Lakers have ‘really good young core’ for future: Day
Paul Day and Mike Hasen fulfilled a goal Tuesday night they set when hired to manage and coach the Peterborough Century 21 Lakers in 2015.
Day, a Peterborough native, and Hasen, imported from Brampton, won three National Lacrosse League titles working together with the Rochester Knighthawks. Their goal in joining the Lakers was not just to win a Mann Cup, which they did last year in B.C., but to bring it home to Peterborough. They reached that goal in a four-game sweep of the Maple Ridge Burrards.
“That was our number one goal,” said Hasen, who has won seven Mann Cups, five with Brampton as a player and a coach.
“We had opportunities I thought we let slip away in the past. It was a lot of hard work from TK (offensive coach Tracey Kelusky), Keaster (defensive coach Bobby Keast) and Paulie (Day) bringing in all the guys but the players did it for us. We’re so appreciative to be a part of it.” Day hopes to keep it going.
“We had some retooling to do,” said Day, “but we’ve got 17 guys 27 and under. We have a really good young core. I think that was the difference in this series. Our depth and our youth. The future is bright. After our loss to Six Nations (in 2016) some people questioned the depth we had but we knew what we had. We’ve got better the last two years.”
This is Keast’s seventh Mann Cup to go along with 2004, ’06, ’07, ’10, ’12 and ’17.
“I want eight,” Keast laughed. He was thinking of his father Ron after the win. Ron Keast, who was on the Lakers’ board for more than two decades, died three years ago.
“This was my first one at home without my dad so it’s special,” Keast said. “And you don’t know when your next one is coming. So you have to appreciate every opportunity and value every chance you get to do it.”