IL Indoor

The Edmonton Eclipse's Mitch McAvoy won a DII NCAA title with Mercyhurst during his freshmen season. (Bill Danielewski)

Mitch McAvoy won an Alberta junior championship and played in the Minto Cup, but nothing prepared him for a national title game. As the faceoff specialist for the Mercyhurst Lakers, the freshman knew he was front and centre for the NCAA Div. II final against Adelphi. Talk about pressure.

“Before the game, I couldn’t stop shaking I was so nervous,” said the Edmonton Eclipse transition player. “I knew I would be there for the opening faceoff.”

“As soon as warmups hit and I was on the field, it all went away. When I went for the opening draw, it was just silence. I couldn’t hear anything. I was in the zone. I didn’t hear anything in the stadium at all.”

McAvoy was late returning to the Eclipse this spring but he had a good reason. The Lakers didn’t finish off the their title win until May 29 and the freshman had some celebrating to do.

Since coming back to the Alberta Junior Lacrosse league, McAvoy has given the Eclipse a boost, not only on faceoffs but in their transition game. In five games, he has a goal and six helpers plus scooped up 22 loose balls.

“He’s made a big difference,” said Eclipse head coach Rioth Johma. “He’s good on faceoffs, is a good runner, has a good stick and he’s a quiet leader. That type is hard to find.”

In his first few games back, McAvoy was getting called on faceoff violations. Although he did the job for the Eclipse part of last season, coming back to the indoor game from field required an adjustment.

“It’s quite a bit different,” McAvoy said. “You aren’t allowed to move as much. There are lines you aren’t supposed to step over. I’ve had trouble getting used to that again. For the most part it hasn’t been too bad. I’ve been pulling pretty well for our team. I’ve taken almost every faceoff since I’ve been back.”

McAvoy has a tendency to win in his first seasons with teams. He helped the Eclipse to the Alberta title in 2009 before the team was shut out in the Minto Cup held in Brampton.

There are two Alberta slots at this year’s Minto with the Calgary Raiders as host in Okotoks. Nothing would make McAvoy happier than getting back there. The Eclipse didn’t win a game the last time they went.

“It would be nice to get some redemption against those guys,” he said. “We’re starting to come together. Hopefully we can put together a few wins at the end of the year, get some momentum going in the playoffs and go from there.”

When McAvoy attended Hill Academy for his final year of high school, he was influenced by Patrick Merrill in choosing his university. As an alum of Mercyhurst, Merrill recommended the school and it only took one visit for McAvoy to fall in love.

The move was obviously a great one, as the Lakers finished out the season in front of huge crowd (at least for Div. II lacrosse) at M&T Bank Stadium where the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens play.

“There were about 25,000 there for the game,” McAvoy said. “It was something I never experienced before in my life. The most people I played in front of was the Minto Cup two years ago with the Eclipse. There were 200 or 300 people there for that.”

Edmonton Miners

When the Miners needed someone to step up for a crucial meeting with the Calgary Mountaineers this past weekend, third-year forward Richard Thompson did it. Thompson fired in five goals on eight shots as the Miners beat the Mounties 14-7 to jump into a three-way tie for second in the province.

“He saw the net and got in clean,” said Miners coach AJ Johma. “Seemed like whenever he took a shot he had a big spot to hit. That was because he took the goalies across the net pretty well. He was on, being aggressive with the ball and hitting spots.”

The Miners hit a weird part of their schedule coming off two wins in which they scored 28 goals. After Wednesday’s meeting with the Edmonton Eclipse, the team has nine days off before a two-game trip in Calgary.

Calgary Raiders

The Raiders keep rolling along, with their win streak now at nine games. The Okotoks-based team needs just one more victory to clinch first place in the league, meaning the other three teams will be fighting to avoid that fourth-place slot.

The Raiders are hosting the Minto Cup this year and there will be another qualifier from the province’s four teams. If the Raiders win their first-round playoff series, the winner of the second- and third-place teams would get a bye into the tournament.

Edmonton Eclipse

The next five days could be pivotal for the Eclipse’s playoff hopes. After a meeting with the Miners Wednesday, the team travels to Calgary for a matchup Saturday with the Raiders before facing the Mountaineers Sunday.

Head coach Rioth Johma expects to be a bit shorthanded for the weekend series in Calgary so stamina will be an issue.

“All you can do is prepare and hope your guys are ready to go,” Johma said. “It comes down to who wants it more. You never know from night to night what you are going to get.”

Calgary Mountaineers

The Mounties have now lost six straight games and face an uphill battle if they hope to avoid a fourth-place finish and a date with the Raiders in the playoffs.

If they do get back on track, it will have to be against senior teams. The Mounties have three of their final seven games remaining against senior teams, which means they can’t do damage to the teams they are chasing in the standings.

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