The Victoria Shamrocks won in the boardroom Monday but lost on the floor.
The Six Nations Chiefs, champions of Ontario’s Major Series Lacrosse, rallied to score the final five goals of the game to defeat the Western Lacrosse Association-champion Shamrocks 7-5 at Iroquois Lacrosse Arena on the Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve in Hagersville, Ont., to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Mann Cup national Senior A championship series. The Chief are hosting all games in the series.
Victoria led 4-2 after the first period and 5-2 early in the second period before Six Nations tied the game 5-5 heading into the final period. Third-period goals by NLL Buffalo Bandits-pro and former Shamrocks forward Dhane Smith and another by Randy Staats won it for the Chiefs.
“We dust ourselves off and get back up,” said Victoria head coach Mike Simpson.
“Their two short-handed goals really stalled our momentum tonight. But we’ve shown we can run with these guys. We are right there, no question.”
Claremont Secondary Spartans graduate and NCAA Final Four player Casey Wilson from the University of Denver Pioneers scored twice for the Shamrocks with the other Victoria goals coming from Trent DiCicco, Chris Wardle and Will Malcolm.
Doug Jamieson faced 33 shots in goal for Six Nations and Chris Origlieri 43 in goal for Victoria.
“Our special teams hurt us tonight by allowing those two short-handed goals,” said Victoria GM Chris Welch.
“We have shown we can play with these guys but we need to be better on special teams. The games are coming fast and furious now and we’ve got to figure it out and be focused.”
It was ruled earlier in the day that Shamrocks’ WLA pick-up players Malcolm and Mike Messenger, both from the New Westminster Salmonbellies, could play in the Mann Cup after being ruled ineligible for the first two games. The WLA appealed the decision to the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada and the appeal was upheld in favour of the Shamrocks on Monday afternoon before Game 3.
“This was a ridiculous distraction and a travesty that it went to Game 3,” said Welch, of the situation.
“I am beyond furious with Lacrosse Canada.”
Because Ontario has dominated the Mann Cup, winning 15 of 16 national championships since 2006 (2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to the pandemic), the B.C. Lacrosse Association put forward a motion to downgrade to a Type 2 organization. Type 2 organizations are allowed to add up to three players from other league teams, a common practice for the Senior B national championship Founders Cup and Junior A national championship Minto Cup. The motion was passed at the regional level and it was thought the player pick-up rule would now also apply to the WLA for the Senior A Mann Cup.
Lacrosse Canada, however, ruled on the eve of the Mann Cup that the WLA would remain a Type 1 organization and that WLA-scoring leader Malcolm and shut-down defensive specialist Messenger were ineligible. The duo missed the first two games before it was ruled Monday they could play, leaving the whole sport with a black eye in this country and looking shambolic.
No WLA team has won the Mann Cup on the road since the Salmonbellies in 1986 at Whitby, Ont., a drought nearing four decades. The Shamrocks’ quest to end that, against the defending Mann Cup champion Chiefs, was finally given a boost with the addition of Malcolm and Messenger for the rest of the series.
The third and fourth games are tonight and Wednesday at 5 p.m. PT at Six Nations, which is near Brantford, Ont. If required, the sixth game is Friday and seventh game Saturday.
FROM THE DOTTED LINE: Victoria forward Cole Pickup scored two goals in Saturday’s Game 2, which was won 10-4 by the Chiefs, not as reported in Sunday’s edition. … The games in the series are broadcast on cable on Rogers TV. Watch parties are being held at Browns Social House in Langford.
