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BEAT THIS!
Remember when it was presentation day at school and the person who went in front of you knocked it out of the park, leaving you scrambling to somehow surpass your predecessor? Needless to say 2009 set the bar pretty high for the upcoming season, so I thought I’d take a look back at some of last year’s highlights and you as readers can decide whether or not they will be matched or exceeded.
*BIGGER IS BETTER*
In a bid to make Junior A leagues across Canada more competitive, and better prepare its players for their next steps in lacrosse, the Canadian Lacrosse Association made the move to increase net size to 4 foot 6 inches which is the same size as the WLA. As is the case with changes of any sort, the transition to the new size was varied; goalies with hockey experience seemed to have the benefit of lateral movement on their side, and offensive powerhouses certainly made use of the extra few inches. There were only a handful of players who seemed to have trouble with the adjustment, but everyone agreed the size increase was in everyone’s best interest for those who wanted to advance their lacrosse career.
*RESURRECTION SUNDAY*
It was ‘only’ pre-season, and it was a win by ‘only’ one goal; but as sports go- one goal is all it takes. For the Nanaimo Junior Timbermen it was that coveted one and only goal that got them into team history books, as they edged the Shamrocks 10-9 on Easter Sunday at Juan De Fuca Arena. In the clubs ten year history they had never taken a game off their Island rival, so pre-season or not this game had been a long time coming and was an ego booster for the T-Men. Great games are made better by great rivalries, and it’s hard to find a matchup with more emotion than a good ol’ fashioned Island tilt.
*95% SUCCESS RATE*
The BCJALL belonged to the Burnaby Lakers for quite some time in the early millennium, until the Victoria Shamrocks claimed the league title in 2008 giving hope to the other teams in BC and showing that hard work indeed pays off in the end. Coquitlam took it there, and then some in 2009 taking no prisoners except for one solitary slip-up mid season. Coquitlam had their components firing on all cylinders throughout the season, making it extremely difficult for teams to outplay them. The triple threat of a unified offense, defense, and goaltending was enough to result in a league championship and booked the team a trip to the Minto Cup in Brampton. An interesting fact about the Adanacs only loss of the season, it was the one game where (at the time) head coach Dan Perreault was not behind the bench.
*DAVID VS GOLIATH IN LADNER*
Equally as impressive as the Adanacs 20-1 season, was the fact middle-of-the-pack Delta was the only team to put them in the loss column. Tied after the first period of play on June 6th, the Islanders would push five goals past Dan Lewis in the second to jump ahead; in the final twenty minutes Delta scored three unanswered goals to end the game at a score of 10-3. Of the Islanders eight wins last season it would be safe to assume this game was the front-runner, and is the highlight topic of conversation for Delta fans.
*BEST OF THE BEST*
For the first time in league history the graduating players in the BCJALL were given the opportunity to showcase their skills in the Prospects Game held on Canada Day weekend.
Scouts and representatives from WLA and NLL teams were among the people in the stands taking in a game of our nation’s national summer sport, and the day went off without a hitch.
From start to finish the game was a testimony of the all-around skill the graduating players in the league had, with the final result being just a one goal difference.
Everyone involved from league coaches and executives, to the spectators, and especially the players themselves, categorized the event as a complete success and it should be repeated for years to come.
According the Langley Thunder website, the 2010 Prospects game is scheduled for July 1st at the Langley Events Centre.
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Burnaby player Cam Appels makes a diving shot hoping to get by his regular season team mate Ray Hodgkinson who stands between the pipes |
Robert Church |
*ROOKIE REDEMPTION*
Things that happen once in a blue-moon tend to highlight events to their maximum capacity.
For example, the last time a rookie took the scoring race was way back in 1974 when Kevin Alexander scored 159 points in his first season with the Junior ‘A’Shamrocks.
Thirty five years seemed like enough of a gap, and it was Adanac Robert Church who would fill it.
Check out these credentials: 19 games, 45 goals, 62 helpers, for 107 total points; league MVP, top scorer, rookie of the year, most game star points, league leader for power play goals, and league leader for shot average (30.20%). Not bad for a kid who in his own words “didn’t even expect to make the team”.
Church is currently honing his skills and tearing up the turf for Drexel, and will be back to defend his title for Coquitlam as soon as his NCAA season is over.
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*THUNDER, BUT NO LIGHTNING*
Surrey, then South Fraser, and finally the Langley Thunder. After a strong run at the BC title in 2005, the Stickmen lost sixteen players and took quite the plunge in the standings. 2009 was the season the Stickmen organization got the go-ahead from the league governors to pick up and ship out to Langley, with a few things in their sights. Aesthetically, the brand new 5,000 seat capacity Langley Events Centre would be their brand new home, a big step up from the North Surrey Rec Centre where they previously resided.
More important than their new digs, was the prospect of players to fill that home. Relocation bestowed a change in ‘territory’ for the newly founded Thunder, from which to claim potential talent. With their Intermediate team having great success with their new fan base in Abbotsford, the Thunder are hoping the love from the Valley spreads far and fast. Ending the season with a rough 1-19-1 record, the Thunder know more than anyone they are in the phases of rebuilding their organization, and are counting on the Intermediate program as well as the midget draft to get the club back into contention.
*NEW PLAYOFF FORMAT*
Ahhhh, playoffs. It doesn’t get much better than post-season in the BCJALL; anything can happen- Cinderella stories can unfold, every game has increasing emotion, and rivalries peak at very entertaining levels. With the old format there were concerns over the top two teams who receive a bye getting too much time off, the total time the playoffs took, etc.
In a unanimous motion passed before the 2009 season, the league’s governors and presidents agreed on a new playoff format that would work like so: The first round of playoffs (teams placed 3rd through 6th in the regular season) would be a best of three series, when the first and second place teams who received a bye join in for the second round, their series would be a best of five, leaving the championship battle to be an exciting best of seven games. When all was said and done at the end of ’09, reaction was mixed. Some teams felt three games weren’t enough to prove themselves, while some organizations looked towards the financial end of things and felt the new format resulted in more revenue. Both the Rocky Mountain and Ontario Lacrosse Leagues continued with a best of seven playoff format for all post season series'; depending on what they think of the new layout on the west coast, it may prompt the other leagues to consider straying from tradition and trying a new format as well.
Submitted by Jen Mutas
League Reporter
jmutas@bcjunioralacrosse.com
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Around The League With Jen - Archives
2010 Articles
July 28, 2010 - (Finals—What To Expect)
July 16, 2010 - (Round Two—What To Expect)
July 10, 2010 - (Playoffs—What To Expect)
June 24, 2010 - (Prospects Game)
April 30, 2010 - (Beat This)
April 19, 2010 - (New Coaches A'Plenty)
2009 Articles
July 30, 2009 - (Getting to the Good Stuff Faster)
July 1, 2009 - (Prospects Success)
May 13, 2009 - (National Rankings)
April 26, 2009 - (Shamrocks pluck two netminders from Ontario)
February 9, 2009 - (2009 Midget Draft Report)
2008 Articles
August 23, 2008 - (Fans Have Say)
June 9, 2008 - (Mid Season)
May 2008 - (Month One)
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