It's becoming an annual rite of passage in Alberta Junior A Lacrosse. For the fifth straight season the Okotoks Jr.
It's becoming an annual rite of passage in Alberta Junior A Lacrosse.
For the fifth straight season the Okotoks Jr. A Raiders and Calgary Mountaineers will lock horns with the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League championship and a spot in the Minto Cup on the line.
“It's one of the biggest rivalries in Alberta sports,” said Raiders attackman Kade McCormick, from High River. “I wouldn't take anything away from this rivalry, it's awesome.
“There were teams competing that were right behind, but with them winning the league it's almost expected.”
Okotoks booked its ticket to the final in dramatic fashion.
Carrying a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five semifinal into Friday's Game 3 in the Paris of the Prairies, the Raiders held off a late surge from the Saskatchewan SWAT to hold on for a 17-15 victory in overtime. Tristan Rai's tally with just over 30 seconds remaining sealed the win.
“They fought hard and it was a pretty rough game. It took a lot of heart to get through, but we stuck together as a team and were able to get out of it,” McCormick said. “Saskatchewan really put us to the test and we proved to ourselves that we can compete and play to the last minute.”
The semifinal triumph advanced Okotoks to its eighth straight league championship series.
Over the past five seasons the Mounties and Raiders have alternated titles each season with Okotoks coming away with the 2011, 2013 and 2015 titles and Calgary earning the belt in both 2012 and 2014.
There was little to choose in between the sides in the regular season.
Calgary won three of five meetings in which four of the contests were decided by two goals or less.
The Mounties earned the number-one seed with an 18-2 record, three points ahead of Okotoks. Offensively, the teams were separated by all of one goal for in 20 contests while Calgary's defence — featuring Okotokian Ryan McLean and DeWinton's Tom Fream — allowed 16 less goals than its cross-town rival.
The Mountaineers boast a more veteran roster and feature a well-balanced offensive attack with the likes of Jake Foster, Laszlo Henning, Lucas Claude and Connor Wilson filling the net on a regular basis.
Okotoks is no slouch on offence.
The dynamic duo of Brett McIntyre and Sean Tyrrell completed record-breaking seasons in the province with McIntyre setting a new single season record with 59 goals and Tyrrell establishing the new assists and points record, 79 and 128, respectively.
“We play well together and when we're eight guys strong it's good to get a good offence, a good hot ball going,” McCormick said. “Our team blends pretty well. I like how our team gets along this year.”
Following a two-year hiatus from direct qualification into the national championship, the league final will once again directly decide who represents Alberta at the Minto.
Most recently, Okotoks competed at the 2013 Minto Cup in New Westminster.
Only four players from that Raiders team remain on the roster including McCormick, High River's Clayton Warren along with offensive stalwarts Travis Getz and Dylan Kinnear.
“It's nice to get that format back, it's good for Alberta lacrosse, but it's that same goal – the Minto Cup,” McCormick added. “That would mean everything. It has been a dream in lacrosse, especially coming into my final year as a Junior.
“I'm looking forward to hopefully getting there this year.”
The Alberta final gets underway this weekend with Game 1 and 2 at Stu Peppard Arena on July 30 and 31.
For full schedule information go to rockymountainlax.com
