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Six Nations Chiefs vs Victoria Shamrocks 2014 Mann Cup box lacrosse Credit: Vintage Lax
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Will the Six Nations Chiefs Win the 2014 Mann Cup Tonight?

Could the win it all tonight? They surely have a chance!

The Six Nations Chiefs are leading the 2014 Mann Cup series over the Victoria Shamrocks 3-2. All games are being played in the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena in Six Nations, giving the home advantage to the Chiefs.

Six Nations Chiefs vs Victoria Shamrocks 2014 Mann Cup box lacrosse Credit: Darryl Smart

In Game One, the Chiefs were able to get the jump on the Rocks 7-4. Although Victoria scored the only two goals in the third, the strong first and second periods gave the Chiefs the edge they needed to grasp the win!

Game Two saw a bit of a role reversal as the Shamrocks were able to come out victorious with an OT sudden victory win. Colin Dolye and Corey Small both found the net in the first OT period before Chris Wardle buried the OT dagger to tie the series with the 6-5 victory.

Monday night saw another similar tale. The game went to overtime again, this time the captain Scott Ranger pulled out his first goal in the Mann Cup as the only one to land in the entire 10 minute OT giving the Shamrocks a 2-1 game lead over Six Nations.

Tuesday, the tables turned again. With 4 goals, Cody Jamieson led the Chiefs to a 12-6 win. Scoring game from all over the barn and the third period was littered with time served. The series was once again knotted up and momentum for the Chiefs was rolling steady.

Game 5 road in on the same thunder as Game 4, in which the Chiefs were able to dominate the game from beginning to end. The Chiefs got an early 4-1 lead of the Rocks and were able to hold strong throughout the game.

Victoria’s 23 minutes in the bin as opposed to the 13 minutes from Six Nations had to be a huge factor when it came to the alck of offensive production from the Shamrocks.

Six Nations Chiefs vs Victoria Shamrocks 2014 Mann Cup box lacrosse Credit: Vintage Lax

Jeff Shattler was the man of the night for the Chiefs as he was in on 6 out of 8 Six Nations goals, scoring two of them himself! Rhys Duch filled a similar role for Victoria as he was in on 4 of 6 the Shamrocks goals.

Game 5 Gallery

Tonight’s Notes

Duchee is going to be heavily relied on, along with a pretty quite Dhane Smith, to bring Victoria back in to contention. Dhane scored the first tally in Game 5, but due to the shutdown D of his cousin, Billy Dee Smith, and company the Victoria offense has remained less productive than expected. We are going to see war on the floor tonight, that’s a promise.

I feel strongly about the talent of Brandon Miller in net for Six Nations, he’s been solid through the entire series so far.

Six Nations Chiefs vs Victoria Shamrocks 2014 Mann Cup box lacrosse Credit: Vintage Lax

After stopping 183 shots as the only Six Nations keeper to see time, he’s posting around .84 for a save percentage and has made some incredibly athletic saves.

The consistency in cage might just be that little boost that the Chiefs need tonight.

The shot that ended Flindell's series, ball is the blur in front of his face.
The shot that ended Flindell’s series, ball is the blur in front of his face.

Unfortunately Matt Flindell is out for the rest of series as he suffered a head injury on Tuesday, which called upon Cody Hagedorn to step in and fill the void for Victoria.

The young buck is going to have to play extremely poised in order to slow down the freight train that is Six Nation’s offense.

Six Nations Chiefs vs Victoria Shamrocks 2014 Mann Cup box lacrosse Credit: Vintage Lax

Hagedorn was 37 of 45 in Game 5, which is solid but needs to be improved upon in this crucial must-win game for Victoria.

Victoria’s penalty box needs to stay clear, plain and simple. If they don’t come out swinging early, we can all follow the trend of what happens when the Chiefs dominate early. If they let Six Nations seize the game right away and run away with a few goal lead, you can be sure it will be nearly impossible to catch them.

The Chiefs can look to Miller tonight to come up strong again. I expect he will serve as the backbone of the Chiefs’ defense as they fight to win one of the next three game to become the 2014 Mann Cup Champions!

Jamieson, Doyle and Shattler have a big job to finish tonight if they want to keep the cup in Six Nations, don’t be surprised to see Stephen Keogh net a few himself.

Game 6 is set for 8pm tonight and can be watched live on WebcastSports.net for only $10!

Follow Blue Collar Lax on Twitter for in-game updates if you can’t watch it live!

Photo Credit: Tim Prothero/Vintage LaxDarryl Smart/SN Chiefs