Jr. C Lakers Return to Meredith Cup Final With History in Sight
/By Scott Arnold
The Peterborough Jr. C Lakers are heading back to the Meredith Cup Final for the third straight season, but this year’s championship chase has a different challenge: a chance to make history.
The Lakers begin their quest for a third consecutive Meredith Cup championship when they face the Six Nations Stealth in the league final. (Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Jr. C Lakers, via Christine Liu)
The Lakers will meet the Six Nations Stealth in the best-of-five league final, beginning Thursday night in Six Nations, as Peterborough looks to capture its third consecutive Meredith Cup championship.
Only two teams in Ontario Junior C Lacrosse history have ever won three straight championships. Owen Sound accomplished the feat during the first era of Ontario-sanctioned Junior C lacrosse from 1977 to 1979, while Clarington became the only team to do it during the Meredith Cup era with three straight titles from 2010 to 2012.
A win this year would also give Peterborough its fifth Meredith Cup championship, moving the Lakers past Clarington for the most titles in league history.
But before the Lakers can think about history, they have to get through a Six Nations team that finished the regular season with the league’s best record at 14-2.
“It’s a big one,” said Lakers head coach Ryley Martinell. “You don’t want to hang your hat on that, but it’s definitely something you think about when you’re sitting at home on the couch.”
Peterborough returns to the Meredith Cup Final after another strong playoff run that included series wins over Huntsville, Whitby and Cornwall. (Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Jr. C Lakers, via Christine Liu)
A Different Path Back to the Final
The Lakers entered the season knowing they had lost several key pieces from their previous championship teams, but the expectations remained the same.
“When we show up to camp with the coaching staff we have and kind of the culture in the team we’ve grown, our expectations are always to chase a Meredith Cup,” Martinell said.
Peterborough finished first in the Central Division before opening the playoffs with a three-game sweep of the Huntsville Hawks. The Lakers then defeated the Whitby Warriors in four games in the division final before sweeping the Cornwall Celtics in the Meredith Cup semifinal.
While the results may look dominant on paper, Martinell said the road to the final was anything but easy.
“We’re just as skilled, we’re just younger, which closed the gap a little bit,” he said. “The theme of the year is just find a way. We’re a young team. We know we’re going to go through struggles. We know we’re going to get down. Just find a way, dig deep, find a way to win.”
That mentality has carried the Lakers through close games throughout the postseason, including a one-goal win over Whitby in the division final and a comeback victory against Cornwall after falling behind in Game 3 of the semifinal.
Braxtin Howard was named Central Division Rookie of the Year after leading the Lakers with 54 points during the regular season and continues to be a key contributor during Peterborough’s playoff run. (Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Jr. C Lakers, via Christine Liu)
Howard Leads Young Lakers Core
One of the players helping lead that young group is Braxtin Howard, who was recently named Central Division Rookie of the Year and finished as the division’s MVP runner-up.
Howard led the Lakers with 54 points during the regular season, recording 29 goals and 25 assists in 14 games.
“He’s kind of a different animal,” Martinell said. “He’s an old school lacrosse player as a first year junior player.”
“He’ll score, he’ll fight, he’ll hit a guy. He gives us 100% every time he shows up on the floor, and Rookie of the Year was a no-brainer.”
Howard has continued that production in the playoffs, entering the Meredith Cup Final ranked seventh in league playoff scoring with 38 points in 10 games.
Head coach Ryley Martinell watches the action from the bench as the Jr. C Lakers continue their pursuit of a third straight Meredith Cup championship. (Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Jr. C Lakers, via Christine Liu)
A Final Against One of the League’s Best
The Six Nations Stealth enter the series after sweeping the West Grey Rampage and Burlington Warriors before defeating the Whitby Warriors in a five-game semifinal series.
The two teams met once during the regular season, with Six Nations earning a 13-12 overtime win on May 3.
Martinell said that game was a long time ago and that the Lakers roster has changed since then.
“We had a lot of guys away at school and kind of filled some pieces,” he said. “I’m a lot happier with our roster going into this series than it was in game three or four of the year there.”
The final will feature some of the top offensive players in the league. Six Nations’ Brian Laforme leads all playoff scorers with 47 points, while teammate Ryker Powless also has 47 points. Peterborough’s Ryder Perry ranks fourth with 41 points, while Howard sits seventh with 38 points.
Laforme, Perry and Howard are also among the league’s top playoff goal scorers, ranking second, third and fourth respectively.
“They’re fast, they’re athletic, they’re super skilled,” Martinell said of Six Nations. “They’re going to be the strongest team we’ve played all year other than the one time we’ve seen them.”
The Jr. C Lakers and Six Nations Stealth meet in the Meredith Cup Final, with the championship series beginning Thursday night in Six Nations. (Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Jr. C Lakers, via Christine Liu)
