With the ice coming off the pads around town, the Orangeville Northmen are wasting no time in claiming it for themselves and the upcoming 2006 lacrosse campaign.

Last year there were a number of changes behind the bench for both the Junior A and B squads in which both teams went into the depths of the Northmen franchise to bring back some familiar faces.

On the A side, Lindsay Sanderson stepped down as coach to assume the sole position of General Manager creating an opening that saw the return of Matt Sawyer, stepping up to the head coach position.

Under Sawyer's tenure they finished second overall and swept past Toronto Beaches and Peterborough in quarter final and semi final play, only to go down in five in the final against Minto Cup finalists, the Six Nations Arrows.

This year, both Sawyer and Sanderson have high hopes for the season ahead.

"Right now we are having a really competitive camp" said Sawyer. "With the talent pool from the minor system getting better and better every year, we have a strong local base to build from," he adds.

Two of those that have showed well to date, include Glennie Bryan and Andrew Sutter, both graduates of the Northmen Midget program.

Sanderson is also pleased with what talent is on the floor but continues to look for players that will help to bring the Minto back to Orangeville.

One player the team has already signed for the upcoming season is Jessie Gamble, a Rockwood native that has spent the last two seasons playing offensive forward for the Junior B Guelph Regals.

Sanderson says that of course the team to beat this year will be Six Nations but points out that off-season moves by both Peterborough and Brampton will make them teams to watch.

On Tuesday April 25th, the Northmen will have their first chance to have a look at the Excelsiors when they meet them in an exhibition play at the Memorial Arena in Brampton.

The regular season will get underway for Orangeville when they travel to Orillia on Friday May 5th for a game against the Rama Kings.

The Junior B Northmen also have high hopes of improving on their 2005 season where they advanced past Niagara and Six Nations in the opening playoff rounds only to be dispatched in the semi finals by the eventual Founders Cup Champion, Elora Mohawks.

This year again, both a new face and a familiar face will take their places behind the B bench.

With Rusty Kruger moving up to join Matt Sawyers as assistant coach for the Jr A's, an opening was created for the return of former Northmen player Mike Falkiner to join with Blaine Burman and assume coaching duties with the Northmen B.

Falkiner is no stranger to the league having guided the Halton Hills Bulldogs into the second round of the 2005 Jr B playoffs.

General Manager Bob Clevely makes no bones in making it known that plans are to build on the success of last season and states, "it is our intent to win this season."

With the return of James Reid, Jessie Leitch, Luke Worgan, Travis Rydall and 2005 Rookie of the Year Nick Rose between the pipes, things look good for that prospect.

Clevely also acknowledges the contributions made by the local minor organization. "We have a good crop of midgets to choose from this year. There is so much "A"quality of talent all the way through the Northmen minor ranks from top to bottom."

Clevely points to Spartan and Oakville as the two teams to watch this year but also points out that some familiar faces from Owen Sound, Guelph and Elora may emerge as potential spoilers.

Having already won their first exhibition contest of the season last Saturday 8-6 over the Halton Bulldogs, the team hopes to continue the trend this weekend.

They play game two of their back to back with Halton in Georgetown at 4:30 on Saturday, then will find themselves in Mimico on Sunday night.

The 2006 season kicks off in earnest next Friday when they travel to Hamilton, then come home at the Tony Rose and host Elora in their home opener at 8p.m. on Monday, May 1st.