The Victoria Junior Shamrocks will attempt to accomplish something that hasn’t been done in 34 years. An Island club hasn’t won the Minto Cup since lacrosse superstars Gary and Paul Gait with Esquimalt Legion in 1988 on their way to their iconic NCAA careers at Syracuse University and the pros and into the pages of Sports Illustrated. Only three Island teams have lifted Canadian Junior A lacrosse’s top prize — Esquimalt Legion in 1988, Victoria McDonald’s in 1976 and the Victoria Junior Shamrocks in 1962.
The sa国际传媒-champion Junior Shamrocks begin their quest Monday night in the 2022 Minto Cup tournament at the CAA Centre in Brampton, Ont., against Ontario runner-up Toronto Beaches. The Ontario champion Whitby Warriors meet the Alberta champion Edmonton Miners in the other opener Monday. The Junior Shamrocks play Whitby on Tuesday and the Miners on Wednesday to complete the opening round. The second- and third-place teams will advance to the semifinal on Thursday while the top-placing team from the round-robin will earn a bye into the best-of-three final Aug. 27-29.
“The guys feel good and seem loose and are ready to go,” said Victoria head coach Terry Dennett.
That the Junior Shamrocks are even in the Minto Cup is a testament to how the team is built and how deep the roster runs. They were missing star players Noah Manning, Casey Wilson and Trent DiCicco, the latter of the NCAA Big Ten Ohio State Buckeyes in field lacrosse, throughout the sa国际传媒 playoffs. The trio was away playing for silver medallist sa国际传媒, which lost to the U.S. on Saturday in the gold-medal final, of the world U-21 lacrosse championships in Limerick, Ireland. (Levi Verch of Victoria, who plays for the Nanaimo Junior Timbermen, was also on the Canadian team). The Junior Shamrocks threesome will return to join their teammates for the Minto Cup in Brampton.
“Missing those players, it was great to see the depth of our team come through during the playoffs,” said Dennett.
“Guys played positions they never played before. And our goaltender, Adam Bland, was amazing through the playoffs.”
If there is a group to end the Island’s Minto Cup drought, it could be these Junior Shamrocks. Not that they harp on it.
“To the extent we talk about it, I try to point out to our players how the Gaits conducted themselves on and off the floor,” said Dennett.
The Junior Shamrocks went to the 2019 Minto Cup, losing to the Orangeville Northmen of Ontario in the final, but as the second sa国际传媒 team following the regular-season champion Coquitlam Junior Adanacs because this province got two berths that year due to the tournament being held at the Langley Events Centre.
That was Victoria’s first Minto Cup appearance since 2008, when it also lost to Orangeville in the final, but just as the Baby Rocks seemed on the verge of a big era, the pandemic wiped out the 2020 and 2021 seasons. That cost the older players on the 2019 team, who lost the remainder of the junior careers, but the rookies from that team have now bloomed into impact players, most notably Patrick Dodds. Although still a junior, Dodds, 20, had a breakout pro National Lacrosse League debut season for Panther City of Fort Worth, Texas, He is a load to handle at six-foot-three and 212 pounds.
“We have had great leadership through the playoffs provided by Patrick Dodds, Denton Macdonald and [defensive stalwart] Owen Russell,” said Dennett.
Another important player has been Casey Wilson, who with Manning, also plays NCAA Div. 1 field lacrosse with the University of Denver.
“It has been a long road back for our athletes and fans but Ontario is ready to defend the Minto Cup at home,” Ontario Junior Lacrosse League commissioner Mark Grimes said in a statement.
