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14
and 7
For the 14th consecutive
year the Brampton Excelsiors are moving on to the
Ontario Championships. And for the 7th time in a
row they will need to go through the Peterborough
Lakers if they want to defend their Mann Cup in
British Columbia this year.
This renewed rivalry
started back in 2003. Brampton defeated Peterborough
in 5 games but were unable to defend their 2002
Mann Cup in Victoria. In 2004 Peterborough began
to see a huge surge in attendance and were able
to finish ahead of the Excelsiors during the regular
and earned home floor advantage. Despite Brampton
going up 3 games to one, the Lakers found a way
to win the next 2 and forced a game 7 in a sold
out Memorial arena. Peterborough came out on top
and went on to win the 2004 Mann Cup.
Peterborough and
Brampton continued to collide in 2005, 2006, and
2007 with home floor advantage changing often. But
Peterborough continued to come out on top and went
on to win the Mann in 2006 and 2007. In Brampton's
125th anniversary year there was only one goal in
mind and that was to win it all. The Excelsiors
inevitably ran into Peterborough once again, but
this time it was the Excelsiors that dug deep and
came out with the win in game 6 to force a game
7 in Brampton. The Excelsiors would not be denied
again, and won that thrilling game 7 before hosting
and defeating the New Westminster Salmonbellies
in 4 straight games to reclaim the Mann Cup.
This year the Excelsiors
got off to a bad start. Once again they were able
to pull it together in time and went on a 7 game
winning streak to finish up first overall. The streak
was started after a loss and poor showing in Peterborough,
but was capped off with 2 straight wins against
the Lakers in the Powerade Centre.
Despite the critics
that might be calling for "new blood"
in the Ontario championships, no one can deny the
intensity which goes into these series. The best
lacrosse in the world has been seen by anyone that
has had the fortune to watch these games unfold
and this year should be no different.
So buckle up, cause
here we go again!
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