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Junior A Northmen win OJLL championship with a win over Mimico in game seven

August 15, 2024   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

The Orangeville Junior A Northmen are the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League champions after a 20-12 win over the Mimico Mountaineers in game seven of the championship series.

The Northmen finished the regular season in first place with a 17-3 record before moving into the playoffs.

Orangeville swept Toronto Beaches in three games in the first round of playoffs.

In the second round, the Northmen again went undefeated and knocked the St. Catharines Athletics out of competition.

That set up the final best-of-seven championship series with the Mimico Mountaineers. Mimico finished third in the regular season.

The Mountaineers made it to the championship round with a win over the Peterborough Lakes in the second round.

Game 1 of the series ended with a 12-9 Northmen win on July 31, after the Orangeville team played a strong first two periods.

The Northmen led the series 2-1 after winning 13-9 on Mimico’s home floor on Aug. 2.

A return to Orangeville for Game 3 on Aug. 4 saw the Mountaineers get back in the series when they squeezed out a 10-9 win when the game went into overtime.

The series was tied after game four when Mimico had a strong first period that gave them a decisive lead and they were able to stay ahead for the rest of the game. The final was 11-7.

The Northmen were back in the lead with a 7-4 win in Game 5 of the series.

The teams were back in Mimico for Game 6 on Aug. 10. The Mountaineers kept the series going with an 11-8 win, which meant the teams were returning for Game 7 to decide this year’s champion team.

With the entire series coming down to a single game, both teams came out hot in the first period.

When the buzzer sounded, the Northmen were leading 7-4.

A strong Orangeville attack in the second period overwhelmed the Mountaineers’ defence in the second period with the Northmen notching 10 goals in the period while allowing four against.

With a 17-8 lead going into the third period, Orangeville fans were already celebrating the victory.

The Northmen scored three goals in the final period to take the game with a 20-12 win and claim the OJLL title.

“We made some additions at the deadline to add some depth to certain areas and we added some quality players,” said Northmen head coach Rusty Kruger, after the championship win, of how they put the winning team together. “We had a sour taste in our mouth from last year, but our focus this year was to get back to the Minto Cup out west, and that’s our goal. We’re not done yet, we’re not satisfied.”

The final game produced a high score for the Northmen considering it was the last chance for both teams.

“I didn’t expect that score,” Rusty said. “The shots were falling tonight and they came ready to play and my hat’s off to our offence, and our defence tonight was solid. For these kids to do it in front of their hometown, in front of their friends and family, in Game 7 – what an atmosphere – it’s something they will never forget.”

The Northmen will now go on to compete in the national Minto Cup. They will have little time to prepare for meeting the best teams in the country.

The team leaves for Coquitlam B.C. today, Aug. 15.

Their first game in the Minto Cup competition is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 17, when the Northmen will meet the POCO Saints in their hometown.

That game will be the first match-up of the Minto Cup competition and will get underway at 4 p.m.

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