Lakers and Chiefs set for another epic Game 7 to decide MSL championship

Shawn Evans and Dan Coates have been leading performers for their teams in the 2015 MSL finals. The Lakers and Chiefs meet one more time for the championship Monday night at 8 pm at the ILA. (Photo: Larry Palumbo)

Monday night at 8pm at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena, the Six Nations Chiefs will play host to the Peterborough Lakers in Game 7 of the Major Series Lacrosse finals. It's a rematch of last year's contest that saw a huge Chiefs comeback in which they scored the last seven goals of the game to win 9-5 and earn the right to play host to the Mann Cup, which they won for the second straight year in six games over the Victoria Shamrocks.

This year's winner will again face the Shamrocks, who are waiting at home after sweeping the New Westminster Salmonbellies in four games for the Western Lacrosse Association championship. There's still plenty of work to do for whichever team is going to hit the road Wednesday for the Mann Cup series starting this Friday at the Q Centre.

The MSL finals has been an exciting and competitive series. The Lakers defence and goaltending have limited the Chiefs to 10 goals or less in five of the six games. That would normally be enough to have wrapped up a series like this, but the Chiefs have responded by holding the Lakers to just six goals in each of four games.

Dickson scores 5 goals to lead Peterborough to 13-10 win, forcing Game 7 in MSL finals

Dhane Smith had 8 points for Six Nations, but Matt Vinc made enough saves to lead the Peterborough Lakers to a 13-10 win Thursday night, forcing a seventh and deciding game in the MSL finals. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Peterborough Lakers had been in this situation before. It showed in the way they responded Thursday night in Game 6 of the Major Series Lacrosse championship series, winning 13-10 to force a Game 7 Monday night in Six Nations. You can watch the game live via JVI Sports Network.

Peterborough was down 3-2 after playing, as Head Coach Mike Hasen said, their worst game of the series in Game 5. Then, as had happened in every game in the series, Six Nations scored the opening goal Thursday when Johnny Powless tucked a shot home 43 seconds in.

The Lakers never let the Chiefs get more than a one-goal lead, though, and left the first period tied 5-5. The teams traded goals in the second with Cory Vitarelli getting the Lakers on the board 29 seconds in then Jeff Shattler answering at 8:26.

Then it became the Curtis Dickson show. Twice Dickson battled through a series of checks to fight his way to the net and score. Two other times he reared back and fired low shots that skipped into the net. His 4 goals in the second were part of a 6-2 period that sent the Lakers to the third with a four-goal lead.

Chiefs run away with Game 5 11-6, take 3-2 MSL finals lead over Lakers

For the first time in the Major Series Lacrosse finals, the Six Nations Chiefs were able to put some distance between them and the Peterborough Lakers. Doing so led to a convincing 11-6 Game 5 victory at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena Monday night that gives the Chiefs a 3-2 lead in the series.

The Chiefs got the first goal again—they've done so in every game in the series—and were up 3-1 before Curtis Dickson finished off a first-period hat trick to get the Lakers back even heading into the intermission. The first two minutes of the second period would prove to make a huge difference in the game.

Kasey Beirnes, Johnny Powless and Randy Staats scored in the span of a minute and a half and the Chiefs had jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the blink of an eye. The Lakers fought back to within a goal but Six Nations pulled away again and led 9-6 after 40 minutes. Brandon Miller continued to be stellar in the Chiefs' net and Peterborough couldn't beat him at all in the third period.

Six Nations was getting more time to set up and step into outside shots than they have in previous games. “Our game plan was, try not to settle for what they're giving us,” Smith said. “They have a game plan, their defence. We noticed the first two games we were just settling for those shots. We worked a little bit harder, we're getting those shots and we're lucky to bury.”

Chiefs even up MSL finals with 8-6 win in Game 4

Brandon Miller is used to coming up big in big games. He did it again Sunday, leading the Six Nations Chiefs to an 8-6 win to tie up the best of seven MSL finals at two games each. (File photo: Kevin Light)

Stepping in to turn the tide is getting to be a habit for Brandon Miller. In 2013, he didn't play a minute in the playoffs but took over in the Mann Cup and helped the Six Nations Chiefs win the trophy for the first time since 1996. Last year, he split the playoffs with Evan Kirk and entered Game 7 of the MSL finals with the Chiefs trailing 4-1; they rebounded to win 9-5 and Miller went on to be the MVP of the Mann Cup as Six Nations earned back to back titles.

If the Chiefs head to Victoria to try to repeat their three-peat of the mid-90s, it will be largely thanks to Miller again. He stepped in for Dillon Ward in Game 2 of this year's MSL finals and, while he couldn't salvage that 18-14 loss, Miller has been the main man as the Chiefs have won back to back games to even the series including Sunday night's 8-6 win in which he stopped 49 of the 55 shots he faced.

Both wins have come with Kirk in net for the Lakers and playing outstanding lacrosse, as well. But Miller has made the stops the Chiefs needed to have and in Game 4 Ryan Benesch found his scoring touch to make the difference at the other end. Benesch entered the game with 4 goals in seven playoff games but connected five times and added a pair of assists.

Critical Game 4 goes off at 7 pm Sunday in Peterborough

Game 4 is often the key to a best of seven series. That certainly looks like it could be the case tonight as the Six Nations Chiefs travel to Peterborough to take on the Lakers in the fourth game of the 2015 Major Series Lacrosse finals.

The Lakers won the first two games and came back to tie up Game 3 in the third period, but ultimately the Chiefs pulled out a 7-6 win that kept them from falling into an almost insurmountable hole.

Now the fourth game represents either a chance for the Lakers to grab a stranglehold with a 3-1 series lead and put themselves within one win of a trip to Victoria to battle for the Mann Cup, or a chance for the Chiefs to build momentum towards taking aim at their third straight national title.

The game is available via a free live webcast by JVI Sports Network at 7 pm ET Sunday night. To watch the game, follow this link to JVI's web site and click on the viewer box in the left column of the screen.

Contrary to rumour, Brooklin Redmen are looking forward to 50th anniversary season in 2016

To paraphrase the great Mark Twain, reports of the demise of the Brooklin Redmen have been greatly exaggerated.  A Twitter post by Peterborough Lakers' television colour commentator Scott Arnold evoked a flurry in the Twitterverse. Arnold tweeted that he had heard the Redmen would not be returning to Major Series Lacrosse in 2016.

Brooklin president Dean Link was understandably angry about the post given that he is in the process of preparing for what is an historic season for the Redmen next summer, including negotiating with potential sponsors. The team is looking forward to celebrating its 50th season next year.

"Regarding the Twitter comment from Mr. Arnold, I do not know him or who his 'legitimate' source is, or what their motive might be, but there are no plan to fold the Brooklin Redmen," Link said. "Certainly Mr. Arnold has not spoken to me. I have been in touch with our team GM, assistant coach, social media director and team captain and no one seems to know where this is coming from. As a community owned and volunteer run team, we don't have an individual owner who could simply choose to fold the team so this assertion just doesn't make any sense."

Link said that in the last few weeks, the team has "working on adding sponsors, putting together articles and events to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Redmen next season, preparing for our fall AGM, etc. There has been nothing else in the works, other than preparing for the 2016 season."

Six Nations beats Peterborough 7-6 to get their first win in Game 3 of MSL finals

Billy Dee Smith checks Turner Evans during Six Nations' 7-6 Game 3 win in the MSL finals. (Photo: Six Nations Chiefs)

The Six Nations Chiefs did what they needed to do, edging the Peterborough Lakers 7-6 in Game 3 for their first win of the 2015 Major Series Lacrosse championship series Friday. Stephen Keogh scored the winning goal just past the midway point in the third period of a game that reverted to a defensive struggle like Game 1 after the Lakers had beaten the Chiefs 18-14 in Thursday night's Game 2 shootout.

Dhane Smith had a hat trick, Randy Staats 2 goals and an assist Colin Doyle 4 assists for the Chiefs. Curtis Dickson had 2 sensational shorthanded goals and an assist for Peterborough and Shawn Evans chipped in a pair of goals.

Both goalies were excellent. Brandon Miller made 29 saves on 35 shots for Six Nations and Peterborough's Evan Kirk stopped 33 of the 40 shots he faced.

Miller said he was focused on the basics after struggling when he replaced Dillon Ward in Game 2. “I just tried to come in with a fresh start, see the ball and react,” Miller said. “If you're worried about that Dickson kid, who's something else, and this Evans that someone tells me about...if you're worried about where those guys are going to shoot you'll get beat, because they go everywhere. So it's just get back to seeing the ball and trying to react.”