MINTO CUP CHAMPIONS. The Rayburn Construction Junior A Northmen celebrate the occasion of their 2008 Canadian Junior Lacrosse on the floor of the Max Bell Arena in Calgary on Saturday night. Orangeville had defeated Six Nations Arrows in the Ontario final to advance to the Minto where they went undefeated through round-robin play and capped it off with a 9-4 decision over Victoria to claim the Canadian junior title. Photo/hiredgunphoto.ca Four the fourth time in its 107-year history, Lord Minto's Cup, the symbol of Canadian junior lacrosse supremacy, will find a home with the Orangeville Northmen, who defeated Victoria Shamrocks 9-4 on Saturday night to lay rightful claim to this national title.

The Northmen, who last won the Cup in 1996, earned a berth in Saturday night's game by sweeping the round-robin portion of the tournament. They posted an 18-2 romp over Edmonton Miners and a 10-5 decision against the Shamrocks followed by a 7-5 win against the host Calgary Mountaineers last Wednesday to earn a bye into the final.

After a week in Calgary with the prize so near, Orangeville wasted no time in taking control of Saturday's final when Brandon Ivey combined with Adam Jones and Stephen Keogh to open the scoring just 45 seconds into the first period.

Jeff Ivey, Jeremy Noble, Mat McLeod and Keogh would also tally for the Northmen over the first period to give Orangeville a 5-1 lead heading to the dressing room between periods.

In the second, though, with their backs to the wall, the Shamrocks capitalized on a flat period for Orangeville, with only a lone Northmen marker by McLeod and three from the Shamrocks to narrow the margin to 6-4 by the end of play.

But true to form, the Northmen refocused and took control through the final 20 minutes.

With Northmen goalie Nick Rose playing at the top of his game, Orangeville shut down the Shamrocks offence while Craig England, Jones and tournament MVP Keogh each chipped in one more goal to seal the scoresheet at 9-4 and earn Orangeville the title.

For Keogh, it was a storybook ending to a fiveyear junior career. "I have been waiting for this since my first year of junior A" he told reporters after the game.

Named tournament MVP on the strength of 10 goals and seven assists over the event, Keogh had nothing but praise for his teammates. "All the guys came together. We've been wanting this since we came here. It's been a great year for me, winning an NCAA championship (with Syracuse) and now this — it's a great feeling."