Two coaches were suspended, multiple other players were drug tested and one sprinkler system was abused by a frustrated goalkeeper while his counterpart was thrown into action just in time to salvage the series. The Mann Cup offered Canadian lacrosse fans countless story lines and subplots, but unfortunately the Tom Clancy-esque drama was beginning to overshadow what, surprisingly, was a stellar lacrosse series.
Coming into the Mann Cup, few gave the Langley Thunder a second look matched against a talented Peterborough Lakers roster. However, Langley came from behind in the first two games to beat Peterborough by one goal each time, though it took overtime in the second game to do it. Game three saw Langley jump out as well, but eight minutes in Tyler Carlson was replaced for Mike Thompson who didn’t even dress for games one or two. Thompson proceeded to shut down the Langley attack as he led the Lakers to three straight wins, including allowing just five goals in game five to give the home side a chance to clinch.
As mentioned here on Friday, both head coaches (Peterborough’s Jamie Batley and Langley’s Rod Jensen) were suspended for the duration of the Mann Cup for obstructing CLA drug testing procedures. However, prior to Saturday’s game six match, the CLA posted a press release on their website stating that each coach had submitted a report in response to their suspensions. CLA President Joey Harris reviewed each report and reinstated their coaching duties. The release continued to say that a full disciplinary hearing would be conducted following the Mann Cup and that “the suspensions have not been reduced, rather they are staying effective immediately until a full discipline review has been completed.” Bottom line: both teams would have their coaches for game six.
In a tight series the goals scored in the opening minutes of a game, especially a potentially deciding game, can hold a ton of weight. In the first five minutes Shayne Jackson, Kyle Belton and Garrett Billings pushed the Thunder ahead to an early 3-0 lead. After killing off a high sticking penalty, Langley found themselves down again. This time John Grant Jr used his superior outside shot to get the Lakers on the board. Matt Leveque and Lewis Ratcliff (on the powerplay no less) would match those two goals, however, in a span of forty-one seconds. Grant would score his second of the night with twenty seconds to go, a goal that would re-energize the Lakers and their crowd of 3,700+ as they drew closer to trail 5-3 after one.
In Langley’s losses they were vulnerable to the big runs Peterborough could go on. In the first number of games it even caused coach Jensen to turn to Steve Fryer, if only for a shift or two, to settle down Brodie MacDonald. The late Grant goal in the first gave Peterborough the kick start they needed to head into the second. In period two on Friday night, the Lakers hammered the Thunder with a seven goal run. On Saturday, the Thunder improved their period, but sadly it was just by one goal. For the second straight game, Peterborough’s Mike Thompson blanked Langley and turned a 5-3 deficit into a 9-5 lead heading into the final period.
In the third Tracey Kelusky and Grant kept things going with two goals to cap a nine goal run for Peterborough. Ratcliff and Leveque would get those two back to pull within four, but a high sticking penalty to Brett Mydske led to Grant’s hat trick goal, again off an outside shot. Cory Vitarelli and Andrew Suitor kept things rolling scoring the thirteen and fourteenth goal for Peterborough with over six minutes to go. The fans began to sense the series coming to an end with Peterborough doubling up the Thunder. Langley has hung in games they had no business being in all season and all series long, and this was no exception as Ratcliff capped his hat-trick letting Canadians know the Thunder wouldn’t go quietly.
When Peterborough won the next faceoff, they simply ran down the clock and held on to win game six and hoist the Mann Cup. For the first time in the series, Langley outshot the Lakers 46-43. Mike Thompson’s thirty-eight saves earned him not just player of the game honours, but also the Mann Cup MVP honour. Garrett Billings led the series in scoring with thirty-two points (seven goals) with Shawn Evans finishing second with thirty-one and John Grant Jr with thirty. Remember, this was the same John Grant who left game two with a back injury that required him to go straight to hospital.
The sad part about the Mann Cup’s completion, is the fact that all the side stories overshadowed what truly was a series of six incredible lacrosse games. When it counted, however, Peterborough was able to control their emotions, and simply focus on winning. After the grinding WLA series against Coquitlam (and possibly the time change) it simply appeared Langley ran out of gas in the final two games. How much of that had to do with Peterborough winning, and how much had to do with playing without Rod Jensen at the helm, we’ll never know. But at the end of the day, Langley proved they deserved to be in the Mann Cup, and it will not be their last opportunity.
The other sad part is simply that the major box lacrosse season is over until January when CLax and the NLL get started. The NLL combine and draft take place later this month, but in terms of on floor play, this is it. Congratulations to the Peterborough Lakers, many of whom become multiple champions with MLL and NLL trophies to add to the mantle. Many of whom may have played their final game as a summer pro. It’s another tragic loss, but what better way to go out than on top?
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