NEWS FROM THE EAST

Well after 3 months of an extremely exciting season in the MSL – the two remaining dogs on the porch are the defending Mann Cup Champs, Peterborough Lakers and the famed Brampton Excelsiors – these giants will slug it out in a best of 7 series beginning Thursday, August 16th in Peterborough for the right to board a plane at Pearson International and fly out west to face the WLA winner in the 2007 Mann Cup Championship. Most lacrosse fans picked a Brampton vs. Peterborough finals at the back in May – both clubs are stacked with primetime players – some of the very best on the planet – these ridiculously sick rosters are the envy of every GM in the NLL. Both Brampton and Peterborough had relatively easy paths to get to the finals. The 3rd place Excelsiors advanced to the finals in stunning fashion as they swept the 2nd place Barrie Lakeshores in four straight games. This series was expected to go the distance – Barrie with their abundance of talented young guns in the likes of Sean Greehalgh, Mark Steenhuis, Chad Culp and Luke Wiles had home floor advantage and were picked by many to face the Peterborough Lakers in the MSL finals. But it just wasn’t too be for the blue, red and white brigade from Barrie as the Brampton squad played 4 clinical, masterful games for the series win. Led by the outstanding 1-2 punch of Anthony Cosmo and Brandon Miller, the Excelsiors held the Barrie attack to under 8 goals a game in each of the 4 games. Brampton’s depth really came to light in this series as it was not the typical Josh Sanderson and Aaron Wilson show night in and night out. Offensively it was unsung hero Jeff Shattler leading the way scoring 8 goals in the series en route to being named series MVP. After surprisingly winning games 1 and 2 on the road in Barrie, games 3 and 4 were back in Brampton and the Excelsiors did not take their foot off the gas as they continued where they left off. Game 3 was a barnburner as it went right down to the last minute with Cam Woods scoring an empty netter to seal a 10-8 thrilling victory. All-world defender Brodie Merrill led the way offensively with a 3 goal, 2 assist night while Blaine Manning and John Harasym chipped in with 2 goals apiece. Game 4 was a tight checking, low scoring affair as Brandon Miller was a human vacuum cleaner in the Brampton cage letting only 5 go by in a 9-5 series clinching win. Calgary Roughneck rookie Jeff Shattler bulged the twine 4 times while Blaine Manning and Josh Sanderson had 5 and 4 point outings respectively. Brampton’s dominant series win over Barrie sets up a showdown against the Peterborough Lakers who dispatched John Tavares and the St. Regis Indians in 5 games – the defending Canadian champs were just too deep and too powerful for the talented Cornwall based team. With a 3 games to 1 series lead, Peterborough issued the knockout punch on home floor in game 5 with a 15-5 trouncing and a date with Brampton for the 5th year in a row. Two former Adanacs led the scoring for the Lakers as the human highlight feel reel John Grant had a goal and 5 assists and Mr. Everything Tracey Kelusky chipped in with a pair of goals. Pat O’Toole was magnificent between the pipes and was named series MVP. So now the table is set as Peterborough faces their arch rivals from Brampton – strap on your helmets cause this series is gonna be a doozy. Both squads are stacked to say the least – you’ve got Josh Sanderson, Blaine Manning, Brodie Merrill, Dan Teat, Aaron Wilson, Cam Woods, Mike Hominuck, Jeff Shattler and Anthony Cosmo in the Brampton corner while in the Peterborough room you’ve got the likes of John Grant, Tracey Kelusky, Scott Evans, Dan Carey, Jason Clark, Jason Crosbie, Ryan Cousins, Scott Self and Pat O’Toole – pick your poison. This series is pretty much a toss up and a pick em – but when it’s all said and done I see Brampton pulling off the upset in 7 games and representing the east in this year’s Mann Cup.

COQUITLAM VS NEW WESTMINSTER

The WLA Championship showdown between the Bellies and Adanacs should be a dandy – we’ve got a New West team who were top dogs wire to wire this season playing a Coquitlam club that is peeking and gelling at the most opportune time of the year. Game 1 between these arch rivals took place on Thursday night on the wooden floor at Queens Park and it was the Adanacs striking first blood with a mammoth 15-5 road win. The leading scorer of the this year’s playoffs, Colin Doyle once again had a gargantuan night with 2 goal and 7 assist performance while Chris Levis was a monster in the cage for a 4th straight game stopping 41 of 45 shots. Andy Secore, Peter Veltman, Daryl Veltman and Jason Wulder each chipped in with a pair of goals as the A’s hope to make it 5 straight playoff wins with a W tonight. If game 1 is any indication – this series will have plenty of fireworks and excitement – fans are in for a real treat.

2 MINUTES IN THE BOX WITH CHRIS LEVIS

Most memorable moment in your lacrosse career – Beating out Orangeville 17-2 in Game 4 in the 97 playoffs
In my spare time I like to – fish, train, read and play squash
Favorite midnight snack – whatever is in the fridge
Hardest hitter in the game today – Scott Whitley
Funniest teammate you ever had – John Rosa
Pre-game meal – chicken and potatoes
Favorite sport besides lacrosse – squash right now and hockey in the winter
CD in your car – Best of Pearl Jam
Biggest influence in my lacrosse career – my pops
Best trash talker – John Grant Jr.
Favorite road arena in the NLL – Toronto
Ugliest jersey in the NLL - Buffalo

I’M OUT……..