The Redmen led 2-1 after the first period and stretched the lead to 4-1 by the 5-minute mark of the second. To that point, Brooklin had one power play goal, one shorthanded goal, one 4-on-4 goal and one regular strength goal. The Chiefs then went on a 5-goal run in just over five minutes, culminated by Jamieson's natural hat trick in 2:38. Dan Ball stopped the run by ripping home a sub shot in transition 22 seconds after Jamieson's third and Lintner's second tied it up 6-6 heading into the third period.

Lakers take 3-1 series lead over Kodiaks with 9-7 Friday night win

The Peterborough Lakers scored the last two goals to take a 9-7 win and with it a 3-1 lead in their MSL semifinal series with the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks Friday night in Waterloo. Shawn Evans scored what proved to be the game winner just past the midway point of the third period and Scott Evans added an insurance goal with about six minutes to play. The Lakers had to overcome a 5-2 KW lead midway through the second period. They got a couple of goals back with back to back power play markers 27 seconds apart. After KW scored one to regain a two-goal lead, Peterborough finished the period with a flurry, scoring three goals in the final 2:14. KW tied it up just over three minutes into the third, setting the stage for the Evans brothers' heroics.

Lakers assistant coach Bobby Keast was pleased with his team's performance, especially the way they didn't panic when they were behind. “We've kind of prided ourselves on not having that panic button to push whether you're up or you're behind,” he said. Now their goal is to finish off the Kodiaks as soon as possible. Keast says the Lakers should come out focused in Game 5 on Monday in Peterborough. “It's the prize at the end. We've got to close out this series and we want to do that at home. To be honest, we feel like we owe our fans back at home a big W. We haven't played well at home so we want to change that Monday night,” Keast said.

Chiefs take 3-0 lead in semifinals with 10-6 win over Redmen

Tom Montour dives for a scoring chance against Brooklin. Six Nations won the game to take a 3-0 series lead. 

(Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Six Nations Chiefs are in thorough control of their MSL semifinal series, taking a commanding 3-0 lead over the Brooklin Redmen with a 10-6 win Thursday night. Kasey Beirnes led the Chiefs with a hat trick while Cody Jamieson, Colin Doyle and Jeff Shattler each had 4 points. Shayne Jackson had a pair of goals and Shawn Williams 3 assists for Brooklin. The Chiefs scored four power play goals and added a shorthanded marker while the Redmen were unsuccessful on their three power play attempts.

Chiefs' defender Billy Dee Smith said it's been nice getting their whole roster back together after an unsettled regular season. “I think the difference right now is we're playing as a team,” said Smith. “If we need to get one our offence is getting a quick one back. We're helping each other out, both the offence and defence preventing the other team from going on runs. Whether they score two our offence answers or the defence shuts the door, or vice versa. We're playing a good team game right now.”

While the situation doesn't look good for the Redmen, Brooklin Head Coach Wayne Colley says he still has faith in his team. “I honestly think that we can come back and win four games,” Colley said. “We've got to win a period at a time and right now we're not winning the periods. Hats off to them.”

Game 4 goes Saturday night in Six Nations in a game that can be seen live via JVI webcast. Click on the Webcast Sports logo in the righthand column of this site to view the game.  

Lakers rebound from Tuesday loss to take 2-1 series lead with 10-6 win over Kodiaks

The Peterborough Lakers regained home floor advantage by taking Game 3 in their MSL semifinal series 10-6 over the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks in Waterloo Wednesday night. The Lakers scored a pair of shorthanded goals to help take a 6-2 lead midway through the second period. KW fought back with three straight to end the frame, pulling them within a single goal and they tied it up just over a minute into the third when Jordan Critch connected. But the Lakers answered immediately, getting a goal from Adam Jones just 49 seconds later to take a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

Shawn Evans, Mark Steenhuis and Nick Weiss each scored twice for the Lakers, who take a 2-1 lead in the series. Corey Fowler and Ryan Benesch each had a pair for KW. Game 4 is back at the Waterloo Recreational Complex Friday at 8 pm.

Not so fast, Lakers: Kodiaks turn tables on Peterborough with 13-7 win

The Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks got hammered in game one of their semifinal series with the Peterborough Lakers, falling 14-4. They weren't about to let it happen again, so they came out fast and just kept rolling en route to a 13-7 win in game two Tuesday night. Junior callup Chris Cloutier led the way with 3 goals and 3 assists as the Kodiaks outscored the Lakers in each period. Ryan Benesch had a hat trick and a pair of assists. Joey Cupido, Jamie Rooney and Corey Fowler each added 2 goals for KW, with Rooney and Fowler also garnering 2 assists each. 

Mark Steenhuis and Shawn Evans had 2 goals and 2 assists and John Grant Jr. 2 goals and an assist for Peterborough. Dillon Ward was outstanding in the KW net. The Lakers outshot the Kodiaks 54-37 but could only beat him seven times. 

The teams are right back at it Wednesday night; game three is at the Waterloo Recreation Complex Wednesday night at 8pm.

Chiefs down Redmen 9-4, take 2-0 series lead

Jeff Shattler was on fire Tuesday night, and it spelled a big win and a 2-0 lead in their semifinal series with the Brooklin Redmen for the Six Nations Chiefs. Shattler scored 6 goals and added 2 assists as the Chiefs beat Brooklin 9-4 to take control of the series. Colin Doyle chipped in with 5 assists for the Chiefs and Brandon Miller turned aside 34 of the 38 shots he faced to earn the win.

Game three in the series is Thursday night in Whitby. If you can't make it down to the game, you can catch the live webcast by JVI Video. Click on the Webcast Sports logo in the right hand column of this site to view the game.

Chiefs draw first blood with 9-8 win over Redmen

by Darryl Smart

The Six Nations Pro-Fit Chiefs struck early and were able to hold off the late surge to earn first blood.
Stephen Keogh's goal with just over five minutes to go in regulation gave the Chiefs a 9-8 win over the Brooklin Redmen on the road Sunday night.
With the win, the Chiefs own a 1-0 lead in their best-of-seven Major Series Lacrosse semifinal series.
Cody Jamieson and Colin Doyle scored less than two minutes apart late in the first period to give the Chiefs a two-goal lead after 20 minutes.
After Shayne Jackson cut the lead five minutes into the second period, Jamieson regained the two-goal mark, with Dan Coates, Jamieson and Kasey Beirnes adding to the lead.
Mike Triolo and Curtis Knight responded for the Redmen.
After Jeff Shattler made it a 7-3 Chiefs lead, Steve Priolo, Kyle Aquin and Shayne Jackson got the Redmen back into the game. But then Doyle and Keogh  gave the Chiefs the lead they would'nt give up despite late goals by Aquin and Gavin Prout.
Brandon Miller made 43 stops to earn the win, while Mike Poulin made 50 save in teh losing effort.
Game 2 of the series is Tuesday, when the two teams lock horns at the Iroquois LAcrosse Arena at 8 p.m.

LAX NOTES: Jamieson led the Chiefs with three goals and three assists, while Beirnes nad Keogh each had two helpers to go along with their goals. The Chiefs almost had its full roster. Roger Vyse, Craig Point and Randy Staats were notable scratches.

Lakers dump Kodiaks 14-4 to open playoffs

The Peterborough Lakers came to work and showed just how good they can be in a 14-4 win over the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks in the first game of the teams' MSL semifinal series. The first period was close as Dillon Ward made 17 saves in the KW net to keep his team within one at 3-2, but the floodgates opened in the second. The Lakers poured in eight goals on Ward and his replacement Steve Fryer in the middle frame to take an 11-3 lead into the final 20 minutes. Ward returned for the third and was very good again, but the deficit was far too much for the Kodiaks to get back into the game.

Mark Steenhuis, as he has done much of the year, led the Lakers attack with 3 goals and 3 assists. Aaron Wilson and Chad Culp each chipped in 2 goals and 2 assists and Brad Self had 2 goals and a helper. Corey Fowler was the only Kodiak with more than one point; he scored twice and added an assist.

Excelsiors beat Lakers 11-8 in final game of regular season

The Brampton Excelsiors may be out of the Major Series Lacrosse playoffs, but they finished their season strong by downing the Peterborough Lakers 11-8 at Memorial Arena in Brampton Thursday night. The Excelsiors scored seven straight goals to open the second period and three straight off the top of the third, enough to give them the win over a Peterborough team that had already clinched second place. Brady Heseltine led all scorers with 2 goals and 2 assists for Brampton. Shane Scott also had a pair of goals. For Peterborough, Matt Crough and Andrew Suitor scored twice each.

The Lakers led 2-1 after the first period but found themselves trailing 8-2 after Brampton's run. Peterborough got four goals back before the end of the period, including three in 26 seconds from 18:19 to 18:45. The Excels turned the momentum back in their favour, though, with the three-goal run that gave them an 11-6 lead and held on from there.

Peterborough finishes the season at 10-8, tied with Kitchener-Waterloo for second, but gets the higher seeding and home floor advantage in the first round based on a better goals for and against ratio in the two games the Lakers and Kodiaks split during the season. Brampton finishes 5-13 and alone in sixth place.

Dates set for Peterborough vs Kitchener-Waterloo semifinals

Game 1. Kitchener-Waterloo @ Peterborough 7pm Sunday Aug. 3^rd.

Game 2. Kitchener-Waterloo @ Peterborough 8pm Tuesday Aug. 5^th.

Game 3. Peterborough @ Kitchener-Waterloo 8pm Wednesday Aug. 6^th.

Game 4. Peterborough @ Kitchener-Waterloo 8pm Friday Aug. 8^th.

Game 5. Kitchener-Waterloo @ Peterborough 8pm Monday Aug. 11^th.

Game6. Peterborough @ Kitchener-Waterloo 8pm Tuesday Aug. 12^th.

Game 7. Kitchener-Waterloo @ Peterborough 8pm Thursday Aug. 14^th.