Shamrocks have date with Lakers in Mann Cup

A new Mann Cup winner will be declared in 2015 as the Peterborough Lakers upset the two-time defending senior A lacrosse champion Six Nations Chiefs 6-5 on Monday night in Game 7 of the Major Series Lacrosse final.

The Lakers now advance to face the Victoria Shamrocks starting Friday at 7 p.m. in Game 1 of the best-of-seven series at The Q Centre.

In the matchup, Victoria faces former goaltender Matt Vinc and one of the best players in the game in Curtis Dickson, who moved east this season from Maple Ridge. Dickson, whom the Shamrocks know well, forms a formidable portion of the Lakers’ offence along with Shawn Evans, Turner Evans, Adam Jones and Cory Vitarelli.

The Shamrocks lost the last two straight Mann Cups to the Chiefs, but should still be considered underdogs as the East has won the last nine national championships. The Lakers won four of those in 2006, ’07, ’10 and ’12.

Shamrocks head coach Bob Heyes hopes his team can snap that swing of Eastern domination, but he knows it won’t be easy.

“They have that expectation coming out here,” Heyes said of the eastern run. “Regardless of what people think because it’s here. We lost this here two years ago and they have that pedigree right now. They’ve been in a battle; they play in a better league than we do, so they are battletested. As are we, but they just beat the defending Mann Cup champions, so they are a very good team.”

Peterborough downed Victoria in six games in 2006, one season after the Shamrocks had claimed their last of eight national crowns (the last western team to win). In fact, these two teams played in three straight Mann Cups from 2004-06, with the Lakers winning two of the three.

The series will feature two of the top goalies in the game with Vinc and Victoria’s Aaron Bold.

“And both are vying for their first Mann Cup,” said Heyes. “Vino has been chasing it for a while. We know he’s going to be focused for sure.”

As will Bold, who won a National Lacrosse League title in Edmonton.