Northmen defy odds, rally to take Ontario championship

Photo/MIKE MALONEY NORTHMEN A's Craig England looks for an opening in second period action in game seven of the Ontario Junior A Lacrosse Final at the Tony Rose in Orangeville on Monday night. It will be the game of a series that will go down in Northmen lore.

After finding themselves in a position no one would ever have thought possible, down three games to none against the Brampton Excelsiors in the Ontario Lacrosse Association Junior A finals, the Rayburn Construction Northmen did what most thought impossible. The team that refused to give up, rebounded to force a seventh and deciding game and, in front of a packed house at the Tony Rose Memorial Sports Complex on Monday night , defeated the Excelsiors 9-6 to earn their second Ontario Junior A Lacrosse Championship is as many years.

The Northmen had been favoured by many to repeat as champions in 2009, finishing in first place during the regular season and sweeping both Whitby and Six Nations to advance to the final.

While they were not expected to sweep Brampton, they were also not expected to find themselves facing elimination when they took to the floor of the Powerade Centre in Brampton last Thursday night for game four of the best of seven series.

Knowing their backs were to the wall, Orangeville took the offensive right from the opening draw and got out to an early lead on the strength of two goals from Adam Jones in the first two minutes of the game.

Orangeville continued to pour it on with Mat McLeod, Glen Bryan John Quarrie and Greg Harnett each adding to the tally before Brampton could get one past Nick Rose in net for the Northmen.

Harnett would add another, his second of what would be three on the night to give Orangeville a 7-1 to end the first.

Brampton would step it up in the second but the Northmen offence continued to notch tally's on the scoresheet with Jeremy Noble, Matt Eckert, Craig England and Brandon Ivey (2) getting in on the action while Rose continued to stand his ground at the other end to give Orangeville a 13-5 win.

Game five back in Orangeville again saw the Northmen out to an early lead. Cody McMahon opened the scoring at the 8:57 mark followed two minutes later by Noble.

Brampton's Scott Tinning put them back within one but that is as close as the two teams would be for the rest of the evening as the Northmen found their stride.

Jones had another big night, notching three while McLeod, Quarrie, Bryan and Ivey rounded out the scoresheet to make it 9-5 for the Northmen at the final buzzer.

Playing game six in Brampton on Sunday afternoon was likely the Excelsiors' best chance to wrap up the series.

They found themselves tied 3-3 heading into the third in a game where both teams seemed to be struggling.

As he has so many times before, it was Andrew Suitor who sparked the Northmen to life with his goal just over two minutes into the final frame. Making the most of their opportunities, McMahon found the range from outside on the power-play to make it 5-3.

Slipping his way in through the Orangeville defence, Pat Saunders drew the Excelsiors back within one but Jeremy Noble nailed the game down for the Northmen with an insurance marker at 17:47, setting the stage for the winner take all game seven.

And so it was on Monday night that this determined Northmen team took to the floor to the cheers of a packed house at the Tony Rose looking to claim the title that was theirs for the taking.

Brampton knew they had to swing the momentum their way early if they hoped to win. Pressing from the opening draw, Excelsiors Andrew Marcoux scored first for Brampton just over two minutes into the game.

Sean Gilles would follow that for Orangeville, teaming up with Jones and Suitor, to tie it at 1-1.

Brampton caught a break late in the period when Orangeville seemed to drop their intensity. It was enough for JJ LaForet to drop one past Rose to give them a 2-1 lead heading into the second.

Orangeville started the second period on a roll. McLeod won a battle for the ball just 33 seconds and snapped it past Brampton goalie Steve Fryer to again tie the game. McLeod would again be in on the action over the next four minutes, setting up both Quarrie and Jones to give them a two goal lead.

But again Brampton came right back at the Northmen, first to tie the score then take a 5-4 lead at 13:43.

Northmen were making the most of their chances, though, as Cody McMahon cashed in on the power-play - one of only three penalties assessed to either side the entire game to yet again tie the score.

With only seconds remaining in the second, a heads up pass from Matt McMurray to Jones coming off the back door was quickly tucked under Fryer to make it 6- 5 for Orangeville heading into the third.

Yet again a fast break and pressure off the draw yielded results, but this time it was Brampton's turn with Cameron Flint doing the damage on the fly to tie it up just 30 second's into the third. And so it remained for the next fifteen minutes with tensions rising in the stifling heat as the clock wound down, everyone knowing that it would be the team that scored next would be the winner.

With floor conditions deteriorating, referees Bill Fox and Grant Spies gave the teams a chance for a 10-minute delay in hopes of drying up the floor with just over five minutes remaining. But both squads opted to play on.

And it was with 4:27 seconds left on the clock that Noble unloaded a shot in close to the crease that found a way between Fryer and the post, bringing the crowd to its feet in celebration. Not sitting on that lead, McLeod and Harnett each added one more in the final two minutes to seal the 9-6 win and take the championship for the second year in a row with the 4-3 series win.

For Noble it was a chance to redeem himself from a couple of games where he had struggled.

Down playing his winning goal, Noble knew the Northmen just had to stick with it to the end

"We played well. The (coaching staff) drew a couple of plays for me towards the end. I didn't capitalize through the game but I did at the end."

Orangeville coach Matt Sawyer summed up the feelings of the team on the whole on the win, "It was sweet, really sweet. Repeating as champions is one of the hardest things in sports"

Knowing some teams would have just folded in a series when down 3- 0 and knowing they already had a berth in the national championships.

Sawyer knew his team wasn't going to let that happen and every one gave it their all over the next four games to make the miracle comeback happen.

With the Ontario final now out of the way, the focus now turns south to Brampton who are hosting this years Minto Cup which kicks off this Saturday. Orangeville will face Coquitlam Adanacs in their first game at 5 p.m. on Saturday followed by what promises to be an exciting rematch with host Brampton Excelsiors at 8 p.m. Sunday. They wrap up the round robin portion of the tournament Tuesday facing off against Edmonton again at 5 p.m.