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Brampton Excelsiors, MSL

Brampton Excelsiors select Clem D’Orazio as new Head Coach

Clem D’Orazio wasn’t out of Major Series Lacrosse for long. The young coach, who was replaced by the Rock when the team moved from Ajax to Oakville, has been hired as the new head coach of the Brampton Excelsiors after a search conducted by team governors Zenny Lipinski and Ziggy Musial, Assistant GM Steve McCullough and departing coach Mike Hasen.

D’Orazio inherits a lineup that retains the core of the defensive unit that has helped to keep the Excelsiors competitive over the last couple of years while the offence has undergone some transition. “I’m not going to try to reinvent the wheel,” D’Orazio says. “Mike Hasen is a great coach and I’ve got guys like Sandy Chapman who could pretty much run the defence on their own. I’m going to go in and keep things moving and hopefully correct issues as necessary as we go.” READ MORE »

Brampton Excelsiors, IL Indoor, MSL, Six Nations Chiefs

Major Series Lacrosse news: Doyle returning to Six Nations; coaches not returning to Brampton

Colin Doyle will be back for another summer with the Six Nations Chiefs. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

No one is happier about the official announcement that Colin Doyle is returning to the Six Nations Chiefs this summer than Chiefs’ Head Coach Rich Kilgour. “I’m absolutely ecstatic that he’s back,” Kilgour said, noting that he’s much happier being on the same team with Doyle rather than opposing him. “When we played against each other, we weren’t the best of friends. But now that he plays for the team that I’ve coached for the last three years, I have nothing but the utmost respect for the guy. He is a true leader on and off the floor. I’m hoping this year we can get the job done.”

Last year, the Chiefs got the closest to getting the job done they have in a while, reaching the Major Series Lacrosse finals against the Peterborough Lakers but falling short in the series. “We’ve gotten a little step closer every year and last year we made the finals. Hopefully this year we can get back and get a trip out west,” Kilgour said. “It’s much better trying to win one with Colin than having to fight against him all the time.” READ MORE »

Ajax Rock, Brampton Excelsiors, Brooklin Redmen, IL Indoor, Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks, MSL, Peterborough Lakers, Road to the Mann Cup, Six Nations Chiefs

Major Series Lacrosse schedule kicks off in Peterborough May 23

The Brampton Excelsiors will visit the Peterborough Lakers on Thursday May 23 to open the 2013 Major Series Lacrosse season then will return to Peterborough the following week, kicking off the season with a rivalry bang. The Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks, who selected Jeremy and Jason Noble with the first two picks in this year’s MSL draft, open their season at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena to face the Six Nations Chiefs in the first Saturday night game of the year on May 25. The Brooklin Redmen get underway Sunday May 26 when the play host to the Lakers. And the Ajax Rock plan to play the franchise’s first game in Oakville on Monday May 27. The move of the Rock to Oakville is still pending Ontario Lacrosse Association approval.

Other notable MSL contests include a pair of Brampton home games in the Memorial Arena (May 28 vs Ajax and June 20 vs Six Nations) and a Kodiaks home game in Kingston. The latter is part of a big promotion for Kingston minor and junior lacrosse that will see KW take on the Lakers Saturday June 8 in a game being called the First Capital Cup. Kingston lacrosse will be rocking that weekend with the Kingston Krossfire minor tournament going on and clinics being run by Nationwide Lacrosse founders Brad Self and Shawn Evans. READ MORE »

Ajax Rock, Behind the Scenes, Brampton Excelsiors, Brooklin Redmen, IL Indoor, Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks, MSL, MSL Notebook, Peterborough Lakers, Six Nations Chiefs

Major Series Lacrosse returning to 20-game schedule, four of six teams make playoffs

Fans of the Peterborough/Brampton rivalry will be happy to know they teams will meet 4 times in 2013, rather than the twice they did last year. (Photo: Tim Prothero, VintageLax)

Major Series Lacrosse is returning to the 20-game schedule that teams played in 2011, but this year the playoffs will be reduced to two rounds with four teams making the postseason instead of all six. The board of governors agreed to the changes to the schedule at the league’s meeting this past week. As was the case in 2011, teams will play four games against each other team in the league, two at home and two on the road. Unlike 2011, there will actually be a playoff race this summer. The league has done away with the divisional format that last year saw three teams in each of two divisions and the first two rounds of playoffs played within the divisions. READ MORE »

Ajax Rock, Behind the Scenes, Brampton Excelsiors, Brooklin Redmen, Futures Report, IL Indoor, Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks, MSL, Peterborough Lakers, Six Nations Chiefs

MSL Update: Internet Down, Kodiaks Up

The Noble twins won the Minto together and now they'll head to Major Series Lacrosse together. They were the first two picks of the 2013 MSL draft by the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks.

First off, apologies to those who tried to check in for the live blog of the Major Series Lacrosse draft tonight. The internet was down at the Iroquois Park Sports Centre where the draft was held. Ironically, Brooklin Redmen coach/GM Wayne Colley works for the city of Whitby (IPSC is a city facility), but even he couldn’t help with the problem since it originated with the facility’s server. I did tweet the progress of the draft in real time, so thanks to those of you who followed along and sorry about the couple of mistakes I made. Things were moving quickly and I didn’t get everything entered correctly. The big news of the night was that the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks were able to pull off the deal that I had suggested was a likely scenario. They acquired the first overall pick from the Ajax Rock, giving them the first two picks, which they used to select twin brothers Jeremy and Jason Noble from the Orangeville Northmen. Make the jump for more details and the full draft results. READ MORE »

Ajax Rock, Brampton Excelsiors, Brooklin Redmen, IL Indoor, Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks, MSL, MSL Notebook, Peterborough Lakers, Six Nations Chiefs

Major Series Lacrosse Draft Live Blog

IL Indoor will be live blogging from the Major Series Lacrosse draft tonight starting at 7 pm. Among the top players available are Jeremy and Jason Noble, Hayden Smith, Zach Palmer, Dillon Ward, Jordan Critch, Justin Pychel, Mitchell Wilde, Billy Hostrawser and Shayne Adams. You can read about the possibility of someone managing to snag both the Noble twins here. For a list of territorial protection players for each team and the full draft order, go here.

Ajax Rock, Behind the Scenes, Brampton Excelsiors, Brooklin Redmen, Futures Report, IL Indoor, Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks, MSL, MSL Notebook, Peterborough Lakers, Six Nations Chiefs

Major Series Lacrosse draft Wednesday features a boatload of talent

Jeremy Noble (left) will be among the first picks in the MSL draft but Mitch Jones is a territorial protection by Brampton. (Photo: Tim Prothero, VintageLax)

Teams in Ontario Major Series Lacrosse will hold their annual draft in Whitby this Wednesday and they have plenty of outstanding players to choose from despite some high-end talent being unavailable as territorial protected players of the clubs. The strength and depth of this draft is thanks largely to the 13 graduating players from Orangeville’s Minto Cup champion Northmen squad. Orangeville isn’t affiliated with an MSL team, so the likes of Jeremy and Jason Noble, Hayden Smith, Jordan Critch and Dillon Ward are up for grabs. One notable Northmen name you won’t hear called, though, is Mitchell Jones. The lefty forward who exploded for 6 goals and 7 assists in the first game of the Minto final was traded to Orangeville during the off-season, so his rights remain with his previous junior team. That makes Brampton’s one-two protected punch of Jones and fellow left Kyle Pereira an enviable addition to the Excelsiors lineup for 2013. READ MORE »

Brampton Excelsiors, Futures Report, IL Indoor, MSL

NLL Draft: Hello, My Name Is…Joe Resetarits

Joe Resetarits has grown immensely as a box player in two years with Brampton. (Photo: Tim Prothero, VintageLax)

A lot of American players finish their college careers then try to learn the box game to make the transition to professional indoor lacrosse. Joe Resetarits took the fast track instead, playing with the Brampton Excelsiors the last two summers. His immersion in Canadian summer box, including a Mann Cup win last summer, has given him a huge leg up on guys who don’t move indoor till after grad. Circumstances in Brampton provided him with advanced placement in his box lacrosse education. In 2011, Resetarits was a complementary player who spent most of his time on the crease and seemed to score the majority of his goals the same way: catching a pass down low, stepping out towards the slot and bouncing a shot just inside the far post. READ MORE »

Brampton Excelsiors, Futures Report, IL Indoor, MSL

NLL Draft: Hello, My Name Is…Carter Bender

Carter Bender can be a handful for defenders to keep track of.

What do you see when you look at Carter Bender? Do you see a big body who can bang around in the offensive end and create space for talented teammates? Do you see a guy who can take the ball around the outside and drive to the net, and who has the ability to finish when he arrives? Do you see someone willing to move to the back end and do a decent job of D-ing up when his teams needs him to? Well, Bender is all those things and in the 2012 National Lacrosse League draft he’ll go to a team for one of two reasons: either they appreciate the varied package or they think he can break out in one role for them. Either way, you can expect to hear his name called fairly early on October 1 at the Toronto Westin Hotel when the league gathers for its annual talent auction. READ MORE »

Brampton Excelsiors, Brooklin Redmen, MSL, Peterborough Lakers, Road to the Mann Cup, Six Nations Chiefs

MSL 3 Stars: See who was ready for their closeups as the MSL finals were set

Cory Vitarelli (right) and Brad Self were key cogs in the Lakers division-finals sweep of Brooklin. See if they hit the charts in this week's 3 Stars. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

Everything seems bigger in the playoffs. Goals are more crucial; saves are more spectacular; setup passes are more inspired; defensive stops more impressive. It’s all about the big stage, performing in the spotlight when the games mean the most. This week’s IL Indoor Major Series Lacrosse 3 Stars and honourable mentions are the guys who stepped up the highest and shone the brightest in the division finals as Peterborough swept Brooklin 4-0 and Six Nations eliminated Brampton 4-1. No defenders on the roles this week but we easily could have included Billy Dee Smith, Brad Self, Paul Dawson, Cameron Holding and others. Make the jump to see who made the cut this week. READ MORE »