Junior A Northmen find success, but fall short in final Minto Cup series

Written By Brian Lockhart

After a successful season that saw them win the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League (OJLL) championship and earn the right to compete at the national level for the 2024 Minto Cup, the Orangeville Junior A Northmen will call it a year after taking a loss to the Coquitlam Adanacs in the final Minto Cup series.

The final game took place at the Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex in Coquitlam B.C. on Friday, Aug. 23.

While the Northmen had a good year, Junior A Northmen general manager Nick Rose said they enjoyed the experience, but the club's goal is always to bring back the championship cup.

“It was a well run tournament and great experience for our guys,” Nick said of the Minto Cup tournament. “We did come home a little disappointed after not getting it done.”

The Northmen lost their first game of the tournament to the Port Coquitlam Saints.

“The Poco team, they had a big physical presence,” Nick said. “We battled back against them in the semi-finals and won 13-9. The final game was a very tight game (against Coquitlam), everyone was playing their hardest, but we couldn't buy goals in that game. The Northmen have very high standards, especially the Junior A team, and we're going to have some really great memories when we look back on it. Our goal is to raise the trophy... we want to be the champion at the end of the year.”

The Northmen won the OJLL championship on Sunday, Aug. 11, with a win over the Mimico Mountaineers on their home floor at Tony Rose Arena in a series that went the full seven games.

Four days later, the Northmen were on a plane heading west to represent Ontario in the Minto Cup.

In addition to the Northmen, three other teams arrived to battle it out for the national title – Coquitlam Adanacs, the Port Coquitlam Saints, and the Raiders Lacrosse Club from Alberta.

The Northmen lost their first game in the Minto Cup competition on Saturday, Aug. 17  to the Port Coquitlam Saints, after playing to a 12-7 final score.

The Northmen pulled it together for their second game of the tournament and won 13-6 over the Raiders.

In their third game, the O-ville team had a huge second period and won 12-9 over the Coquitlam Adanacs.

A 13-9 win over Port Coquitlam on Aug. 20 moved the Northmen to the championship series against the Coquitlam Adanacs.

The final series was a best-of-three match, scheduled to be played over three days. The series went the full three games.

In game one of the series, the Northmen were trailing 8-6 at the end of the second period. They were outscored 6-1 in the third period and took a 14-7 loss on Aug. 22.

The teams were back at it the following night, Aug. 23, for game two. The Northmen needed a win to keep the series alive.

Game two was a real battle. The first period ended in a 2-2 tie.

The Adanacs managed to go ahead by two goals in the second to take a 6-4 lead with one period remaining.

The Northmen put up a good fight in the third period but couldn't get the goals to tie it up and the Adanacs won 9-6 to claim the 2024 Minto Cup championship.