Redmen to Honour All-Time Great Shawn Williams Before Lacrosse Day in Durham Game Saturday

Shawn Williams playing for Brooklin. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Brooklin Redmen were already planning for “Lacrosse Day in Durham” and all that comes with a day full of lacrosse at Iroquois Park. As part of the festivities, the Redmen are excited to announce the honouring of long time Redmen player and all-time goals, assists, and points leader, former team captain #51 Shawn Williams.

As part of the celebration of Shawn’s career as a Redmen, he will sign a player’s card prior to the game and dress against the Cobourg Kodiaks. The Redmen, in agreement with their Jr. “A” affiliate, the Whitby Warriors, will also dress Shawn’s son Dyson as part of what shapes up to be a memorable evening.

 Williams was always a scoring threat, finishing in the top 10 in Major Series scoring in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2013, 2014, while capturing the Bucko McDonald Memorial Trophy as the top scorer in MSL in 1999 (90 PTS), 2001 (93 PTS) (co-winner), 2004 (124 PTS), 2007 (99 PTS), 2011 (120 PTS) and 2012 (80 PTS). Williams also captured the Jim Murphy Memorial Trophy as MSL MVP in 2005, 2007 and 2011. On July 26, 1999, Shawn set an MSL record for points in a game with 21 against the Ohsweken Wolves.

Lakers Down Chiefs in Battle of the Unbeatens

Ian Llord and the Lakers defence did what they had to do - including blocking shots like this one - to hold Six Nations in check as Peterborough won a battle of MSL's unbeaten teams 7-6 Thursday. (Photo: Kendall Taylor)

The matchup of Major Series Lacrosse leaders Thursday resembled a doughnut for the Peterborough Lakers: it was delicious on the outside but had a big hole in the middle.

The 3-0 Lakers jumped out to a 4-2 lead over the 5-0 Six Nations Chiefs in the first period, then saw that turn into a 6-4 deficit when they were able to score only once in a stretch of 39 minutes from late in the first to late in the third. They got things going in time to pull out a 7-6 win by scoring three goals in the final 2:20 for their fourth win and to become the only unbeaten team in the league.

Doug Luey Announced as MSL Interim Commissioner

Major Series Lacrosse has elected Doug Luey to serve as its interim commissioner.

Luey has dedicated much of his life to lacrosse and is currently the director of high performance and international relations for the Canadian Lacrosse Association. He was elected to the position by a unanimous vote of the league's governors at a recent meeting.

While he does not want to take on the position permanently, Luey is committed to helping MSL set a plan in place to help the league and all its teams thrive moving forward. He will manage the regular duties of the commissioner, including all player movement, while also heading the search for the right person to fill the role permanently.

"I look forward to working with Major Series Lacrosse governors in 2017 as Canada celebrates its 150th birthday and Canada's national summer sport celebrates the 150th year since the written rules of lacrosse were introduced," Luey says. 

Oakville Rock run away from Cobourg Kodiaks, winning season opener 13-5

These days, everyone in box lacrosse is looking for the next Tom Schreiber. Could the Oakville Rock have found him?

Oakville was missing several of its regular players when they opened the 2017 Major Series Lacrosse season by facing the Kodiaks in Cobourg on Sunday afternoon. They wound up flooring an offensive left side of callup Todd Kozak, usual transition player Brandon Slade and someone named Connor Fields.

If you're just a box lacrosse person, there's a good chance you don't know Fields. He is an American field player who has starred with the Albany Great Danes in the NCAA. He puts up tons of points and has been a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award, presented to the top player in US college lacrosse.

Welcome to the 2017 MSL Season

Major Series Lacrosse kicks off its 2017 season Sunday night when the Oakville Rock visit Cobourg to face the Kodiaks.

MSL director of media relations Stephen Stamp provided an in-depth preview of the season on IL Indoor. Follow this link to check it out and get ready for an exciting summer of senior lacrosse action.

Cobourg Nissan Kodiaks Preparing for 2017 Season

As the Kodiaks get ready for their second season in Cobourg we are very pleased to announce Cobourg Nissan as title sponsor for the 2017 Major Series Lacrosse season. Tyler Campbell, dealer principal at Cobourg Nissan, is excited to continue the partnership between Cobourg Nissan and the Kodiaks and we are proud to have him back on board. The support from Tyler and the team at Cobourg Nissan is invaluable. The Cobourg Nissan Kodiaks are looking forward promoting and building a very successful second season in Cobourg.

Cobourg Nissan Kodiaks home schedule has been released. Eight of the games will take place on Sundays with one Thursday night home game in July. All home games will once again be played at the Cobourg Community Centre. The Cobourg Nissan Kodiaks have partnered with Cogeco TV again this season and all home games will be broadcast for those who are unable to make it out to the games.

MSL Releases 2017 Schedule

The Major Series Lacrosse 2017 season opens with the Oakville Rock visiting the Cobourg Kodiaks on Sunday, May 28 and concludes on Thursday, July 27 when the Mann Cup champion Six Nations Chiefs visit the Brampton Excelsiors and the Cobourg Kodiaks travel to Peterborough to face the 2016 regular season champion Lakers.

Once again, the majority of games are being held from Sunday through Thursday, with three Saturday contests sprinkled in. Each team's regular home night remains the same as it has been, with Cobourg playing Sundays, Oakville Mondays, Six Nations Tuesdays, the Brooklin Redmen Wednesdays, and Brampton and Peterborough Thursdays. Each team has eight home games on its regular night and one on a different day.

2017 Draft results

First round
1. Cobourg  Chris Cloutier, KW Braves
2. Brampton  Connor Brown, Halton Hills Bulldogs
3. Cobourg  Joel Coyle, Orangeville
4. Oakville  Dallas Bridle, Orangeville
5. Brooklin  Austin Divitcos, Orangeville
6. Oakville  James Barclay, Mimico Mountaineers

Second round
7. Cobourg  Dylan Hutchison, Peterborough Lakers
8. Brampton  Dereck Downs, Mimico
9. Brampton  Liam Wright  Sarnia Jr B
10. Oakville  Trevor Smyth, Orangeville
11. Cobourg  Andy Campbell, Orangeville
12. Brampton  Lucas Ducharme, Orangeville

Third round
13. Peterborough  Brett Coons, Peterborough
14. Brampton  Bennett Drake, Whitby Warriors
15. Cobourg  Jamie McMahon, Orangeville
16. Brampton  Nolan Clayton, Orangeville
17. Brooklin  Sean Darroch, Whitby
18. Peterborough  Cody Filson, KW Braves

Fourth round
19. Cobourg  Drake Smith, KW
20. Cobourg  Logan Holmes, Windsor Jr B
21. Oakville  Andrew Mullen, Toronto Beaches
22. Six Nations  Oran Horn, Six Nations Arrows
23. Brooklin  Rylee McKinnon, Clarington Shamrox Jr C
24. Peterborough  Will Petschenig, Green Gaels Jr B

Fifth round
25. Cobourg  Cole McWilliams, Peterborough
26. Cobourg  Josh Miller, Peterborough
27. Oakville  Matthew Lee, Mimico
28. Oakville  Eddie Renaud, Oakville Jr B
29. Brooklin  Nick Karam, Whitby
30. Peterborough  Pat Masterson, KW

A Look at Prospects for Today's MSL Draft

Chris Cloutier is the top prospect for the MSL draft. He was a star at North
Carolina and in junior box lacrosse. 

Draft day is here. The 2017 Major Series Lacrosse draft of graduating juniors will take place shortly after 1 pm today in Whitby. The draft will be live tweeted on the MSL Twitter account, so you can follow along as it happens. In the meantime, we'll take a look at some of the most enticing prospects available.

Bear in mind that 14 of the best players in this draft class were protected by the the MSL teams affiliated with their Jr A clubs. Teams can protect up to four players each. Peterborough and Oakville protected the maximum, Six Nations three players and the other three teams one player each. The full list of protected players is available in an earlier story on the MSL site.

One player stands as the clear the top selection in the draft. Chris Cloutier is a star lefty forward. He comes from the Kitchener-Waterloo Braves program, although he was traded away each of the last two years to teams making Minto Cup runs: the Coquitlam Adanacs in 2015 and the Six Nations Arrows in 2016.

Cloutier has been on the radar for MSL and NLL teams since he broke into the OLA Jr A loop as a 17-year-old. He was called up for the playoffs and was a significant contributor for the KW Kodiaks in the playoffs each of his first three years of junior. Until the Kodiaks moved to Cobourg in 2016, it was always assumed he would be protected by them when he graduated junior. Since Cobourg's affiliation switched to the Toronto Beaches with the move, Braves grads are now open for the draft.

Rock and Lakers protect maximum four graduating juniors, other lists shorter for January 29 draft

The Oakville and Peterborough Lakers protected the maximum four players for Sunday's Major Series Lacrosse draft of graduating juniors. Three teams protected just one player each while the Six Nations Chiefs protected three. In order to protect a graduating junior, another player must be moved off a team's 25-man active roster.

The Lakers class was no big surprise. It includes a pair of elite transition prospects in Matt Gilray and  Thomas Hoggarth, both of whom went to the Minto Cup last year after being traded to the Orangeville Northmen. (a Jr A team's MSL affiliate retains possession of a players rights if he is traded in his final year of junior eligibility). Peterborough also protected a pair of forwards: star righty Cam Milligan and grinder Dan Michel, who was a three-year captain for the Jr A Lakers.

Oakville adds a deep group as well, including a pair of defenders who were taken in last year's National Lacrosse League draft, Justin Martin and Lauchlin Elder.

MSL draft to be held January 29 in Whitby

John St John was taken by the Cobourg Kodiaks with the first overall pick in last year's MSL draft. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

The 2017 Major Series Lacrosse draft of graduating junior players will be held on Sunday, January 29 at 1 pm and will be hosted in Whitby by the Brooklin Redmen.

MSL teams can protect up to four players from their Jr A affiliate (for protection purposes). For each player they protect, they must drop a player from their existing protected list. 

The teams from which MSL teams' protect players are:

Brampton Excelsiors--Brampton Excelsiors

Brooklin Redmen--Whitby Warriors

Cobourg Kodiaks--Toronto Beaches

Oakville Rock--Burlington Chiefs

Peterborough Lakers--Peterborough Lakers

Six Nations Chiefs--Six Nations Arrows

Follow this link to see the result of last year's draft. 

Chiefs dominate Game 5 to win third Mann Cup title in four years

The Chiefs enjoy their Mann Cup victory. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

by Stephen Stamp

The Six Nations Chiefs have won their third Mann Cup in four years, beating the Maple Ridge Burrards 14-6 Wednesday night to take the Canadian senior lacrosse championship four games to one.

In the end, the depth and experience of the Chiefs was simply too much for the Burrards, who put up a game fight before falling short.

Dan Dawson had another exceptional effort, scoring 2 goals and adding 5 assists for the Chiefs. That gave him 30 for the series to lead all scorers in the series. Dawson, who was named the Mike Kelly Award winner as series MVP, also passed Colin Doyle for fourth place in all-time Mann Cup scoring.

Early on, the game looked like it would be a third straight hotly contested battle. Maple Ridge's Daniel Amesbury opened the scoring when he tucked home a rebound 7:35 into the game. As they have made a habit of doing, though, the Chiefs responded quickly. Randy Staats scored 19 seconds after Amesbury to tie things up.

Another habit the Chiefs carried into Game 5 was scoring late and early in periods. Wednesday night, Staats got his third of the game with 11 seconds to play in the first. It was a dispiriting goal that arose when Frankie Scigliano tried to play the ball behind his net and seemed to have a momentary lapse of judgment that saw him stand still while Staats snagged the ball as it rolled outside the crease, took a couple of steps so he could reach around the post and tucked it in to the unguarded net. That made the score 3-2 for Six Nations, the third straight game they held a one-goal lead after 20 minutes.

Chiefs win 9-7 again, take 3-1 lead in increasingly intense Mann Cup finals

Ben McIntosh (left) and Billy Dee Smith were central figures in Game 4, which Six Nations won 9-7 to take a 3-1 lead in the 2016 Mann Cup. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

For the second straight game the Maple Ridge Burrards held a 7-6 lead in the third period and for the second straight game the Six Nations Chiefs scored the final three goals to win 9-7. Now the Chiefs have the Burrards on the ropes, leading 3-1 in the 2016 Mann Cup and with a chance to close out the championship in Wednesday's Game 5.

After a blowout in each direction in the first two games, a pair of tight matches have resulted in the intensity ramping up as you'd expect in a best of seven series. That intensity resulted in some chirping between the teams across the centre line before each team headed off to its own dressing room after the game.

The teams have a good hate on for each other. As Chiefs defender Billy Dee Smith, one of the central characters in the post-game drama, said, “Just chatting it up, sharing some unpleasantries,” Smith said with a smile. “Guys are starting to get sick of each other. That's the way it should be. I don't like them right now.”

Not surprisingly, Maple Ridge head coach Rob Williams wasn't quite as lighthearted about the squabbling. “I will say there were some classless things said, we'll leave it at that. I'm sure it can be said both ways. That's what happens in a seven-game series played this tight and this tough,” said Williams.

The teams clearly don't like each other much, but they also clearly respect each other on the floor. Smith missed the first two games but has been a critical component of the Chiefs ability to limit the Burrards potent offence to seven goals in each of the last two games. He said keeping up with the Maple Ridge forwards has been a demanding challenge.

“It's definitely a grind. It's what you like to think the Mann Cup is about. No team's blowing out another team, every shift means something,” Smith said. “I think it shows at the end of the game, both teams are exhausted.

Mann Cup is a family affair

Zack Porter checks Brier Jonathan in the background while Dan Dawson tangles with DJ Saari. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

by Stephen Stamp

The 2016 Mann Cup features a sibling rivalry, although not the kind the term usually denotes.

Each team has a pair of brother acts taking part, so in this case it is a case of siblings banding together against other siblings.

Dan Dawson is leading the series in scoring with 19 points through three games, moving him into fifth in all-time Mann Cup points and leaving him just 10 behind Colin Doyle for fourth. Paul Dawson is a defender for the Chiefs who has played a key role in Six Nations limiting the Maple Ridge Burrards to 28 goals through the first three games.

Six Nations' other pair of brothers are both helping boost the Chiefs offence. Austin Staats has garnered plenty of attention for his clutch scoring and exuberant celebrations, as well as his propensity for getting knocked down but getting back up again. Austin rolled his ankle, separated his shoulder twice and generally seemed to be sprawled on the floor through much of the MSL finals against Peterborough. He returned every time, though, to help fill the gap left by injuries to a trio of Chiefs lefty forwards.

Chiefs win 9-7 overtime thriller to take 2-1 Mann Cup series lead over Burrards

Austin Staats celebrates his game-winning overtime goal in Game 3. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

by Darryl Smart

Cody Jamieson has made a habit of, well, just being Cody Jamieson.

After sitting out the first two games of the Mann Cup nursing a knee injury, Jammer returned to the lineup and was one of the best players on the floor, scoring three goals and four assists to lead the Six Nations Chiefs to a 9-7 overtime win over the Maple Ridge Burrards. The Chiefs now lead the best-of-seven Canadian senior A men's lacrosse championship series 2-1.

"I always want to be in there," Jamieson said. "It's tough to watch. I wasn't able to be on the bench Saturday night, so I had to sit in the stands. I didn't like that at all. I wanted to play."

Jamieson gave the Chiefs some insurance in the extra frame, scoring midway through after Austin Staats continued to impress, netting the game-winner 26 seconds into overtime.

"This was a big win for us," Jamieson said. "We were disappointed in our effort Saturday. We wanted to bounce back. Everyone punched in and worked hard."

Maple Ridge Burrards bounce back with 13-9 win over Six Nations Chiefs to even Mann Cup at one win each

Luke Gillespie injected energy and 3 goals into the Maple Ridge lineup when he was inserted for Game 2. Here he scores a shorthanded goal in the first period. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Maple Ridge Burrards regrouped after a tough loss in the opening game of the 2016 Mann Cup and scored an impressive 13-9 victory over the Six Nations Chiefs in Game 2, giving the franchise its first win at the national championship since 1977. The best-of-seven series is now tied 1-1.

 

After looking somewhat overpowered in the series opener, a much improved Burrards' squad took the floor on Saturday night and showed the boisterous crowd that a Six Nations sweep was not in the cards. The visitors made some adjustments on both sides of the ball, showing much more patience in the offensive zone, while also tightened up their coverage on defense and battling much harder for loose balls.

 

"I think we just outworked them tonight," said Maple Ridge captain Aaron Davis. "In the first game, for whatever reason, they were the harder working team. They beat us to loose balls and got a lot of second chances, but tonight we really changed the momentum in those areas."

Mann Cup 2016: Dawson climbing the career points ladder

Dan Dawson scoring one of his 44 career Mann Cup goals. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

Dan Dawson doesn't like to talk about it, but he's climbing the list of all-time Mann Cup scorers. Friday night, he shot up two places to sit seventh in the storied history of the Canadian national senior championship.

Dawson's 8-point performance leapfrogged him past Josh Sanderson (36 goals, 77 assists, 113 points in 28 games) and Bill Wilson (83/32/115 in 33 games). In his 36^th Mann Cup contest, Dawson had 3 goals and 5 assists to push his totals to 44, 72 and 116. Dawson also, with his sixth point of Friday's game, reached the one thousand point plateau for his senior career including regular season, playoffs and Mann Cup games.

When you ask Dawson about it, he will answer your question politely and interestingly, but will shift the focus to the team almost immediately. He is truly humble and uncomfortable talking too much about his own accomplishments.

Is it the pickles? Salty secret to Chiefs' playoff success

Austin Staats and the Chiefs are getting their drive from pickles in the 2016 post-season. (Photo; Tim Prothero)

Courtesy Six Nations Chiefs

When Dave Sowden arrives at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena for his Mann Cup preparations, he’s had a little extra cargo than usual.

For the last couple of weeks, the Chiefs’ light-hearted trainer has carried around a covered blue pale.

Its contents are about as key to the Chiefs’ success, as the return of Cody Jamieson.

“We started to bring the pale of pickles to the series in Brooklin,” Sowden said. “Some of the guys like them, so I thought I’d bring some along on the trip. Every game I brought pickles, we won. Even if they weren’t ready, the pickles were in the house.”

At the time it seemed to be a bit of a coincidence, so nobody thought too much about it. Only thing is, the players enjoyed what Sowden and offensive player Craig Point created.

Chiefs ride 8-goal run to 15-8 win over Burrards in Game 1 of Mann Cup

Riley Loewen escaped this double team and had 5 points, but the Chiefs dominated the second half of Game 1 to draw first blood in the 2016 Mann Cup. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

Both of the combatants in the 2016 Mann Cup have shown a knack for bouncing back when things start going against them. In Game 1 Friday night, both teams did so but the Six Nations Chiefs did it much more emphatically than the Maple Ridge Burrards did.

After Maple Ridge scored four straight second-period goals to rebound from an early deficit to tie the game 5-5, Six Nations ran off nine in a row to blow the game open en route to a 15-8 win in the opener of the national senior championship at Six Nations' Iroquois Lacrosse Arena.

Maple Ridge got off to a 1-0 lead three and a half minutes in when Ben McIntosh slipped open in the slot and buried a pass from Jarrett Davis past Dillon Ward. Dan Dawson replied with his first of 3 goals—to go with 5 assists for a game-high 8 points—less than a minute later.

The Burrards created some chances but were unable to beat Ward again in the period, and eventually it was the Chiefs who went on a run that saw them score 4 goals, including two power play markers, in a 10-minute stretch to head to intermission with a 5-1 lead.

Mann Cup preview on IL Indoor

Today's the day. The 2016 Mann Cup gets under way at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena between the Major Series Lacrosse champion Six Nations Chiefs and the Western Lacrosse Association champion Maple Ridge Burrards.

IL Indoor's Stephen Stamp has published his preview of the Mann Cup. We won't spoil it for you, so go over and take a look to see his breakdown of the teams and prediction for the series between the underdog but determined Burrards and the Chiefs, who look to win their third Mann Cup in four years.