Round six of the best rivalry in Alberta lacrosse promises to be a doozy.
The Okotoks Raiders and Calgary Mountaineers continue what’s become an annual tradition when they go toe to toe for the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League Jr. A championship for the sixth-straight season with a spot in the Minto Cup on the line.
The Raiders have been idle since the beginning of the month after earning a bye through to the championship by virtue of its top seed and 19-1 record in the regular season.
“It’s going to almost be like a second training camp for the kids,” said Raiders assistant coach and Okotokian Mitch Banister. “We’re going to be pushing them really hard and trying to make sure we keep them in the best shape we can.
“We’re going to have to ramp up our practices that much more in order to get what we need.”
Calgary wont quite have the same rink rust after securing a three-game sweep over a tough Saskatchewan SWAT squad in the best-of-five semifinal.
The Mounties wrapped up the series with a 7-6 triumph Friday in Saskatoon.
“We started off strong and it kind of tapered off throughout the series because they weren’t the strongest opposition,” said Mounties defender Ryan McLean, an Okotokian. “We’ve been looking forward to the Raiders.
“If they get a chance they’re going to capitalize on it, we can’t have those little mistakes.
“We know there are going to be times when they score a couple or we score a couple goals in a row, but we need to maintain an even-keel.”
The Raiders took four out of five regular season meetings, though none of the games were of the blowout variety.
It’s been a tit-for-tat rivalry over the past half decade.
If the trend is to follow, the Raiders are in line for the title as the winners in 2013 and 2015 and Calgary taking the series in even number years 2012, 2014 and 2016.
The Mounties went on to make a little history after last year’s championship.
Calgary became the first Alberta team to win a game out of province against B.C. or Ontario opposition at the Minto Cup since 1979 when it smoked the Delta Islanders 13-5 and went on to edge the Ontario champion Orangeville Northmen to advance to the semifinal round of the competition.
“Most of us know what it takes to get there,” McLean said.
The Okotokian and DeWinton’s Tom Fream have seen their roles expand on the defensive side of the ball after a number of stalwarts aged out in the offseason.
“It’s definitely different with those guys gone,” McLean said. “We have a lot of new guys and even have a whole new system this year, so we’ve been learning that and making sure everyone is accountable on the back-end.”
The best-of-seven league championship opens July 26 at Calgary’s Max Bell Arena at 7:30 p.m. with Game 2 to follow on July 27 at the same venue at 8:30 p.m.
For full schedule information go to rockymountainlax.com
