Cup a ‘picture-perfect’ end for Jr. C players
Jr. C Lakers win Meredith Cup at home against Wilmot Wild
Winning the Meredith Cup on Tuesday night was the best way Peterborough Mincom Kawartha Lakes Realty Jr. C Lakers snipers Adam Churchill and Riley Caldwell could have imagined ending their junior careers.
In fact, reality was still setting in the morning after the team overcame an early multi-goal deficit and late third period tie to edge the Wilmot Wild 9-8 to win the provincial Jr. C lacrosse championship 4-1 at the Peterborough Memorial Centre.
“It’s hard to think at the start of the year that you are going to end your career by winning the cup,” Churchill said.
It was a “picture-perfect ending,” Caldwell said. “It’s an unreal feeling.”
The victory also capped a season of great personal accomplishment, as Churchill and Caldwell, along with Travis Ferguson, finished one-two-three in Ontario Junior C Lacrosse League scoring with 100, 91 and 77 points.
“It was definitely something special,” Churchill said of his personal-best year before reflecting on the broader accomplishment. “Everything seemed to click for us.”
The Lakers swept their way to the Meredith Cup, downing the Barrie Bombers 2-0 in the Eastern Conference quarter-final, North Shore Kodiaks 3-0 in the conference semi-final and Whitby 3-0 in the conference final.
But losing the first game of the cup final to Wilmot was the wakeup call the team, which had become a bit over-confident, needed, Churchill said. The Lakers then went on to win four straight games.
Being able to penetrate Wilmot’s big, strong defence up the middle was key because the Lakers attack couldn’t beat Wild goalie Andrew Chenier from further out, he said. “It hurt, but we had to get inside to get to them.”
Caldwell agreed and credited goaltender Andrew Lagana for “standing on his head,” as he had done many times. “It’s nice knowing you have him in your net when you are playing. It gives you a chance to win every night.”
Head coach Dave Baker couldn’t say enough about the team, which also won the cup in 2015 under his leadership. Churchill, Caldwell, Ferguson, Cam Crowley and midget call-up Jensen Walker were a part of that team.
“They wanted it bad and they got it. They had a lot of fun this year,” he said Wednesday. “We had everything in place to be a winning team … we just had to put it all together in each round of the playoffs and we did.”
The coach praised each player for embracing their role, even if it meant not having as much floor time as some would like.
“These are guys that really picked up their game and played well for us. Everyone played to their abilities and that’s what it takes to be champions, really,” he said.
Assistant coach Kelly Roberts agreed, pointing out how every player did what they were asked to do. “That was the big thing. Kids at both end of the age bracket worked hard … it was a real team atmosphere.”