After an incredible season of lacrosse, the Canadian Lacrosse League wrapped up its 2013 campaign over the weekend with the Iroquois Ironmen winning the Creator’s Cup. Iroquois struggled all season but went on a tear in the last two weeks winning five straight games to become this year’s champions.
Until two weeks ago the Ironmen had only won two games all year but they managed to squeak into the playoffs by closing off their regular season with wins over the Brampton Inferno and Durham TurfDogs. From there the Ironmen went of to beat the Ohsweken Demons in the quarter finals and then they knocked off the number one ranked Niagara Lock Monsters in the semis. Iroquois took the momentum from the four game win streak and used it to take out the Toronto Shooting Stars in the finals.
Iroquois led the game from start to finish and were up 5-0 at the halfway point of the opening frame. Toronto looked like they were going to wake up near the end of the first as they scored twice in the last thirty seconds but the Ironmen would answer back with three straight goals to open up the second quarter.
Toronto had goalie trouble early on and they would end up swapping netminders four times in the first half. Goaltending wasn’t the only problem for Toronto though; they really struggled to find the back of the net in the first thirty minutes. Jake Lazore was solid in the net for Iroquois but Toronto made him look a lot better by shooting most of their shots right at him.
After being down 12-5 at halftime the Shooting Stars came alive in the second halfway. They outscored the Ironmen 6-2 and shut them out completely in the fourth but it was too little too late and the Ironmen would go on to win this one 14-11.
Travis Hill led the way for Iroquois with 3 goals and 1 assists and was named the Creator’s Cup MVP. Elijah Printup and Torrey VanEvery each had 2 goals and 2 assists for the Ironmen while Josh Johnson played an incredible game while added 2 goals and 4 assists. Johnson has 6 points (4g 2a) in Iroquois’ Final Four victory over Niagara and played a huge role in his team’s recent success.
Toronto was led by their captain Josh Wasson who had 1 goal and 4 assists in the losing effort while Aaron Grayson, Mack O’Brien, Connor Daly and Josh Ruys each had two goals while Daly and Ruys also chipped in with one assist apiece.
This is the second year of the Canadian Lacrosse League’s existence and it was another successful one. As the season went on the crowds got bigger and the lacrosse got better too; fans are already eagerly awaiting next season. In the meantime, fans can listen to several broadcasts from the 2013 season (including the Final Four games as well as the Creator’s Cup championship) by following the radio link at the top of the In Lacrosse We Trust homepage.
