Sights set on seven
Athletics want to bring the Minto Cup back to St. Catharines for the first time since 2003
The St. Catharines Athletics motto entering the 2017 junior A lacrosse season is a simple one: Seeking Seven. As in seven Minto Cups. The Minto Cup is awarded annually to the champion of junior A men’s indoor lacrosse in Canada, and the Athletics have won six of them: 1947, 1950, 1990, 1991, 2001 and 2003.
Could 2017 bring Minto Cup number seven to the Garden City?
Sean Allen certainly is optimistic.
The A’s head coach and general manager knows his team will definitely improve on their 2016 eighthplace finish.
St. Catharines finished last season with a 6-13-1 record before being eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs by the first-place Six Nations Arrows.
“In order to be successful you have to set goals,” Allen said. “We do have different metrics based on statistics.”
“We definitely want to finish, not just one or two spots higher, we want to finish incrementally higher. We definitely have goals in place.”
The Athletics will be led up front by two super sophomores in Alex Simmons and Carter Zavitz.
Simmons led the A’s in goals, with 26; and points, with 60; last season in just 16 games, while Zavitz scored 17 goals and added 36 assists for 53 points in 19 games.
Add in veteran Jeff Wittig and Brett Erskine, and Allen knows his team can find the back of the net.
“I think the maturity is really going to show with this group this year,” said Allen who will be joined on the St. Catharines bench by long-time assistant Robbie Taylor and goaltending coach Mickey Calder.
“Offense is all about finding small areas of dance partners,” Allen said. “I think you’re going to notice a remarkable difference this year, and that’s one of our goals – obviously, more goal production per game. We’re excited about our offence.”
On defence the Athletics feature one of the best one-two combinations in all of junior A lacrosse as team captain Holden Garlent and Latrell Harris, who is currently still playing for the Toronto Rock, would be a welcome addition on any lacrosse team.
“We established ourselves as a very, very tough team to penetrate last year,” Allen said. “If you are going to get any space, it’s not going to be for very long.”
“We’ll usher you out of our zone as quick as you entered it. We were very mature here last year, despite being relatively young, and we’re banking we’re going to be even stingier this year.”
Nick Damude returns in goal while Allen added Drayden Patey from the Orangeville Northmen in an off-season trade, leaving the Athletics with a solid one-two punch between the pipes.
“We’re going to be very scary to approach this year from a defensive and goaltending standpoint,” Allen said.
The Athletics, who opened league play on the road last night against the Whitby Warriors, welcome the Peterborough Lakers for their 2017 home opener Wednesday. Game time at Jack Gatecliff Arena is 8 p.m.
Notes: Saturday, June 17, will be celebrated as Lacrosse Day in Niagara.