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2015 Mann Cup – Greatness Starts Tonight!

The 2015 Mann Cup kicks off tonight up in Canada, and this best-of-seven box lacrosse final series promises to be exciting. It’s always exciting! But this year, it’s also an awesome precursor to the 2015 World Indoor Lacrosse Championships, so it’s kind of a double bonus. Nobody needs an excuse to watch the 2015 Mann Cup, but if you were looking for one, now you have it.

This year, the Peterborough Lakers represent Major Series Lacrosse and the East, while the Victoria Shamrocks are the Western Lacrosse Association champs and representatives from the West. The Mann Cup has been going on since 1932, with the Lakers winning 8, and the Shamrocks taking home 5.

Recently, the Lakers have taken the Mann in 2004, 2006, 2007,  2010, and 2012. Victoria last won in 2005 and 2003. While the Six Nations Chiefs won in 2013 and 2014, they had to beat Victoria both times to do it. Both series ended in a 4-2 count in favor of the Chiefs.

2015 Mann Cup Preview

The past is the past though, and while Victoria has been strong in the past, they are looking downright invincible right now. They have swept through the playoffs, won the WLA final series 4-0, and haven’t dropped a game yet. That’s right, they’re on the tail end of an undefeated playoff run. Will it continue against Peterborough? That’s doubtful to be honest, but Victoria definitely has the horses to run away with games.

First you have to mention Aaron Bold, who has been superb in net for Victoria. He gives his defense confidence, and clearly wants to win that Cup with the Shamrocks. Guys like Steve Priolo, Rory Smith, and Greg Harnett give the defense teeth, and the scary thing is that none of them played for Victoria because of work commitments in their last win over New Westminster. So there’s that. Depth and talent, and lots of it.

On the other end of the floor, the depth only continues, and this team’s potential scoring punch is unreal. Rhys Duch, Dan Dawson, Daryl Veltman, Jesse King, Corey Small, and Corey Conway can all put up big numbers on any night. Karsen Leung and Scott Ranger can’t be overlooked either, and bring additional scoring potential to the team. It’s a good, balanced group, certainly capable of winning the 2015 Mann Cup.

When you look at Peterborough’s offense, it’s no less impressive. Shawn Evans, Curtis Dickson, and Adam Jones have been having monster playoff runs. Corey Vitarelli, Turner Evans, Scott Evans, and Chad Culp are all producing consistently as well, and this is helping to fuel the offensive powerhouse. Even the transition and D guys get into the scoring at times.

Speaking of defense, the Lakers are big and tough. Matt Vinc in goal, Brock Sorenson, Mike Kirk, Mark Farthing, Robert Hope, Wenster Green, and Stephen Hoar bring size and experience to the floor. You have multiple Team Canada members, one Iroquois National on the team, and plenty of muscle and team first play. When an American college star like Chad Tutton plays D, you know the O is legit, but make no mistake about it, Tutton is another strong and tough defender to watch for the Lakers!

How To Watch – 2015 Mann Cup

The games are being played out West in BC this year, so if you can’t make it out there yourself, you CAN watch the games via a live webcast.

Here is a link to the webcasts: https://www.wlalacrosse.com/webcasts/

Each game costs $9.99 Canadian. Usually I won’t pay for webcasts, but in this case, I will actually make an exception!

And here is the game schedule for the 2015 Mann Cup!

2015 mann cup schedule

Mann Cup Facts

The Cup was donated in 1910. It started out as a “challenge” trophy, but it soon became the national championship trophy for box lacrosse.

The Cup is made out of gold, and is extremely valuable in a purely material sense. The historical value of the Cup makes it even more valuable. It has been stolen (and eventually recovered) and a replica given to teams for celebration purposes was once destroyed. The actual Cup is kept in the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame.