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CLax, Canadian Lacrosse League, Durham Turfdogs, Iroquois Ironmen, Niagara Lock Monsters, Toronto Shooting Stars

CLax playoffs: Ironmen and Shooting Stars book tickets to today’s Creators Cup final

Kraig Maracle scoring the overtime goal that sent the Iroquois Ironmen to the Creators Cup final. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Iroquois Ironmen are back in the Creators Cup championship game for the second straight year after a thrilling 16-15 overtime win over the regular-season champion Niagara Lock Monsters yesterday in the Canadian Lacrosse League semi-finals. The Ironmen, who lost last year’s title game to the Ohsweken Demons, will meet the Toronto Shootings Stars in the final. Toronto also had to go to overtime but pulled out an 11-10 win over the Durham Turfdogs in the second semi-final.

Iroquois overcame a 5-goal Niagara run to the mid-point of the fourth quarter and a 5-minute major penalty that kept star forward Chris Attwood off the floor until the final 2:20 of the game to earn the win. Kraig Maracle scored the winning goal on a rocket from outside. READ MORE »

Brampton Inferno, CLax, Canadian Lacrosse League, Niagara Lock Monsters

CLax: Ben McCullough and Connor Danko are defender and goalie of the year

Ben McCullough of the Brampton Inferno is CLax's Defensive Player of the Year. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Canadian Lacrosse League has announced Niagara Lock MonstersConnor Danko as the 2013 CLax Goalie of the Year and the Brampton Inferno’s Ben McCullough as the 2013 CLax Defensive Player of the Year.

In his rookie campaign, Connor Danko helped lead the Lock Monsters to an 11-3 regular season record. In nine regular season games, Danko posted a 7-1 record tying the Clax single season wins record. He also finished second in the league in both goals against average (10.20 GAA) and save percentage (.809). Earlier this week, Danko was also named a 2013 CLax First Team All-Star. READ MORE »

CLax, Canadian Lacrosse League, Niagara Lock Monsters, Toronto Shooting Stars

CLax: Potter named top offensive player, O’Brien top transition player

Mack O'Brien showing the form that made him CLax's Transition Player of the Year. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Canadian Lacrosse League has announced Niagara Lock Monsters Andrew Potter and Toronto Shooting Stars Mack O’Brien as Clax major awards recipients for the 2013 season. Potter has been named the 2013 Clax Offensive Player of the Year while O’Brien was selected as the 2013 CLax Transition Player of the Year.

After being selected first overall in the 2013 Clax entry draft, Potter helped lead the Lock Monsters to an 11-3 regular season record. He finished the season second in league scoring registering 31 goals and 48 assists for 79 points. Potter also tied teammate Corey Fowler for a new CLax single season assists record with 48. Earlier this week, Potter was also named a 2013 CLax First Team All-Star.

“It was obvious early on that Andrew would be able to put up some big numbers but I think what most people don’t realize how good of a player he is at both ends of the floor,” said Lock Monsters GM / Head Coach Jeff Dowling. READ MORE »

Barrie Blizzard, Brampton Inferno, CLax, Canadian Lacrosse League, Durham Turfdogs, Iroquois Ironmen, Niagara Lock Monsters, Ohsweken Demons, Toronto Shooting Stars

CLax: All-Star teams

First-Team All-Star Ben McCullough pins All-Rookie Team member John St. John to the boards. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Canadian Lacrosse League has announced the 1st and 2nd Team All-Stars for the 2013 season. Niagara Lock Monsters rookie goaltender Connor Danko and teammate Andrew Potter both earned CLax first team honours. In nine regular season games, Danko posted a 7-1 record tying the Clax single season wins record. He also finished second in the league in both goals against average (10.20 GAA) and save percentage (.809). After being selected first overall in the 2013 Clax entry draft, Potter finished second in league scoring registering 31 goals and 48 assists for 79 points. READ MORE »

Barrie Blizzard, Brampton Inferno, CLax, Canadian Lacrosse League, Durham Turfdogs, Niagara Lock Monsters

CLax: Caleb Wiles named Rookie of the Year and heads All-Rookie team

Caleb Wiles scoring one of the goals of the year in CLax. (Photo: Tim Prothero, VintageLax)

The Canadian Lacrosse League is pleased to announce Barrie Blizzard forward Caleb Wiles as the 2013 CLax Rookie of the Year. ”As a newcomer to CLax, Caleb proved to be one of the most dynamic and prolific scorers in our game,” said CLax Deputy Commissioner Jim Veltman. “Game in and game out he would produce highlight reel goals made of magic.”

In his first season, Wiles finished fifth in league scoring registering 63 points including 35 goals and 28 assists in 12 regular season games. He collected 10 power play goals and led the league with seven shorthanded markers. His 35 goals was also tied for the second highest in CLax history.

Wiles played his Junior A career with Orillia and has been a member of the Major Series Brooklin Redmen the past two seasons. The league also announced the 2013 All Rookie Team. READ MORE »

Barrie Blizzard, Behind the Scenes, Brampton Inferno, CLax, Canadian Lacrosse League, Durham Turfdogs, Iroquois Ironmen, Niagara Lock Monsters, Ohsweken Demons, Toronto Shooting Stars

Blizzard debut blue turf in CLax season finale, beat Shooting Stars

Caleb Wiles, who, amazingly, scored on this play, and the Barrie Blizzard are 1-0 on their new blue turf. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Canadian Lacrosse League is preparing for the playoffs that start this Friday night when the Brampton Inferno play host to the Durham Turfdogs in the first quarter-final. The other quarter-final is a rematch of last year’s Creators Cup championship game when the Ohsweken Demons and Iroquois Ironmen meet at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena Sunday. Before the regular season passed into the rearview mirror, though, the final game held a new twist that CLax is excited about for next year. The Barrie Blizzard unveiled their new blue turf as they won their final game of the season, downing the second-place Toronto Shooting Stars behind a 6-point performance from Caleb Wiles (3g, 3a). The Blizzard, who finished last and will miss the playoffs, none the less played before an enthusiastic crowd reported to be 1,000 strong. The league will sport three of the blue turf floors in 2014, when it returns for its third season. First, of course, there’s the matter of crowning a 2013 champion. The semi-finals will be held Saturday April 20 at the ILA followed by the Creators Cup final the next day at the same venue. Niagara and Toronto, the top two regular season teams, will face the quarter-final winners on the Saturday.

Barrie Blizzard, Brampton Inferno, CLax, Canadian Lacrosse League, Durham Turfdogs, Iroquois Ironmen, Niagara Lock Monsters, Ohsweken Demons, Toronto Shooting Stars

CLax: Iroquois Ironmen pull out 14-13 overtime win to bolster playoff hopes

Jerome Thompson was instrumental in the Iroquois Ironmen's 14-13 overtime win Friday night. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

The Iroquois Ironmen made the Canadian Lacrosse League playoff race a lot more interesting last night by downing the Brampton Inferno 14-13 in overtime. Iroquois leapfrogged the Barrie Blizzard for the sixth and final playoff spot in CLax with the win, but both teams have one game to play. Iroquois can lock up the postseason berth by beating the Durham Turfdogs at 2 pm today in a game that can be seen live via JVI Video webcast. If they don’t, then the Blizzard can snag the berth back by beating the Toronto Shooting Stars at home on Sunday.

Toronto clinched second place and a first-round bye when the Inferno lost yesterday, meaning the playoff picture is almost set. The first-place Niagara Lock Monsters and the Shooting Stars receive a bye to the semi-finals, to be held April 20 at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena. The Creators Cup final is also there the following day. READ MORE »

Barrie Blizzard, CLax, Canadian Lacrosse League, Niagara Lock Monsters

Niagara Locks Monsters keep setting records left and right

Dylan Llord and the Lock Monsters filled the Barrie net all game in a 21-9 win over the Blizzard. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

It’s no surprise that the Niagara Lock Monsters now boast the two highest-scoring players in the short history of the Canadian Lacrosse League. The Lock Monsters hit the 20-goal mark for the fifth time this season as they dumped the Barrie Blizzard 21-9 Saturday for their eleventh win, also the top total CLax has seen. They’re the only team to have scored 20 or more this year [Editor's note: correction. Ohsweken beat Barrie 20-7 on March 10] after three teams managed the feat once each in CLax’s first season in 2012 (Brampton, Ohsweken and Iroquois)  The big scoring totals have been fuelled largely by lefty Andrew Potter and righty Corey Fowler, who sit one-two atop the league’s all-time single-season scoring chart now after they scored 16 points between them yesterday. READ MORE »

CLax, Canadian Lacrosse League, Niagara Lock Monsters, Toronto Shooting Stars

A stomach-churning win: Danko hurls then helps Lock Monsters clinch first place in CLax with 10-7 win over Shooting Stars

Connor Danko returned from digestive distress to help the Lock Monsters clinch the CLax regular season title. (Photo: Tim Prothero, VintageLax)

Connor Danko must have mis-read his sports goalie history. Glenn Hall et. al. used to puke before games, not during them. None the less, Danko returned from a brief stint of tossing his cookies on a quickly lonely end of the Niagara bench to lead the Lock Monsters to a 10-7 win over the Toronto Shooting Stars to clinch first place in the Canadian Lacrosse League’s 2013 season. The score was tied 6-6 early in the fourth quarter when Danko suddenly rushed to the Lock Monsters’ box, dropping his helmet just outside the door, and proceeded to bend over the bench and vomit behind it. A nearby  microphone even caught the sound of him retching before it was astutely muted on the webcast. READ MORE »

Brampton Inferno, CLax, Canadian Lacrosse League, Niagara Lock Monsters

CLax Players of the Week: Potter, Preece, Fowler and Caravello earn honours

Jay Preece was tough to beat, earning the CLax Defensive Player of the Week award. (Photo: Tim Prothero, VintageLax)

While Ontario’s school children were kicking back for March Break, the Canadian Lacrosse League season kicked into high gear playing seven games over five days. The action saw every team play twice. Key results include the Niagara Lock Monsters moving themselves into a position to clinch a first round playoff bye, the Brampton Inferno breaking their season-long tie for fourth with the Durham Turfdogs, and the Barrie Blizzard winning their first home game as a franchise. As the dust settles on week ten, here are the weekly award winners of CLax’s Surge Apparel Players of the Week. READ MORE »