The Presidents Cup tournament is Canada’s national championship for Senior ‘B’ box lacrosse. The national summer sport of Canada has been full-throttle since Sunday and continues to September 2, when a national champion will hoist the Presidents Cup. Follow along as we bring the games to you LIVE and FREE, as well as photos, videos and all the fun that surrounds this outstanding tradition.
Onondaga Redhawks – 9, Saskatoon Brewers – 7
This was a weird one. It was clear from the start that neither team had the legs or intensity that they started the tournament with. Saskatoon was coming in hungry for their first win of the tournament, and that extra motivation was apparent. Onondaga looked more content to just cruise, however. The Brewers wouldn’t be beaten by an Onondaga team by just going through the motions however, as the Brewers took the lead numerous times only to have the Redhawks claw their way back in. Getting through the middle was not there for Onondaga, who was much more content to shoot with their feet set from outside. Wongstadt was very capable in goal for the Brewers. Saskatoon had troubles of their own, however, with a major discrepancy between shots and shots on goal. Saskatoon led after one period, Onondaga after two, with both teams enjoying leads in the third. It came down to the last minute, with the Brewers getting six-on-five opportunities before the Redhawks scored an empty net goal to go up by two.
Oakville Titans – 8, Caughnawaga Indians – 4
A run as underdogs through the OLA finals to get to the club’s first-ever President’s Cup championship tournament has not been slowed in the slightest. Rebounding from an overtime loss last night to Nanaimo, the Oakville Titans did what they do best — they ran the floor. The Titans forced the Indians to play their game, as Oakville dared the big dogs to try to play run and gun with them. The result was a win for the Titans. One explanation would be the absence of players like Blaze Riorden and Vaughn Harris from Caughnawaga’s roster, presumably looking ahead to the playoffs. Oakville also has eyes on the championship hardware. We saw Jesse Legault stand on his head. Cree Blakely continues to lead the unlikely charge for Oakville’s offense, and likely will continue to do so as we head into playoffs!
Nanaimo Timbermen – 10, Capital Region Axemen – 4
The first period was absolutely outstanding. The Axemen came out and took the game right to the home team. One goal leads became ties, and the Axemen would go ahead again. The end of that first period, however, was the last of the gas in Capital Region’s tank. The week’s toll finally caught up, and from the start of the third it was all Timbermen. The beleaguered offense didn’t have much success getting past the Nanaimo defense led by Brad Mazzocato, nor did they have a solution for Dubenski in net when they were able to get shots off. Key Timbermen were missing from the lineup, and that wise move will pay dividends, as Nanaimo will get some rest in their legs that will surely be needed come tomorrow’s semi-final matchup.
St. Albert Miners – 10, Ladner Pioneers – 9
The Ladner Pioneers had nothing to lose going into this game. Nor did they really have anything to gain. No matter the implications, the Ladner Pioneers came out and played as hard as if this game were the gold medal match. Those efforts weren’t immediately rewarded, and a stiff tide of Miner goals quickly put the Pioneers down 6-2 in the first period. Relentless battling back and the assistance of Tom Johnson’s hat trick, the Pioneers were right back in it. In the third period we got back to being tied at eight, as well as at nine goals right around the six-minute mark. In the end it was the Miners who struck gold last, with their tenth goal coming with less than five minutes to play.
I would like to point out that in this last game of the round robin, the final goal that determined the win for St. Albert left the ENTIRE round robin to come down to the last 5 minutes. Had Ladner won, we would have seen very different seedings going into the semifinals. This is a testament to this tournament, these teams, and to the level of play in Senior ‘B’ lacrosse throughout Canada and the First Nations.
Well done, gentlemen. Can’t wait for tomorrow!
