Canada Fails to Repeat in Davos

Canada's strong third periond in the 2008 Spengler Cup was not enough for the win against the Moscow Dynamo. After beating the Dynamo one day earlier, the Canadian squad was outplayed in the first two periods of the final giving the Russian team a 3-0 lead to work with. Canada ended the second with two goals and some momentum heading to the intermission. That momentum was quickly shattered in the third as Peter Cajanek scored the last of his three goals just 23 seconds into the last period. Maxim Pestushko put the game away with Dynamo's fifth goal shortly after Randy Robitaille brought the Canadians to within one goal.

Last year Canada defeated another Russian team, Salavat Yulaev Ufa, 2-1 to win their eleventh Spengler Cup.

Battalion Are Represented Well

Although these games are meaningless in the bigger picture, the two boys from the Brampton Battalion are lighting up the world. Cody Hodgson has opened many eyes in the pre-competition games leading up to the World Junior tournament by scoring three points in both pre-comp games thus far. In Canada’s first practice game Friday night at the Air Canada Centre, Hodgson was everywhere the puck was. Skating hard and hitting even harder, Hodgson had numerous chances to inflate his stats but settled for a dominating three point night, finishing with one goal and two assists. Cody’s performance overshadowed all other offensive displays including a solid game by John Tavares.

In game two, last night at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Cody was back to work having another three point night on one goal and two assists. I cannot comment further on this game though since I was busy watching Cody’s teammate from the Battalion, Evgeny Grachev, lead the Russians to a 4-1 win over Kazakhstan at the General Motors Centre in Oshawa. Grachev earned the player of the game for Russia for his effort. I missed a couple goals as I was tending to my son so I cannot give point totals for this game but I do know that he had at least one goal and one assist in his impressive showing. One can only imagine how much Brampton wants these two players back in their line up but they will have to go without for another couple weeks.

Canada has one final pre-competition game on Tuesday night in Hamilton against Slovakia. The tournament is set to kick off boxing day as always with Latvia taking on Russia at 2:30 at the Ottawa Civic Centre and Germany facing off against the Americans at 3:30 at Scotia Bank Place. Canada takes to the SBP ice at 7:30 against the Czech Republic while Finland takes on Sweden at 6:30 at the Civic Centre.

A Fire Has Been Lit

On the night of the first day of the World Junior camp, the 2007 OHL Goalie of the Year suited up to play, for his club team that is and not in Ottawa trying to earn a spot on this year’s team Canada. Mike Murphy joined his Belleville Bulls as they helped the Windsor Spitfires open up their new arena, the Windsor Family Credit Union Centre (WFCU). With the little extra fire from his missing invite, Murphy went into the barn of the second ranked team in the entire Canadian Hockey League, tops in the OHL, and stopped thirty-four shots on way to his third shut out of the season.

Just like Murphy another couple notables that are missing from the World Junior camp, Michael Del Zotto and Logan Couture, have stepped up their game since being overlooked. With some of these players not at the camp, one would have to like Canada’s chances at earning their fifth straight World Junior title. But as the team prepares for the tournament, Mike Murphy will continue to play with the little extra fire in net for Belleville and look to repeat as Goalie of the Year. Some work will be needed for that to happen but Murphy has the skill and perhaps he now has the extra desire to do it.

The Quest for 5 Starts Tomorrow

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the road for the players looking to win Canada’s fifth consecutive gold medal at the World Junior Championship as the 38 hopefuls from the CHL and US colleges report to camp. This year’s camp has only four players from last year’s team so most positions are up for grabs (the organizers would like everyone to believe all spots are open but it is a safe bet that the four returnees already have spots). Without getting into too many stats, the WHL has the most representatives trying out with 18 followed by the OHL with 11, the QMJHL with 5 and the NCAA rounds it out with 4.

Pat Quinn and his boys have the fun task of picking the best out of those 38 players, all of whom would do well, to represent our country and win the gold at home. Games start on Boxing Day as usual but there will be pre-competition games scattered throughout Ontario and even parts of Quebec for a couple weeks leading up to the tournament so get out and see the best under-20 players the World has to offer. Check Hockey Canada's website for full details.

Russia Ends Series With 2-1 Loss

As with the first two legs of the Canada Russia Challenge, Russia came back from a big defeat with a close game. Just like in game 4 against Team OHL, the first period of game 6 was scoreless. Team WHL opened the scoring just over five minutes into the second period on a powerplay for the lone goal of the period. It took more than twelve minutes for another goal and this one was also scored by the WHL. Russia fought hard and was able to beat Tokarski with under five minutes to play to make it a 2-1 game. That was as much as either team would score and the game ended 2-1.

Although the Russian Selects go home with a 1-5 record in this series, they will also be going home knowing they can compete with the Canadians. This series gave both sides a chance to scout for the World Juniors but it also gave Russia some hope that they can end Canada's recent reign in the World Junior tournament. The next possible meeting between these two sides will be when it really matters, in the playoff rounds of the World Juniors. We are less than a month away now too.

Team OHL Remains Perfect

Game four of the Canada/Russia hockey challenge, second on Ontario soil, concluded last night in St Catharines with a 3-2 Team OHL victory. A well rested Russian team gave the red shirted OHLers all they could handle and made the entire game highly entertaining. With the small ice surface at the Gatorade Garden City Complex, the game was a tight checking affair with several big hits from both sides.

The game was without a goal in the first period and by the end of the second the game was only knotted at 1 goal apiece. Two goals in the middle part of the third by the OHL side gave them what looked to be a sure win but the Russians came back and scored their second of the night only 31 seconds after the last team OHL goal. The last five minutes of the game saw chances at both ends of the rink but Team OHL was stymied by the Russian goalie, and player of the game, Gayduchenko and the Russian Selects couldn't get the puck past Trevor Cann in the dying seconds for a 3-2 Team OHL victory. John Tavares was all over the ice and earned Team OHL's player of the game.

With this win and the 6-3 win in game 3, Team OHL continues it's perfect record against the Russian Selects in this series. They improve to 12-0 since this series began in 2003. Prior to coming to Ontario, the Russians split their two games versus the QMJHL losing 5-3 in game one and rebounding to win game two 4-3. They next play Team WHL Wednesday night in Swift Current, SK followed by their last game the next night in Prince Albert, SK. The WHL seeks to regain its dominance over the Russians after losing their first ever game to them in 2007.

Weekend of Champions - Day 2

The Montreal Alouettes had the cards stacked in their favour for the 96th Grey Cup. They had home field advantage, the league's most outstanding player (Anthony Calvillo) and despite finishing the regular season with four fewer points than their opponents, they were favoured to win. Unfortunately for them, they were facing a team with something to prove in the Calgary Stampeders.

The game started as a carbon copy of the Vanier Cup one day previous as the team from Quebec ended the first quarter with a 3-0 lead. Montreal even looked dominant throughout the second quarter and seemed to be on the verge of busting the game wide open but they had trouble getting through the Stamps defence. At the end of the half, the Als were unable to expand upon their three point lead finishing the half with a 13-10 lead. Calgary made the right adjustments at halftime and came out in the second on a mission. Although they were unable to score a major, the Stamps allowed only one point against in the entire second half while converting on four field goals, including a 50-yarder for the 22-14 Grey Cup victory.

Earlier in the day another championship was battled out, this one on a soccer pitch in California. The Columbus Crew faced off against the New York Red Bulls for the 2008 Major League Soccer Cup. Columbus scored the first goal in the 31st minute but New York tied the game early in the second half. The Crew retook the lead less than 90 seconds later and never looked back, putting the game out of reach in the 82nd minute. Columbus 3, New York 1. Guillermo Barros Schelotto was named game MVP with three assists, setting a MLS Cup record. Coincidentally, Columbus was the top team at the end of the regular season. Visit MLSnet.com for a more complete story.

Weekend of Champions - Day 1

The championship weekend got underway Saturday as the Universite de Laval Rouge et Or took to the field at Ivor Wynn Stadium in Hamilton against the University of Western Mustangs in the 2008 Vanier Cup. The first quarter of the game was rather uneventful, at least on the scoreboard, as it ended with a 3-0 Laval lead. The second quarter was much more lively as Laval increased their lead to 20-0 with a two yard TD run and a lengthy punt return for a TD before Western got on the board with a field goal...check that, a penalty by Laval gave Western a second chance and they turned the field gal into a TD. The scoring of the first half ended with an 82-yard pass completion by Laval to make the lead 27-7. Both teams exchanged converted TD's to start the third quarter; 37-14 Laval. They traded another 7 points before Laval put the game away with a field goal to make it a 44-14 final.

Laval earned a spot in the national final by routing the Dinos from the University of Calgary while Western had it a bit tougher in the Mitchel Bowl winning by a mere 16 points, 28-12 against the Saint Mary's Huskies.

While the CIS football championship was being fought out the final game of the 2008 World Sledge Hockey Challenge was being played in Charlottetown, PEI. Canada finished first in the round robin took on the second team in the round robin in Norway. Canada jumped out to an early 1-0 lead as Bradley Bowden scored just 23 seconds into the game. Todd Nicholson of Canada scored the second and last goal of the first almost ten hard fought minutes later. The second period was over two thirds finished before Canada took a 3-0 lead on a goal by Marc Dorion. A late goal by Greg Westlake gave Canada a 4-0 lead going into the second intermission. Norway's Rolf Pedersen laid a hard hit on Canada's Danny Verner at the end of the second that got Canada riled up some.

As a result of the hit at the end of the second, Canada started the third with a 5-minute power play (hit to the head penalty) and Norway lost the services of Pedersen as he was also given a game misconduct. The power play failed to score but Marc Dorion scored his second of the game at 7:29 of the period to extend the lead to five. Just over a minute later PEI's own Billy Bridges made it 6-0 then with just over two minutes left, Canada ended the scoring as Greg Westlake notched his second of the game. Canada's Paul Rosen earned the shutout in the 7-0 victory by stopping all eight shots by Norway. Raymond Grassi along with the rest of the defense had a great game in limiting the shots for Rosen.

Earlier in the day the USA defeated Japan 9-0 for the bronze medal lead by Brad Emerson (2G, 1A), player of the game Taylor Lipsett (2G) and Adam Page (1G, 2A).

Sad Day in Banditland

The Buffalo Bandits Hall of Fame lacrosse journalist, Tom Borrelli, passed away early this morning at Erie County Medical Centre. He was paralyzed from the neck down after falling down a dangerous set of stairs heading to the press box at Robert Rich All High Stadium while covering a high school football game. Borelli was the first sportswriter to be inducted into the National Lacrosse League's Hall of Fame and, as of 2005, has an award named after him, the Tom Borrelli Award, given to the NLL's writer of the year. Tom will be missed in Banditland and throughout the Buffalo area. He will never be forgotten though as his legacy and character will live forever.

Manitoba Dominates Mixed Doubles

The 2009 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship concluded last weekend with the team from Manitoba, lead by Sean Grassie, defeating Wayne Tuck’s Ontario team 6-4 in the final. Manitoba went through the round robin with only one loss and a bye into the finals. Ontario had a bit longer journey to reach the finals as they finished tied for third at 8-3 in the round robin. In the tie-break game, Ontario scored an impressive 4 points in the seventh end to end Nova Scotia’s tournament. They then squeaked out a 6-5 win in the semi-final with a single point in the tenth to defeat the Saskatchewan team.

Tie Breaker Needed at Mixed Nationals

The round robin has ended for the 2009 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship earlier today but the semi-final matchup is still uncertain. The team from Manitoba, skipped by Sean Grassie, easily defeated the team from PEI (5-6) in this mornings draw to earn top spot at 10-1 and a spot in the finals. The team from Saskatchewan, skipped by Darrell McKee, had the morning off but finished in second place at 9-2. They will meet the winner of the tie-breaker.

Ontario, skipped by Wayne Tuck, and Nova Scotia, skipped by Mark Dacey, finished tied for third at 8-3 and will meet in the tie breaker at 3:00 PM eastern time. Nova Scotia needed a win this morning to keep their hopes alive. Their competition in Scott Jones' team from New Brunswick did what they could to give Ontario sole possession of third but a three point eighth end by Nova Scotia was too much for New Brunswick to overcome. Nova Scotia will now need two more wins today to reach the finals.

As previously mentioned, the tie-breaker begins at 3:00 PM eastern while the semi-final goes tonight at 7:30 PM and the final tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 PM.

Tavares Needs Out of the ‘Shwa

I am not one of those people who think everything that John Tavares touches turns to gold (I don’t work for TSN after all). Tavares is by far the best offensive talent in the junior ranks right now, he knows where to be in the offensive zone for rebounds, he knows how to fly under the radar and sneak into open ice, and he can make the best of players look foolish with his sick stick skills (thanks to his uncle no doubt), but defensively he lacks quite a bit. It is even more than that though. He lacks toughness. Without the puck he is no tougher than a rag doll.

Anyhow, I have had several discussions with friends and co-workers about why I feel Tavares needs a lot more work before becoming NHL ready. In my most recent discussion, my one friend suggested that Tavares is bored; he is too good to be playing in the ‘O’ and therefore, might not give his all every shift. I have thought about this suggestion for the past couple months now, basically since the beginning of this OHL season, and my friend might be on to something. Tavares has already proven himself in the league by breaking Gretzky’s record for goals by a 16 year old so what more can he really do. Sure he hasn’t won a scoring title but he has been in the top three in points the past couple years and is right up there again this year. How can one really top taking a record away from the Great One?

This year, John Tavares is playing on an Oshawa team that was ranked to finish dead last in the regular season. The Generals have had some surprises this year and are currently five points above the bottom of their conference but some games they play down to expectations and look awful. With the lack of talent/experience on the roster, Tavares is trying to do too much on his own. He takes long shifts and tries to make highlight reel plays instead of sticking to the little things. Playing on this team that puts so much pressure, either consciously or subconsciously, on him to perform will only hurt Tavares game. He cannot improve and grow as a player if he is too focused on carrying the team.

Growth is what the junior leagues are all about and is why Tavares needs to be traded to a contender. Oshawa is not going to be playing hockey in May. At best they will get a lucky draw in the first round and advance to the conference semis but they are not Cup contenders. Tavares has the value to get the Generals some good young talent by way of first round picks or solid first year players and get them back to Cup contention sooner rather than later. As an organization, the Generals need to look at what is best for not only their organization but also for the players. It seems to me that trading Tavares is in the best interest of both. Since this will likely be Tavares’ last year in the ‘O’, the Generals only stand to win by trading Tavares.

Helping a team get to the Memorial Cup will have a bigger impact in the career of John Tavares than will leading a team to a first round playoff exit, even with a league scoring title. Tavares needs to get back the fire and his desire to play in this league and that can be given to him by playing for a team with bigger sights then just making the playoffs. Playing alongside players like Nazeem Kadri in London, Matt Duchene and Cody Hodgson in Brampton, Corey Syvret in Guelph, Eric Tangradi in Belleville or even Logan Couture in Ottawa would benefit Tavares and his growth as a player. He can learn from those that attended pro camps while teaching the younger kids as he currently does. After all, as Gilbert Highet wrote in his book Man’s Unconquerable Mind: “The best way toward greatness is to mix with the great.” Getting out of the ‘Shwa and onto a winning team is Tavares’ first, make that, second step to greatness.

Weekend of Hockey - Nov 8-9, 2008

This weekend saw the beginning of the many, many hockey tournaments, both national and international, that take place every year. Here is a very brief summary of each event.

Team USA defeated Team Canada West 7-1 to capture the 2008 World Jr A Challenge. Team Canada East was able to give the host country something to cheer about as they won the bronze medal in a dominating 9-1 win over Team Belarus. Mike Cichy from the American team won the tournament MVP.

Team Ontario Red came out on top of Team Quebec for a thrilling double overtime victory to win the 2008 National Women’s U18 Championship. Just over a minute into the second overtime period, Brianne Jenner found herself all alone against the Quebec keeper after picking up the puck in the neutral zone and scored the winner in a 2-1 game. Team Manitoba came away with the bronze in the tournament after they defeated Team Ontario Blue 3-1 on the strength of two second period goals.

Team USA took their second gold of the weekend as they defeated Team Canada 3-2 in a shootout to win the 2008 4 Nations Cup. Team Sweden beat Team Finland 3-1 for the bronze.

And finally, Team Canada shutout Team Germany 3-0 to take the 2009 Deutschland Cup. The opened the tournament by defeating Team Slovakia 5-2 while they defeated Team Switzerland 3-0 in the second game. This was the third Deutschland Cup for Team Canada.

Gryphons Take Baggataway Cup

The Baggataway Cup was handed out over the weekend to the 2008 Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association champions, the Guelph Gryphons. This is the third time the Gryphons have earned the CUFLA title to tie with the Western Mustangs for second most cup wins. After a disappointing football season that came to an end a couple weekends ago in the OUA quarterfinals, this championship victory on the lacrosse field must have the Gryphons athletics in full on party mode. Although they didn’t face the seventeen time Baggataway Cup champion Brock Badgers this weekend, coming out on top in a tournament featuring the historically dominant school still adds an extra bit of pleasure. In fact, this was the first year that the Badgers were knocked out in the semi-finals; all previous twenty-three Cup finals featured the team from Brock. Brock was knocked out by the McGill Redmen 13-9 on Saturday while the Gryphons defeated the Trent Excalibur 12-7.

The World Series

The Philadelphia Phillies out lasted the Tampa Bay Rays in the waiting game that was Game 5 of the 2008 World Series to clinch the series. Game 5 started sometime on Monday evening and after a two day rain delay ended around 10 PM last night with a three inning marathon that had a bit of everything. Clutch hitting, good defense, good execution, good pitching, good running, bad running, bad pitching and even some bad decisions were all seen in the second part of Game 5. I think it just came down to Philadelphia wanting it more. Cole Hamels who pitched extremely well throughout the series and playoffs was crowned Most Valuable Player. Congratulations Phillies and enjoy it while it lasts because in just over five months time all this will be but a memory and the quest to crown a new champion will begin.

I love watching the first ten rounds (slight exaggeration) of the playoffs when everything is fresh and the hope abounds that every series will go seven games. When nothing is known and everything is possible. Baseball has another month to go. But the World Series is not that enjoyable. It is baseball’s yearly swan song; the end of the playing season and the end of warm weather. It is more like a slap on the face back to reality. Summer is truly gone and the hot days spent looking around Pesky’s Pole, or looking down from the ‘tiers’ of Heaven at Yankee Stadium, or looking across Waveland street from the top of the ‘Bud Tower”; the days spent eating peanuts and cracker jacks to the crack of the bat when the ball connects with the sweet spot and the smell of popcorn, hotdogs and the other concession food that adds an unique fragrance to each ballpark, are gone for another year.

The time has come for us to hunker down in our homes, perhaps sitting around the fireplace with a big mug of hot chocolate, counting down the days until the wind shifts bringing the familiar sound of baseball back to us from the sunny south. Time to hang up our gloves, jerseys and other game day swag in the back of our closets and bring forward the bulky sweaters, leg warmers (are they still in fashion this year or was that so yesterday), winter jackets and for those brave enough to go outside, the hockey stick and skates. Just don’t put the baseball stuff too far out of reach just in case a last minute trip to Florida or Arizona can be arranged.

2008 Canadian Men's National Field Lacrosse Championships

Over the Thanksgiving weekend the senior men's field lacrosse championships took place in Calgary Ablerta. Led by tournament MVP Kevin Moleski, the Ladner Pioneers went undefeated to become the 2008 Senior Men's National Field Lacrosse champions. They handed Coquitlam their only loss of the tournament while earning the Ross Cup. The Victory Cup winners, Black Sheep, went 2-1 in the round robin and lost to Ladner in the semis before defeating London, the lone Ontario team, for the cup. London also went 2-1 in round robin play and lost to Coquitlam in the semis. Calgary's first team won the Victory Trophy by defeating their Alberta rivals from Edmonton.

Ladner Pioneers

Not surprisingly, the tournament All-Star team is comprised mostly of Ladner and Coquitlam players with three each. The combatants in the Victory Cup game supplied three players and the Calgary 1 team supplied one. The all-star team: from Ladner, goalie Kevin Moleski, d-man Owen McNabb, and middie Brian Safarik; from Coquitlam, d-man Shayne Bennett, middie Rob Van Beek, and attackman Peter Tellis; from Black Sheep, middie Rajinder Wasson and attackman Jeff Zywicki; from London, d-man Luke Forget; and from Calgary 1, attackman Mark Sherman.

2008 Atlantic Challenge Cup

The 2008 Atlantic Challenge Cup was played out this past weekend in Moncton, New Brunswick. Team Nova Scotia sweept the Gold medals on the male side by defeating Team PEI 5-2 (U16), Team New Brunswick 5-4 (U15) and Team New Brunswick 6-4 (U14). Bronze medals went to New Brunswick (U16), Newfoundland and Labrador (U15) and PEI (U14).

On the female side, New Brunswick defeated Nova Scotia 4-3 in the gold medal game of the under 18 level while PEI shuout New Brunswick 2-0 to claim the under 15 gold medal. Nova Scotia recieved yet another medal as they defeated Newfoundland and Labrador4-1 in the under 15 bronze medal game. The under 18 bronze medal went to Newfoundland and Labrador as they defeated PEI 4-2.

Disappointment and Disgust

That is how I feel after the divisional series in the MLB playoffs. I am disappointed that the ridiculously named Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim were unable to overcome past ghosts and defeat the Boston Red Sox. In the past few playoff meetings against the Sox, the Angles have not faired so well and had a post season losing streak against the Sox extend into double digits before the Game 3 victory. Right from the start I was worried about this series and it seems my worries were well founded. With the team the Angels had they should have done better.

The Angels disappointment is being overshadowed by the disgusting performance of the heavily favoured Chicago Cubs. The best team in the NL in the regular season had all in baseball expecting a lengthy playoff run for the North side Cubs but once again they played the minimum three games. I guess they are hoping to get some golfing in before the wind brings the cold, white powdery stuff to town. Losing to a Dodger team that spent most of the season just trying to stay at the .500 mark is nothing short of embarrassing.

As I watch the rest of the playoffs without the Cubs in it, I will be pondering which team is worthy of my loyalty. I shall see what steps are taken in the off season before jumping ship but right now the water is looking better than being on the Cubs boat. I guess the only thing worse is being a Mets fan. For the rest of this playoff I will be rooting for the worst to first Rays. Please knock the Sox out of the playoffs.

New Look

Since the end of the box lacrosse has left a void in me I thought I'd waste some time and change the look of my site. I think it is easier to read now and well, it wasted some time while at work so it is all good. Not to mention the time wasted by writing this blurb. Enjoy the new look. I should have mroe to write once the MLB playoffs start so it shouldn't be too long before there is more to read here.

Brampton Sweeps Cup Final

Moments ago the Brampton Excelsiors were crowned the 2008 Mann Cup champions. They defeated the New Westminster Salmonbellies, the top team in the nation during the regular season and winners of the Western Lacrosse Association, by a score of 9-6 in game four to complete the four game sweep.

New West took a couple games to find their legs and came out in game three hungry for the win. Brampton was up to that challenge though and won that game convincingly to put them on the verge of a sweep. Game four began well again for the 'Bellies but by the end of the first period Brampton had tied the game at two. The second period was another close period but Brampton came out on top at the end with a 6-4 score. The third period started off strong for New West but Anthony Cosmo was able to shut the door. Blaine Manning scored a rare powerplay goal for Brampton 3:39 into the period to put the game out of reach.

Anthony Cosmo was named the Mike Kelly Memorial Trophy winner as the most valuable player in the Mann Cup finals.

I'd like to thank Marksy and Wamper for making these games available online and providing their commentary. For someone who is relatively new to the sport, it's fun to hear about the history of the game from an OLHOF inductee such as Wamper.

Change of Pace

With all the driving I did over the weekend, mostly to the Powerade Centre, I needed a rest yesterday so I decided against making the hour long trek (through the tail end of rush hour)to Brampton for Game 3 of the Mann Cup. Thanks to Marksy at Lacrosse - Inside the Game, I was still able to catch the action live online. After a strong first period by New Westminster, Brampton fought back for the win and 3-0 series lead. Hopefully, I can make it to the Powerade Centre tonight for what might be the last game.

That Was Much Better

Just got back from game 2 of the 2008 Mann Cup and it was a much better game than the first one. New Westminster came out strong just like last night's game and scored the first goal of the game. That is where the similarities end though. New West played hard the entire first period and showed some command but they couldn't beat Cosmo more than the one time.

The second was more of the same tight checking on both sides with the exception of about three minutes where Brampton was able to get in close for three scores to go up 4-1. New West was only able to solve Cosmo once more in the second period to go into the third down 5-2. Brampton was able to fend off another late surge, where they surrended three goals, to hold onto a 6-5 win.

With that win Brampton is halfway to completing the sweep that some have forecasted. Although some from the New West side likely thought the 'Bellies might sweep the Excelsiors and I wasn't going to dismiss that thought after their dominant season. I think the real Salmonbellies team showed up tonight and they did look good. The unassisted goal by Gajic late in the third was perhaps the nicest individual effort of the game. The players of the game were Jordan Hall for New West and Dan Teat for Brampton. Game three is on Monday at 7:30 PM at the Powerade Centre in Brampton.

Brampton Takes Game 1

Game one of the Mann Cup went last night in Brampton and the home team did not disappoint. New Westminster got out to an early 1-0 lead but after almost nine minutes of solid defence and some missed chances by Bramton, the Excelsiors finally tied it up. That goal sparked their offence and they went on to score three more in the first to take a 4-1 lead into the first intermission.

In the second period, it was more Brampton as they got two more goals before New West netted their second to end the second period scoring. New West seemed to find some life in the third and tried to mount a comeback but they came up short against a tough Brampton defence backed by a solid performance by Cosmo (who had help with some lucky goal line bounces) and lost 8-5.

The first ten minutes of this game was by far the best. Action was going both ways and the defence on both ends allowed very little. Brampton had trouble getting their first goal after hitting the post a couple times but when they did they got a couple within a couple minutes and that seemed to take the steam out of the Salmonbellies and that lead to more quality chances for Brampton. Brampton seemed to totally dominate the second half of the first period. The Salmonbellies power play was ineffective as well. They seemed to be flat footed and didn't get Cosmo moving around enough. The Salmonbellies regained their composure late in the game, after the game got a bit ugly, and showed glimpses of why they were the best team in the country during the regular season.

I confirmed something last night, something that I was thinking on for a few games now: it is hard to keep really focus on a game when dealing with a two year old as well. Although my son was relatively behaved last night, I found that I struggled to really pay attention to the game so my analysis is not as in depth as I would have liked. We'll try again tonight.

Red Sox Win 2008 IBL Title

The Intercounty Baseball League’s Brantford Red Sox won their second title in three years in their third straight final on Friday night in London. Just like last year, the Sox won game six to force a game seven but unlike last year’s disappointing loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, this year the Sox defeated the London Majors 8-2 to take the title. Brantford also won in 2006, also against the London team.

En route to their title, Brantford was able to exact some revenge on the Leafs by beating them in four straight games in the opening round of the playoffs. In round two, the Sox defeated the Guelph Royals in six games, including a 1-0 win and a 2-0 win. The final series against the Majors started off close with two extra-inning games and three of the first four games were decided by a single run (game three was a 2-0 victory for London). The final two games were a different story though. Brantford had 11 hits in each of those games and outscored London 14-4.

Can Brampton Excel Over New Westminster?

The final series in the MSL is finally over and the Brampton Excelsiors have outlasted the Peterborough Lakers for the chance to host the 2008 Mann Cup. In the deciding game seven, Peterborough started the scoring early, just 27 seconds in, but Brampton lead at the end of the first and never looked back. By all accounts it was a defensive display put on by both teams with Pat O'Toole keeping the Lakers in the game as he was peppered by almost sixty shots. Unfortunately, the Lakers offense, missing two key players in John Grant Jr and Josh Gillam, had just as much trouble finding the back of the net. Brampton came out with a commanding 7-2 victory.

The Excelsiors will host the New Westminster Salmonbellies for the Mann Cup beginning Friday September 5, 2008 at the Powerade Centre. The Bellies are coming off an amazing season in which they lost only one game in the regular season. They swept their way through the WLA playoffs as well and plan to be the first western team to defeat an Ontario team in Ontario since a team from New West accomplished that feat back in 1986. The schedule is as follows:

Sept. 5th - 7:30 pm - New Westminster vs Brampton
Sept. 6th - 7:30 pm - New Westminster vs Brampton
Sept. 8th - 7:30 pm - New Westminster vs Brampton
Sept. 9th - 7:30 pm - New Westminster vs Brampton
Sept. 10th - 7:30 pm - New Westminster vs Brampton
Sept. 12th - 7:30 pm - New Westminster vs Brampton
Sept. 13th - 7:30 pm - New Westminster vs Brampton

If I am able to get to any games, I will try to write a summary the next day. I am really hoping for a sweep though as I have other obligations for the last three games and will not be able to see them.

Northmen Are Victorious!

Ontario retains title as the Orangeville Northmen win the 2008 Minto Cup in Calgary, Alberta (August 30). After defeating the 2007 champion Six Nations Arrows in the Ontario final, the Northmen swept the Minto Cup round robin with relative ease en route to a 9-4 win in the cup final against the Victoria Shamrocks.

Let's Play One More

With game six tied at 7 and one period to play, the anticipation at the Memorial Centre in Peterborough must have been immense last night as the crowd, excited by a big second period by Peterborough, must have sensed victory for the home team. To their dismay their team did not deliver in the third period as Anthony Cosmo shut the door and the Brampton Excelsiors took the game 11-7 to tie the MSL final series at three games.

Colin Doyle and Brodie Merrill returned to the Brampton lineup and John Grant Jr returned for Peterborough after helping the Rochester Rattlers win the MLL championship. John Grant Jr had an impact on the score sheet as he scored twice and added two assists. The two Brampton boys got in on the scoring as well with one goal and two assists for Colin Doyle and two assists for Brodie Merrill. Lakers defense had a tough time containing Blaine Manning again as he netted a hat trick to lead all scorers in goals (Manning scored six times in game 5) but the biggest surprise of the game was Phil Sanderson’s game winning goal in the third period (it was only his second goal of the season in 23 games played).

Game seven goes Thursday night in Brampton and it should be another great game. I am really impartial as to the winner as the travel distance is about the same both ways. Colin Doyle is a treat to watch though, especially when he puts the team on his back for a late push (similar to what he did against the Redmen in game three of that series), so I’m leaning towards Brampton. But then again, the Lakers offense can score some pretty goals and make some jaw-dropping plays…

Lacrosse Championships and Finals

This past weekend saw a couple national champions crowned along with the MLL champions. Saturday evening the Owen Sound Woodsmen defeated the host Outlaws 11-5 in Sherwood Park to claim their first President’s Cup. They went through the tournament undefeated and clearly dominated the opposing teams. The Woodies opened the tournament with an 8-5 victory over the Airdrie Knights and went on to defeat the Outlaws 11-5 and the Tri-City Bandits 8-4 in the round robin before crushing the Bandits 11-2 in their semi-final game. The Bandits ended up losing in the Bronze game to the Quebec league representative Kahnawake Mohawks.

A few thousand miles away in Guelph, Ontario, the Canadian Junior B championship was being fought for in the 2008 Founders Cup. In the end the host Guelph Regals lost to the defending champion Six Nations Rebels by the score of 8-7. Both teams in the final game finished the round robin with a perfect 5-0 record. Six Nations defeated the Port Coquitlam Saints of the BCLA 10-3 in their semi-final game to advance while the Regals defeated the Iroquois Nation of the ILA 8-1 to earn a spot in the finals. Iroquois defeated the Saints in the third place game.

The Major League Lacrosse season also came to a close Sunday with the crowning of the 2008 champions. The action started Saturday with the semi-final games and concluded Sunday with the championship game from Harvard Stadium in Cambridge, MA (home of the Boston Cannons). The Rochester Rattlers defeated the Philadelphia Barrage 16-15 in overtime before claiming the championship by beating the Denver Outlaws 16-6. The Outlaws earned a spot in the finals by downing the Los Angeles Riptide 13-12 in their semi-final.

That leaves two other national championships to be decided, the Minto Cup and the Mann Cup. The 2008 Minto Cup (junior A national title) is currently being played for in Calgary with the OLA Orangeville Northmen leading all others at 2-0. The Victoria Shamrocks and Calgary Jr. Mountaineers are at 1-1 and the Edmonton Miners are 0-2. The final will be played on Saturday August 30 at 7:30 PM. The 2008 Mann Cup (senior A title) will be hosted by the winner of the MSL final that has yet to be decided. Game six goes tonight in Peterborough with the Lakers up three games to two against the Brampton Excelsiors. The Western Lacrosse Association champion was decided last night as the New Westminster Salmonbellies took game four of their best of seven series 11-8 against the Coquitlam Adanacs. The ‘bellies finished the regular season as the top team in the nation with a 17-1 record and went through the WLA playoffs undefeated.

MSL Final Series is Set

The Major Series Lacrosse season is down to two teams, the top seeded Brampton Excelsiors and the number two Peterborough Lakers. Brampton earned their spot in the finals by sweeping the Brooklin Redmen in four games in their semi-final series while Peterborough needed five games to put away the St Regis Indians in their semi-finals. Game one will go in Brampton likely on Thursday evening. The schedule is not finalized as of yet so check the MSL website later. The winner of this series will play host to the WLA champion in the Mann Cup in early September.

While the Lakers advanced to the finals in the MSL, the New Westminster Salmonbellies earned the first berth in the WLA finals. They defeated the Victoria Shamrocks four games to none. New West were the top team in the country in the regular season as they posted an almost perfect 17-1 record. In the other semi-final series, the Coquitlam Adanacs hold a two games to one lead against the Burnaby Lakers. Game four goes tonight in Burnaby.

Redmen Season Ends With Sweep

The MSL coaches of the year, Peter Vipond and Wayne Colley, led their rookie laden Brooklin Redmen team into the Iroquois Park Sports Complex Friday night looking for their first win in their semi-final series against the stacked Brampton Excelsiors squad. That was game four, potentially the last game of the season for the Redmen.

After an exciting game three where Brooklin took the action to the Excelsiors, anticipation was high for another close game. Unfortunately, for the Redmen faithful that was not to be. The devastating loss with two seconds to go in game three was too much for the rookie laden Redmen team to overcome. They came out flat for game four and fell behind early. Trailing 5-2 going into the second period the Redmen fought hard but Brampton had all the answers and kept the desperate Redmen to only three more goals in the last two periods.

The Redmen showed sparks of brilliance during the game but their overall play showed the affects of a tough loss two nights before was still in their system. The Excelsiors were also pressing as if trying to make sure there is no repeat of the previous game. Expectations could not have been high for Brooklin going into the series given the makeup of the two teams but the players showed the character of the Redmen organization. After a crushing 13-1 defeat in game one, the Redmen team didn’t lie down and give the series to Brampton. They fought hard and made the top team earn every victory.

Their return to the playoffs after a disappointing season one year ago gave their fans hope for the future. With the 2008 co-rookie of the year, Derek Hopcroft, leading the charge, this team may not be too far from greatness in the coming years. Thanks for a great season Redmen!

Owen Sound Earns Ontario Title

In what was easily the most competitive and intense game of the series, the visiting Owen Sound Woodsmen defeated the Brooklin Merchants 10-7 in game three to earn the Ontario Senior B lacrosse title.

The Woodsmen came out strong to start the game, going ahead 3-0 just over ten minutes in. Brooklin's goal at 13:30 on a delayed penalty seemed to wake the team up as they picked up their play and just missed on several great chances. By the end of the first, the Merchants were down by only two goals at 4-2. The second period was a great action packed period of lacrosse that saw some back and forth play. Brooklin came out of the gates firing as they scored just four seconds into the period and looked to be hungry for the win. Owen Sound was not to be outdone as they scored three straight in about seven minutes to take a four goal lead at 8-4. Brooklin got back to within two goals by the end of the second and closed the gap to 8-7 with just over five minutes to play in the third before Owen Sound put the game away with their ninth goal. An empty netter with under two minutes left finished the scoring.

The Woodies will travel to Sherwood Park, Alberta later this month to compete with the host Outlaws, the Airdrie Knights, the winner of the BC senior B league, the winner of the Quebec senior B league, the winner of the CanAm league and the winner of the ILA league for the 2008 President's Cup. Good Luck Woodsmen. Bring the cup back to Ontario!

(Coincidentally I took the week of the President's Cup off work. Anyone want to spot me a couple plane tickets to Edmonton complete with car rental and hotel accommodations??? Anyone???)

The Finals Begin

The air outside is hot and humid with the sun’s rays successfully penetrating through the haze to ensure the temperature remains hot on this first day of August. As the daylight begins its transition into darkness, the children and adults of this small Ontario town assemble in the small arena in the figurative, if not literal, heart of Brooklin. These citizens are not hunkering down together to escape from the downpour sure to be unleashed by the army of dark clouds silently marching towards them. Not on this night. Tonight this town gathers to watch the greatest game on two feet and cheer on their hometown Merchants in their quest for Ontario Senior B supremacy.

After an exciting overtime win two nights ago against a feisty club from Norwood just to advance to the final series, the Merchants will be looking to put the game away early. Their task will not be an easy one as they face the bronze medal winner and host from last years President’s Cup, the Owen Sound Woodsmen. Led by Wayne Burke, Chris Driscoll and Brady Campbell, the Woddies are a powerful offensive threat. Add a solid netminder between the pipes in Steve Dietrich and the visiting team looks almost unbeatable.

The Merchants did not lead their division by a lucky break, they earned it. Tonight they will show their determination, toughness and team strength that earned them the top spot. The team assistant captains, Barrett Church and Scott Gillingham, lead the balanced attack in these playoffs. Their defense has not backed down all season and will make it tough for the Woddies offense to get the good inside looks. They will force the low percentage shots from the perimeter that will be easily stopped by whichever goalie Brooklin uses tonight.

The stage is finally set. The time is now…or at least a few short hours from now (okay several long hours from now). The Owen Sound Woodsmen against the Brooklin Merchants for the OLA Senior B title. Go Merchants!

Lacrosse and Me

As a child one is exposed to several sports; some are played for a month or maybe a summer or two or perhaps even for several years before being relegated to the annals of yesterday while others are enjoyed year after year until it seeps into the blood and becomes part of one’s soul. For me, the sports of yesteryear included soccer (although I was reacquainted with the sport in high school on those dreary days perfect for the sport), tennis, handball, squash and road hockey to name those that have not escaped my memory. Baseball and hockey were the sports that filled my days right through childhood and into my university years to become part of my being. Although I still enjoy those sports, they have been replaced in my heart by another.

During my first year of high school, in a mandatory physical education class, I was first introduced to a sport that, unknown to me at the time, would grow in my heart and soul to eventually replace the love of both sports I grew up enjoying. This sport is Canada’s official summer sport of lacrosse. It was on a list of required items, along with square dancing, that had to be covered in a minimum number of classes in that mandatory class. As with all public institutions, the minimum was met and that was that; the sticks were hung back on the rusty nails to await the next group of freshmen.

Around that time the Buffalo Bandits were selling out the “Aud” and winning MILL championships and I was able to see some action on a local Buffalo station. After a few games over a couple of years, the television coverage stopped and I forgot about the Bandits and the league (I didn’t even know it was a professional league at the time). Fast forward to a Sunday afternoon in 1999 when I stumbled on a televised Toronto Rock game followed by an encounter with a relative of the speedy Steve Toll a year or so later, and my love for the sport of lacrosse really began to grow. The tiny seed that was sitting dormant in my heart since the early days of the Bandits had finally received the attention it needed.

Now, about ten years after that first Rock game, I cannot get enough of the sport: lacrosse has relegated baseball and hockey to a small corner of my heart and threatens to eliminate them entirely. Could my late introduction to the sport be the cause of this devotion? Who knows or cares. I’m hooked now and can’t get enough.

Where is that 5-run HR when you need it???

In yesterday’s Blue Jays game, the Jays were down by four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning and really needed a 5 run home run to win. Or so the batters thought. Leading off the last inning, needing five runs, the Blue Jays batters were swinging for the fences instead of trying for line drives and solid grounders. You know, getting runners on base before the ever popular home run. As I watched this unfold, I couldn’t refrain from growing irritated. There is no such thing as a five run home run so why the heck were the batters swinging for home runs? In the end they didn’t get the homerun they were looking for and ended up going down in order for the 5-1 loss. For the Jays to win their batters need to be smarter than that. But then again, the GM has already given up on them so why should they try? Hitting .300 on a shit team the entire MLB ignores doesn’t exactly draw the big contracts, especially for these over the hill players.

Other OLA Playoffs

The OLA Senior B is into their second round, the semi finals. The Owen Sound Woodsmen lost their first game of the playoffs in game one against the Wellington Aces 6-4 but recovered to beat them in game two 7-4 at home. Owen Sound swept the Mohawk Stars in two games to advance to the semis against the division leading Aces. The Brooklin Merchants has a two games to none strangle hold on their semi final series with the Norwood Nitro’s. The potential series clinching game goes on Sunday in Brooklin at 7:00 PM. Norwood took three games to defeat the Ajax-Pickering Rock in their quarter final series.

The OLA Junior A playoffs began Monday July 14 with the four higher seeds winning. Since then most series have been a see-saw battle with the teams trading wins. Two of the four series have been decided while the remaining two are one game away from ending. The St Catharines Athletics were the first team to advance to the semi finals when they defeated the Kitchener-Waterloo Braves 8-4 two days ago to win the series in five games. Last night the Six Nations Arrows joined the Athletics in the semi finals as they dealt the Peterborough Lakers a 15-12 loss in game six. The Burlington Chiefs were on the brink of winning the series over the Akwesasne Indians when an appeal launched by the Indians was decided in their favour forcing the previously forfeited game to be replayed (the Indians were charged with playing two illegal players). Burlington still holds a three games to two lead in the series and can end it tonight at home. In the fourth series, the regular season leading Orangeville Northmen can advance tonight in Brampton with a win against the Excelsiors.

The Clarington Green Gaels took the Halton Hills Bulldogs to five games before losing out in the OLA Junior B quarterfinals. Halton Hills will face the Mimico Mountaineers in the semi finals while the Elora Mohawks will face the Six Nations Rebels in the other semi final match up. Mimico defeated Oakville and Six Nations defeated the Windsor AKO Fratmen three games to one to advance while Elora swept Orangeville in three games to earn a spot in the semis. The lone loss suffered by the Rebels was their first loss in a year. Six Nations won 42 straight games after a July 15, 2007 loss, including a perfect 20-0-0 regular season and a first round playoff sweep of Wallaceburg. Both semi final series get underway Friday night.

MSL Playoffs Begin

The Major Series Lacrosse playoffs got underway last night as the Six Nations Chiefs traveled to Akwesasne to take on the St Regis Indians. Fighting back from a 10-6 deficit after forty minutes, the Six Nations Chiefs went on a run of five straight goals in the final period to defeat the third seed Indians. Craig Point scored the game winner with just over four minutes remaining in the third period on his second goal of the game. Cory Bomberry, Roger Vyse and Delby Powless also netted two goals for the Chiefs. Mark Steenhuis led all scorers with two goals and three assists while John Tavares (winner of the MSL scoring title) scored three goals and added one assist in the loss. The next game is tonight in Akwesasne.

The other quarter final series gets underway tonight as the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks travel down the 401 to Whitby to face off against the Brooklin Redmen. These two teams battled each other tough in three games during the regular season and both finished with 14 points. After they split the first two games, each team winning by a five goal margin, Brooklin won the third match up 12-9 in overtime for the advantage. Game two goes tomorrow night in K-W and game three goes Saturday back in Whitby. If necessary, game 4 is in K-W Sunday and the fifth game is next Tuesday in Whitby.

The top two teams in the regular season get a bye for the first round. Brampton led the league with 29 points (14-3-1) while Peterborough came back from a 2-4 start to finish in second place with 25 points (12-5-1).

Hometown Hero an All-Star

New England Revolution and MLS all-star team coach, Steve Nicol, chose Jim Brennan from the Toronto FC to be one of the reserves for the All-Star game to be played next Thursday at BMO Field in Toronto. With this selection, the first member of Toronto FC can also claim to be the first Toronto FC player to be selected for an all-star team. The all-star team coach selected five reserves for the game while the commissioner selected an additional two. One of the commissioner's picks was Scarborough, ON native Dwayne De Rosario of the Houston Dynamo. While Brennan's selection marks his first selection to an all-star team, De Rosario will suit up for his third straight. The MLS All-Stars will take on the West Ham United club on July 24 at 7:00 PM Eastern. The game will air on ESPN, Telefutura, and CBC.

It's Playoff Time!

OLA Senior B

Despite scoring 7 more goals then they did in the opening game, the Mohawk Stars were unable to stop the Woodsmen attack and lost 16-11 in what turned out to be the last game of the season for the Stars. Owen Sound won game one in convincing fashion 17-4, and with the win in game two, they advance to the semi-finals. In the East quarter final, the Norwood Nitros struck first, winning game one 13-5 at home, but was unable to complete the two game sweep of the Ajax Pickering Rock by losing in Pickering 15-13 on Sunday evening. The third and deciding game goes Wednesday evening in Norwood. Game time is 8:30 PM.

OLA Junior A

The OLA Junior A regular season has now ended and the quarterfinals are set to begin tonight. The top team in the league, the Orangeville Northmen (19-3-0) faces off against the Brampton Excelsiors; the defending champion Six Nations Arrows face the Peterborough Lakers; St. Catharines Athletics host the Kitchener-Waterloo Braves; and the fourth place Akwesasne Indians look to end the Burlington Chiefs season. All four series begin tonight and, if any goes a full seven games, will end next Thursday.

OLA Junior B

The second round of the OLA Junior B playoffs is two games old with one exception; the Six Nations Rebels has a one game to none lead over the Windsor AKO Fratmen. Elora is up 2-0 on Orangeville while the other two series (Mimico vs. Oakville and Halton Hills vs. Clarington) are tied at one game a piece. The fifth and deciding games in this round is scheduled for July 20 for two series and 21 for the other two series.

Major Series Lacrosse

After a commanding 9-5 victory over the St. Regis Indians Saturday evening, the Brampton Excelsiors have clinched top seed in the MSL with a week left in the season. The defending Mann Cup champion Peterborough Lakers have taken over second spot in the standings while the Indians have fallen into third. The young Brooklin Redmen team have come together nicely winning 4 of their last five games and have jumped into sole possession of fourth place. The KW Kodiaks are in fifth followed by the Barrie Lakeshores while Six Nations is currently in last place sitting one point behind Barrie for the last playoff spot. Other than the top three teams, the playoff picture is still unclear.

Perfection Results in Gold

With another perfect tournament, the team from the United States leaves Coquitlam, BC and the 2008 ILF U19 World Lacrosse Championships with their sixth consecutive championship. On Saturday afternoon, the US team downed team Canada 19-12 to extend their tournament perfect streak to 36 games. It was a well balanced attack from the US as six players recorded three points each including Nicholas Elsmo, Dean Gibbons, and Craig Dowd recording hat tricks. Adam Jones led the Canadians with five goals in the loss.

Earlier in the day, the Iroquois Nationals defeated the team from England 19-10 to earn the bronze medal. Emmett Printup led all scorers with a double hat trick with one assist while Lyle Thompson, Peter Jacobs and Miles Thompson each scored a single hat trick. Zac Guy from the English side also recorded a trick while teammates Sam Russell and Greg Rowlinson scored two goals each in a losing cause.

Three of the five player awards went to the gold medal team while the other two award winners call Canada home. The team USA winners were Peter Fallon, Top Defenseman; Craig Dowd, Top Attacker; and Adam Ghitelman, top goaltender. Adam Jones from Canada won the other two awards for the top midfielder and the tournament MVP.

OLA Sr. B Playoffs to Begin Friday

At the end of the regular season the Brooklin Merchants and the Wellington Aces sit atop their respective divisions. Brooklin finished with an 8-6-0 record to lead the East while Wellington topped the West with an 11-2-1 record for the best in the league. These two teams get a bye in the first round of playoffs while they await the winners of the quarterfinal series.

The Norwood Nitros finished second behind Brooklin with a 6-6-2 record while the Ajax-Pickering Rock rounded out the East at 5-9-0. This series starts in Norwood on Friday evening, goes to Pickering Sunday evening and returns to Norwood Wednesday evening if necessary. Over in the West, the host of last year’s President’s Cup, the Owen Sound Woodsmen, finished in second spot with an 8-6-0 record while the Mohawk Stars came in last with a 2-11-1 record. This series is scheduled to take place this weekend starting with a Friday evening game in Owen Sound followed by Saturday evening at Mohawk then returning to Owen Sound Sunday if necessary. Teams are playing for the chance to hoist the Clare Levack Memorial Trophy (pictured below) as well as advancing to the national title tournament in Sherwood Park, Alberta to play for the President's Cup.

U.S. Still Dominates on the Field

The under 19 men’s lacrosse team from the United States recovered from a seven goal deficit in the fourth quarter of their game against the Canadians to beat the host country 16-15 in overtime in their fourth round robin game at the 2008 U19 ILF World Lacrosse Championships. With their 24-4 victory over England in their last round robin game, the United States’ perfect record in U19 world lacrosse championships extends to an impressive 34-0.

This year’s tournament is number six and is being held in Coquitlam, British Columbia. Previous years were 1988 in Adelaide, Australia (US defeated Australia); 1992 in Long Island, New York (US defeated Australia); 1996 in Tokyo, Japan (US defeated Australia); 1999 back in Adelaide, Australia (US defeated Canada); and 2003 in Baltimore, Maryland (US defeated Canada).

Canada finished the round robin at 4-1 and will play the Iroquois Nationals in their semi-final game tomorrow after the Nationals defeated the second place team from the Red division 28-2 last night. The US will face England in their semi-final tomorrow after England downed the top seed in the Red division 16-2 yesterday afternoon. In round robin play, Canada defeated the Iroquois team 15-12 so this semi-final should be another great match between two talented teams. US destroyed England 24-4 in their round robin meeting so it looks like the US will be playing for their 36th straight tournament win and sixth consecutive championship. The championship game is scheduled for Saturday July 12 at 2:30 PM Pacific.

2008 MSL Season Update

After a slow start to the 2008 Major Series Lacrosse season, the defending Mann Cup champion Peterborough Lakers are back to their winning ways. The Lakers started the season at 2-4 but since their 7-6 loss to the Brampton Excelsiors on June 12 at home, they have gone on to win five straight. With their recent win streak they have pulled to within two points of the league co-leaders Brampton Excelsiors and St. Regis Indians. Peterborough has seven games remaining, four of those against the two bottom dwellers, Barrie Lakeshores and Brooklin Redmen. They also have four games remaining at home where they are 4-1 so far this season.

The two teams above the Lakers in the standings seem to have a tougher road ahead as they each play four of their remaining games on the road and two against each other. Brampton might be seen to have the easier of the two schedules since the two games against St. Regis will be played at home and three of their remaining seven games are against the bottom two teams (Barrie and Brooklin). Other than the two road games against the co-leaders, St. Regis does not face Barrie anymore and only plays Brooklin once. Being on top at the end of the regular season is key for these teams as it should ensure they won’t face the defending champs until the final round.

The standings as of today is as follows:

Team -------- GP W L T Pts
Brampton ----- 11 8 3 0 16
St. Regis ------ 12 8 4 0 16
Peterborough - 11 7 4 0 14
KW Kodiaks ---- 9 4 4 1 9
Six Nations ---- 12 4 8 0 8
Barrie --------- 11 3 7 1 7

Brooklin ------ 10 3 7 0 6

Spokane is Chief in the CHL

The 2008 MasterCard Memorial Cup concluded almost two weeks ago with the Spokane Chiefs, winners of the Western Hockey League, defeating the host Kitchener Rangers, winners of the Ontario Hockey League, 4-1 at the Memorial Auditorium. After a decent first period where both teams traded goals, Kitchener came out a little flat for the second period and fell behind 3-1 after two goals minutes apart. In the third period Kitchener returned to their offensive ways, peppering the Chiefs netminder with shots but the tournament's most valuable player, Dustin Tokarski, shut the door and held off the attack. An empty net goal by Jared Cowan late in the third period iced the victory for the Chiefs and the second straight Memorial Cup for the WHL.

The tournament all-star team consisted solely of players from the Rangers and Chiefs. Justin Azevedo, the winner of the Ed Chynoweth Trophy for the leading scorer in the tournament, and defenceman Ben Shutron were selected to the team from Kitchener while goaltender Tokarski, forwards Drayson Bowman and Mitch Wahl, and defenceman Justin Falk were named from the champion Spokane team. The Rangers Matt Halischuk was awarded the George Parsons Memorial Trophy for being the most sportsmanlike of the tournament.

Next years tournament will be held in Rimouski, Quebec.

Event Recap

Since I have lost all motivation while at work, I have not had the energy to post the results of the various sporting events recently so I’ve decided to sum it all up in one post. Here’s what I’ve been following lately.

Last Saturday night, in a sold out HSBC arena (18,690), the Buffalo Bandits won the 2008 NLL Champion’s Cup. At times they looked to dominate the Portland Lumberjax but the Jax kept fighting and did not allow the Bandits to expand any lead past three goals. The lead was only two with under a minute to go when Derek Malawsky scored to narrow the gap to one. Mike Thompson and the Bandits defence shut the door and held on to a 14-13 victory. Dan Dawson led all scorers with nine points (3G, 6A) in his third championship game loss in four years (2005 to Toronto and last year to Rochester). Buffalo’s Mark Steenhuis was named the game’s MVP with six points (5G, 1A) while the ageless John Tavares netted two goals and two assists for four points. Congratulations Bandits!

Earlier in the day, Finland shutout Sweden 4-0 in Quebec City to capture the bronze medal at the 2008 IIHF World Hockey Championship before Canada lost to Russia 5-4 in overtime on Sunday. In the championship game, Canada came out strong but was unable to hold on to the lead as Russia dominated the third period and likely overtime as well. Despite their unbeaten streak going into the final game, it was a disappointing end to the tournament for team Canada, especially since it was on home soil. They still represented their country well and should be proud of what they accomplished.

One week prior to the world event, the 2008 RBC Cup Champions were crowned. After the round robin, the Camrose Kodiaks, representing the Pacific, were a perfect 4-0; the Humboldt Broncos, representing the West, and the host Cornwall Colts were 2-2; the team from the East, the Pictou County Weeks Crushers was 1-3; and the Central representatives, the Oakville Blades, ended with a 1-3 record as well but failed to make the playoff round. In the end, the Humboldt Broncos defeated the Camrose Kodiaks 1-0 to win their second National Junior A title in five years.

Last but not least, the 2008 Memorial Cup is heading into the final weekend with the host Kitchener Rangers hanging by a thread. After winning the tournament opener, the Rangers have lost two straight and find themselves needing a win Friday night to advance to Sunday’s championship game. The Gatineau Olympiques suffered three losses and find themselves out of the tournament while the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL finished the round robin at a perfect 3-0 and await the winner of the semi-final game. The semi-final game is a repeat of the OHL title series as the Belleville Bulls (2-1) take on the host Rangers (1-2) for a chance at the Cup.

2008 NLL Champion's Cup

The 2008 NLL Champion's Cup will be played on Saturday May 17, 2008 at 7:30 PM. The venue will be determined tomorrow when the New York Titans travel to Buffalo to face the regular season leading Bandits (despite the identical records). The winner of this game will host the winner of the Western Conference Final between the host Calgary Roughnecks and the Portland Lumberjax. The cup final may be a rematch of the 2004 final only in a different venue if the Roughnecks win as Calgary hosted the Bandits in 2004 and came away with a 14-11 victory. The Champions Cup final marks the return of NLL lacrosse to the Score network as they will air the game live in Canada (Sportsnet is booked solid that day with game 2 of the Memorial Cup at 4:00 PM and the Blue Jays game at 7:00 PM or maybe 8:00 PM, either way they can't show it).

3 Down, 1 to Go!

With a 4-1 win in last night's game, the Spokane Chiefs have earned a spot in the national title tournament. They defeated the Lethbridge Hurricanes in four games to sweep their way to the WHL title and the Memorial Cup. Spokane allowed only five goals in those four games. One spot remains vacant for the Memorial Cup as we await the winner from the QMJHL, which can be decided Friday as the Gatineau Olympiques now have a 3-1 series lead. In the OHL, the Kitchener Rangers look to win the J Ross Robertson Cup as the top team in the OHL tonight at home.

Belleville Fights off the Brooms

On the brink of elimination and a sweep, the Belleville Bulls battled hard in game four of the OHL final and defeated the Kitchener Rangers in overtime. Kitchener got off to a fast start by scoring the first three goals of the game. They looked to be in complete control of the game but Belleville got on the board with less than a minute to go in the first period and seemed to take the momentum away from the Rangers. The two teams traded goals in the second period before Belleville shut the door defensively and scored two unanswered goals in the third period to force overtime. In overtime, the Bulls captain, Matt Beleskey, scored on the power play to force a game five back in Kitchener.

Every game from this point forward is a big game. If Belleville wins game five and gets the series to 3-2 then they may derive some momentum out of it and, now that they know they can beat the Rangers, they will definitely force the play more. Kitchener needs to rebound from their loss and end the series Thursday to ensure there are no doubts about the team’s ability heading into the Memorial Cup. I have no doubts they will rebound as after their loss to the Greyhounds in the conference finals, they rebounded with a commanding 6-3 win. Game five should be exciting as both teams will be fighting for the win.

In the other leagues, the Spokane Chiefs are looking for a sweep of their own with a 3-0 series lead on the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the WHL. Over in the QMJHL, the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies are in tough with the Gatineau Olympiques as they find themselves down two games to one after sweeping their first three series. The winners of the WHL and the QMJHL will join the Bulls and Rangers in Kitchener in just over a week to play for the Memorial Cup.

Hockey Champions

The Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves are the 2008 national midget AAA champions after defeating the Winnepeg Thrashers 6-4 in the 2008 Telus Cup Sunday. The loss in the final game was Winnepeg's first loss in the tournament. In the third place game, the Séminaire St-François Blizzard downed the Calgary Buffaloes 7-4.

The Oakville Blades defeated the Newmarket Hurricanes for the second time in the 2008 Dudley Hewitt Cup to earn the tournament win and a berth in the 2008 RBC Cup. After Newmarket beat the Dryden Ice Dogs 2-1 in overtime in the semi-final game, they found themselves down by four goals early in the final game and couldn't fight back, losing the championship game 6-3. Oakville will be headed to Cornwall for the RBC Cup beginning Saturday.

WHL Final

In the WHL conference finals, the number three seed in each conference defeated the regular season conference winners to earn a spot in the final. The Lethbridge Hurricanes downed the Calgary Hitmen in four games in the Eastern Conference finals while it took all seven games for the Spokane Chiefs to defeat the Tri-City Americans in the Western Conference finals. After playing seven games, five of which went into overtime and three of those were not decided until the second overtime period, over the past twelve days, the Chiefs have only two days to rest and prepare for the WHL finals. Lethbridge finished the regular season with 11 points less than spokane Spokane but did win the only meeting of the season between the two teams. That solo meeting was a 2-1 vicotry for Lethbridge at home in early December. Either team is capable of winning but the Chiefs could tire if the series is extended. This series begins Friday in Spokane.

OHL Final

The Kitchener Rangers and Belleville Bulls face off tonight in game one of the OHL finals. The winner of this series will be awarded the J. Ross Robertson Cup as the top team in the OHL in 2007-2008. This should be an exciting series as both teams have already secured a berth in the national title tournament, the Memorial Cup, so they can focus solely on winning this series.

These two teams finished first and second overall in the regular season and their payoffs have been equally dominant. This excerpt from the article on the OHL website titled "Rogers OHL Championship Series kicks off on Wednesday" shows just how closely matched these two teams are: There isn’t a lot to separate these teams. The Rangers scored 289 goals in the regular season and allowed 174. The Bulls scored 280 and allowed 175. One of them will lose more playoff games in this series than they both have combined to this point. (Kitchener has lost one game in the playoffs...to the Greyhounds in the western conference finals...while Belleville has lost two games...one to Peterborough in the opening round the other to Oshawa in the eastern conference finals).

Around the CHL

As the semi-final series’ are coming to a close now, with five of the six series in the CHL decided, I thought I should write a little something on the subject. In the OHL, both conference finals went five games with the conference leaders of the regular season advancing to the OHL final. In fact, the conference finals consisted of the top two teams from each conference. These series went as expected, if a bit quicker then some would have thought, so I won’t spend any more time on this.

The story of the CHL playoffs so far has got to be the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. They have played three series so far and have played the minimum twelve games. Talk about a team getting on a roll when it matters. In the first round they swept the Val d’Or Foreurs; the second round was the Rimouski Oceanic that had the misfortune of facing the Huskies and dusted off their golf clubs after the fourth game; and in the semi-final round, the Huskies made quick work of the Saint John SeaDogs. They have a tough task in the QMJHL finals as they are up against the Gatineau Olympiques who have lost only two games this playoff year and has the top scorer in the playoffs in Claude Giroux. Can the Olympiques tame the Huskies or will the Huskies sweep their way to the Memorial Cup? We will have to wait until next week to find out.

Out in the west, they are seeing perhaps the best series of the playoffs so far as the Tri-City Americans and Spokane Chiefs are tied at two games each. Three of the four games have gone into overtime with two of them going into double overtime. There have been only nine goals scored in the series with all games being decided by two goals or less. The goaltenders have been stellar as Dustin Tokarski of the Chiefs has shutout the Americans in two games and Chet Pickard has one shutout. The Lethbridge Hurricanes have the luxury of watching this series unfold as they have already advanced to the finals by sweeping the Calgary Hitmen.

2008 OLA Sr B Lacrosse Season

With all my focus being on the Canadian Hockey League's playoffs, I almost forgot about the Major Series Lacrosse and the OLA Sr B lacrosse seasons are quickly approaching. The MSL season begins next month but the Sr B season starts this coming Sunday in Brooklin when the Norwood Nitro takes on the Brooklin Merchants. Game time is 4:00 PM at the Luther Vipond Arena in Brooklin. Next weekend the season really gets going as all six teams combine to play five games. The schedule can be found here.

Two More Shutouts on the Day

Bobby Orr made a brief return to Oshawa last Monday, or at least a trophy named in his honour did, and gave the Generals some inspiration. With the trophy at the GMC, the Generals were able to steal a win from Belleville in the OHL Eastern Conference final series. Belleville came back tonight and jumped all over Oshawa defeating them 11-0 at the Yardmen arena. Leading the Bulls offence was Matt Beleskey with a hat trick and an assist and Adam Perry with two powerplay goals and two assists. Twelve others had at least one point while Mike Murphy stopped 28 shots for the shutout.

I felt the Bulls played a very disciplined hockey game and did not allow Oshawa to sucker them into any foolish penalties. Belleville had just eight minutes on four penalties. Oshawa on the other hand, spent almost half the game in the penalty box with 29 minutes on 14 penalties. Belleville made the most of their chances as they scored six goals with the man advantage.

The Wayne Gretzky trophy was also awarded tonight. It went to the Kitchener Rangers as they shutout the Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds 5-0. The game was close heading into the final six minutes of the third but then the Greyhounds got into penalty trouble and allowed Kitchener to score three powerplay goals to put the game out of reach. The usual suspects are seen on the scoresheet for Kitchener with Matt Halischuk on top with two goals. Nazem Kadri had three assists, Justin Azevedo and Yannick Webber had two assists and Nick Spaling had one goal and one assist. Josh Unice was not tested much but was up to the task and stopped all 14 shots to record the third shutout of the day for Canadian hockey goaltenders.

With Kitchener heading to the OHL final, the Eastern Conference champion Belleville Bulls gets a berth in the Memorial Cup next month. Both teams are capable of winning so I expect a great series. I am looking forward to seeing the Rangers play on a bigger ice surface in Belleville too.

A Golden Shutout

Revenge is sweet for team USA in the 2008 IIHF World U18 Hockey Championship as they defeated Sweden 6-3 for the bronze medal. Sweden was the only team that beat USA in the preliminary round. Sure it wasn’t the medal they were hoping for upon entering this tournament, but they still have to be pleased with their performance nonetheless. They regrouped after their disappointing loss to Russia in the semi-final game to defeat the top team in Group B. USA was lead by Jeremy Morin and Robbie Czarnik who each netted two goals in the win.

The USA loss to Russia and Canada’s win over Sweden in the semi-finals led to the first ever U18 medal game match up between Russia and Canada. In the gold medal game Canada jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first period, added two more in the second, and finished the game with an 8-0 victory to win the gold medal. Jake Allen stopped all 29 shots he faced to earn the shutout while seven skaters scored a goal in front of him. Jordan Eberle led Canada in scoring with two goals and one assist. Cody Hodgson also had a three point performance with three assists

In other action, Germany defeated Finland 4-3 on a shorthanded goal with less than a minute to play in the game to earn fifth place overall. Belarus and Denmark have been relegated to the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championship Div I after they finished ninth and tenth respectively.

2008 Allan Cup

After a 3-2 loss to the Shawinigan Xtreme Bionest on opening day, the host Brantford Blast won their next four games to take the 2008 Allan Cup. En route to the cup victory, Brantford defeated the Bentley Generals 5-3, the Whitby Dunlops 7-2, the Dundas Real McCoys 3-2 in overtime, and the Bentley Generals in the Cup final. The 2009 tournament will be played in Steinbach Manitoba.

The Conference Finals

There will be no Memorial Cup repeat this year for the Vancouver Giants as they were defeated four games to two by the Spokane Chiefs in the last quarter final series to be decided in the CHL. Spokane will face the Tri-City Americans in the Western Conference final of the WHL while in the Eastern Conference final, the Calgary Hitmen will face the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

The Spokane Chiefs finished the 2008 WHL season with 107 points, outdone only by one team, their conference final opponents, the Tri-City Americans who had 108 points. This series has the feel of a seven gamer as the two teams battled each other tough all season. In the twelve games between the two teams, the Americans won seven of them to take the season series. The Americans also outscored the Chiefs by one goal in the season match ups (33-32) but the Chiefs shutout the Americans twice while scoring at least one goal in all twelve games. Three games went into overtime with two of them being decided by a shootout (Tri-City won all three of these games).

The Eastern Conference will also be a tight series as Lethbridge finished three points behind Calgary in the East Division. The six game season series was dominated by Lethbridge five games to one and they outscored Calgary 20-11 in those games. The last three meetings between the two teams were decided by one goal, all going in Lethbridge’s favour. Calgary was also shutout twice by Lethbridge so it would appear that the Hurricanes have the edge in this series.

Moving east into Ontario saw four quarter final series that really were not that close. The conference leaders in the regular season, the Belleville Bulls and the Kitchener Rangers, swept their series while the Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds won in five games and the Oshawa Generals won in six games. As a result, the Kitchener Rangers will face the Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds in the Western Conference final and the Belleville Bulls will face the Oshawa Generals in the Eastern Conference final.

During the season, Kitchener and the Soo met four times and other than a 5-1 Kitchener win in mid December, the games were closely fought affairs with the first game being decided in a shootout. The remaining two games were decided by two goals or less. The season series ended in a tie with Kitchener winning two games and the Greyhounds winning two games with the Rangers outscoring the Greyhounds 13-11. This conference final series does have the potential to go the distance but I feel that Kitchener is playing extremely well right now and has such a well balanced offensive attack that they will take the series before the seventh game. I was way off in my previous predictions so I will leave this one really general.

Unlike the western side of the OHL, the Belleville Bulls were clear winners of their season series with the Oshawa Generals, winning five of eight. Perhaps the most alarming stat from the regular season for a Generals fan is the dominance Belleville showed over Oshawa in the last half of the season. Oshawa was unable to defeat the Bulls in all four contests losing two of them by five or more goals. Those two games were a big reason why Belleville outscored Oshawa 37-28 in head-to-head match ups during the season. The two overtime games between the two went in the Bulls favour. Oshawa has picked up their game during the playoffs and might have found their steam during the last series with Niagara so they will not go easily for the Bulls. This series might come down to who wants it more and I get the feeling that Belleville will outlast the Gens for the series win in seven.

Finally, in the QMJHL, the Halifax Mooseheads are set to take on the Gatineau Olympiques in the one semi-final series while the top team in the regular season, the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, will take on the Saint John Sea Dogs. Halifax swept the two game season series with Gatineau while Rouyn-Noranda did the same to Saint John.

The conference finals will begin in Ontario tomorrow with both conferences in action. The WHL will get started in Calgary on Thursday while the QMJHL doesn’t start until Friday in Rouyn-Noranda.