August 2, 2007


NEWS FROM THE EAST

The dramatic race to the finish in the MLL ended with a bang – the 3 team race for 1st place went right down to the final week and when it was said and done, the defending Mann Cup Champs from Peterborough are league champs once again. The surprising Barrie Lakeshores went into the last week of the season with a slim 1 point lead over 2nd place Peterborough and were on the verge of pulling off one of the biggest surprises in years but the Barrie brigade could not hang on as they lost their final 2 games of the season, settling for a 2nd place finish. The big dog on the porch is the juggernaught from Peterborough – the Lakers have clinched the league title with a record of 13-3-1 good for 27 points with 1 game left to play against St.Regis. The Lakers had a blip on the radar few weeks back suffering a couple losses but with all that mouthwatering talent up in cottage country, it was inevitable that they would finish up strong and take the boots to rest of the teams. Despite playing without injured sniper Tracey Kelusky down the stretch – the Lakers other big guns John Grant, Dan Carey, Scott Evans, Jason Clark, Brad Self and company picked up the slack winning both of their games last week, thus, proving that they are the team to beat in the eastern playoffs. Peterborough started the week with a big home game against 1st place Barrie on July 19th and in front of a monster home crowd of 3300, the Lakers won 13-8 in convincing fashion. Colorado Mammoth sniper Dan Carey was the star of the night scoring 5 goals for the boys from Kawartha Lake while Jason Clark, Brad Self and Matt Giles each had 4 point outings. Transition phenom Mark “ orange shoes “ Steenhuis had a hat-trick in a losing cause for Barrie who relinquished 1st place to Peterborough following the loss. With the Lakers now in sole possession of 1st the most hyped game of the year took place 3 nights later in Brampton as the 3rd place Excelsiors had a shot to overtake Barrie for 2nd and tie Peterborough in points with 25. The heavyweight tilt lived up to its billing as the home town Excelsiors lost a nail biter 10-8, thus finishing the year in 3rd place. Dan Carey once again led the way for the Lakers with a 3 goal, 2 assist performance while scoring sensation and former Adanac John Grant chipped in with 2 goals and 3 assists. Toronto Rock floor general Josh Sanderson had a 7 point night in a losing cause while his Rock teammates Aaron Wilson and Blaine Manning each had 2 goal games. Brampton finishes the year with a somewhat disappointing 11-6-1 record and their road to the Mann Cup just got longer as they did not get the highly sought after bye in the 1st round of the playoffs since only the top 2 clubs ( ie. Peterborough and Barrie) get a ticket directly to the semi-finals.

The turtle derby for the last playoff spot came down to the underachieving Brooklin Redmen and the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks. Going into last week Kitchener was in last spot, one point behind Brooklin and needed a win at home against Brampton to climb out of the basement and overtake the Redmen for the final playoff spot. The Kodiaks pulled off the biggest upsets of the year defeating the heavily favored Excelsiors 12-6 behind Joel Wilson’s hat-trick and a 4 point night from Kasey Beirnes. Pressure was now on Brooklin to win its last game of the year or else say bye bye to a post-season birth. In a must win game at home, the Redmen faced Brampton who were coming off a shocking loss in Kitchener and it just wasn’t too be for Brooklin this season as they lost a thriller 9-8 ending their playoff dreams. Josh Sanderson led the Excelsiors with 7 points while the Redmen who were playing without sharpshooters Gavin Prout and Jeff Zywicki were led by Shawn William’s 6 point outburst. Following the loss, General Manager Barry Johnson and Head Coach Ian McGough resigned from the club. On a positive note, former Adanac Shawn Williams won the scoring title with 99 points. The 1st round playoff matches are as follows: Brampton takes on Kitchener-Waterloo while St.Regis battles Six Nations.

TONIGHTS OPPONENT – BURNABY LAKERS

Tonight is game 2 of the WLA semi-finals series between the Burnaby Lakers and Coquitlam Adanacs in what should be an outstanding series between two quality teams. Second place Burnaby had a solid year as Head Coach Russ Heard’s up tempo, run and gun style of play proved to be very successful. The Lakers are led by the high scoring talented trio of Kevin Olson, Cam Sedgewick and Spencer Martin, each of whom had career years finishing 4th, 5th and 6th in league scoring respectively. The Adanacs will look to former NLL MVP and scoring machine Colin Doyle to lead the the goal parade along with veteran snipers Curt Malawsky and Jason Wulder. It’s the run and gun, up tempo, speed game of the Lakers versus the experience, savvy and depth of the Adanacs – this series should be a lot of fun to watch.

2 MINUTES IN THE BOX WITH TRENT SMALLEY

Most memorable moment in your career – Being traded to the Adanacs
In my spare time I like to – workout and home renovations
Favorite midnight snack - Tacos
Favorite TV show – Dateline “to catch a predator”
Hardest hitter in the game today – Steve McKinlay
Funniest teammate you ever had – Brad MacDonald
Favorite vacation spot – Mexico
Best goalie in lacrosse today – Anthony Cosmo
Favorite sport besides lacrosse – Bocce Ball, Smashball
CD in your car – FM Radio
Biggest influence in your lacrosse career – Darren Fridge, Rod Jensen
Best trash talker – Curt Malawsky
Favorite Rock Band – I listen to the radio
Most talented offensive player in the game today – John Grant Jr.
Favorite movie of all-time - Rudy
Pre-game meal – Pasta and chicken
Your most overused saying – Rhubarb

I’M OUT……….