Just four teams remain active in Canadian Senior A lacrosse action, as the Western Lacrosse Association (WLA) and Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) finals are both underway.
The Maple Ridge Burrards will host Game 2 of the WLA finals Friday, after falling 9-5 in the series opener to the Victoria Shamrocks.
A pair of former Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks have led Victoria offensively during their playoff run. After spending the early days of summer in Ontario with the Kodiaks, Dhane Smith has excelled out west and currently leads the Shamrocks in playoff scoring with 24 points (4 G, 20 A). Four-year Shamrocks veteran Corey Small, who like Smith landed in Victoria by way of Kitchener-Waterloo, sits second in playoff scoring (14 G, 7 A). Success for Small in this series will prove monumental, as it was during the 2013 WLA finals that the lefty forward suffered a knee injury that would sideline him during Victoria’s Mann Cup run and the entire NLL season.
A Shamrocks defense that allowed a league-fewest 124 goals during the regular season will look to continue their staunch defensive play in front of rookie netminder Cody Hagerdon. After Matt Flindell held ranks as starting netminder throughout the year, Hagerdon has racked up three wins during the postseason including a 16-save performance versus Maple Ridge in Game One.
Since returning to the lineup August 14th, Curtis Dickson has provided a boost to an already potent Maple Ridge offense posting nine points (4 G, 5 A) in five games.
The all-world sniper put forth an out-of-character performance in the Burrards’ Game One loss to Victoria, being held to just one goal while racking up 17 penalty minutes including a late game slashing major.
Dickson will look to spark the Maple Ridge offense along with Riley Loewen and Jarret Davis. Also looking to make his mark is Ben McIntosh, the potential number one pick in the 2014 NLL Entry Draft who will hope to showcase his talents on the grand stage.
The MSL finals will resume Monday, August 25 at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena with the Six Nations Chiefs holding a 2-1 series lead over the Peterborough Lakers.
Despite limited appearances in the Chiefs lineup throughout the 2014 season, Colin Doyle has had a pair of impressive performances during the finals. Doyle notched three points (1 G, 2 A) in Game 3, including one goal and one assist in the final five minutes to put the game out of reach. Joining Doyle in what is a lethal left side are Jeff Shattler and Cody Jamieson who sit first and second in Six Nations playoff scoring, respectively.
The Lakers will look for dominating performances from John Grant Jr. and recently-crowned MSL MVP Mark Steenhuis. Grant, who will suit up in the Major League Lacrosse Finals this weekend as a member of the Denver Outlaws, had his lowest scoring game of the playoffs in Peterborough’s Game 3 loss registering just one goal. After Steenhuis was held pointless in a Game 2 loss, the first such occurrence of his illustrious 2014 MSL campaign, the veteran was able to rebound in Game 3 with two goals.
Check back with In Lacrosse We Trust for further Senior A coverage leading up to the 2014 Mann Cup.
