The summer may be winding down, but the Vancouver Warriors’ calendar has been anything but quiet. Between community events, international field action, and a heated WLA postseason, August was packed with highlights for the black, white and gold. 

Now, all eyes shift as the spotlight shines on the Mann Cup. Half a dozen Warriors are set to compete in Canada’s most storied lacrosse championship, which begins Friday, September 5th at 7 p.m. in Queen’s Park Arena. 

 

In the Community 

The Warriors were busy giving back this month. At KitsFest, Timbr and Remo Schenato led kids through stick skills and drills, while Marcus Klarich made a guest appearance at the Jr. Canucks Camp.  

The team also connected with fans at the Evo Cinema Series at Stanley Park. 

 

In the Box 

NLL Free Agency has opened on August 29th. The Vancouver Warriors and General Manager and Head Coach Curt Malawsky are always looking to improve their team. In the meantime, the team has already made the following transactions: 

• Christian Del Bianco was franchise tagged 
• Qualifying offers were extended to Adam Charalambides, Ryan Martel, and Reid Bowering 

 

WLA Action 

Warriors players went head-to-head throughout the WLA playoffs en route to the Mann Cup.  

The Coquitlam Adanacs finished atop the WLA standings with a 15-2-1-0 record. The New Westminster Salmonbellies went 14-4-0-0, the Victoria Shamrocks finished 13-4-1-0, and the Maple Ridge Burrards wrapped up 7-9-2-1. 

The Salmonbellies topped the Shamrocks 3-1 in a five-game series, and the Adanacs won their series 3-1 against the Burrards. New West and Coquitlam matched up in the best-of-seven WLA finals, the Salmonbellies taking the series 4-1 and play the Mann Cup at home at Queen’s Park Arena. 

While Brett Mydske has anchored the back end for the Salmonbellies throughout the playoffs, Ryan Martel tallied four goals and three assists along with winning 16 of 32 faceoffs in four playoff games. Jeff Cornwall has played 11 postseason games this season and scored an empty netter in Game 5 of the WLA finals series against Coquitlam. 

In the first matchup between the Adanacs and Burrards, Coquitlam took the game 13-7. Tyson Kirkness and Tyler Garrison each had a goal and Del Bianco turned aside 34 of 41 shots he faced. For Maple Ridge, Payton Cormier was the second star of the game with a five-point outing (3G, 2A). Marcus Klarich had one goal and two assists, Dylan McIntosh had a goal and an assist and Riley Loewen chipped in with an apple.  

The Adanacs won the second game 13-12 in overtime, Delbs stopping 33 of 43 shots he faced. Klarich was the first star of the game, putting up nine points (4G, 5A) for Maple Ridge. McIntosh had two goals and two assists, and Cormier had two goals and one assist. 

Maple Ridge took the third game 9-7, Klarich coming through with another first-star performance, this time with five points (1G, 4A). Loewen poured in four points (1G, 3A), McIntosh had three points (2G, 1A), and Cormier had two helpers. Del Bianco had 35 saves in the loss. 

The Adanacs took the fourth game 10-7, Garrison was the third star of the game, scoring one goal for Coquitlam while Del Bianco stopped 37 of 44 shots he faced. In a valiant effort for the Burrards, McIntosh had six points – a hat trick and three assists and was the game’s second star. Klarich had two goals and two assists, Cormier had one goal and one assist, Loewen had one goal. 

Some Additions: Forwards Marcus Klarich and Ryan Sheridan, and defenceman Owen Grant will joining the Salmonbellies for the Mann Cup. Grant finished his first PLL season with the Boston Cannons and Klarich earned WLA MVP honours with the Maple Ridge Burrards, finishing third in the league in points (72), third in goals (37), and fourth in assists (35). Sheridan was a second team All-Star, putting up 52 points (27-25-52) through 15 games. 

 

On the Field 

The PLL season shifted into playoff mode this month, and Warriors continued to make their mark south of the border.  

Reid Bowering (New York Atlas) had two hat tricks to finish the regular season and help the Atlas to a first-place finish in the Eastern Conference and a bye to the semifinals against the Philadelphia Waterdogs. Bowering led the PLL in regular-season shooting percentage (50%), connecting on 10-of-20 shots through seven games. 

Along with three goals against the Denver Outlaws, Bowering chipped in an assist on 14 touches. He had another hat trick and picked up three ground balls in a 20-19 win over Philadelphia. 

Alec Stathakis (Philadelphia Waterdogs) picked up five ground balls and went 13-of-23 in the faceoff circle against the Boston Cannons. 

In quarterfinals action, Stath was 40%, going 11-of-27 inside the circle, also collecting three groundballs and causing one turnover. The Waterdogs beat the Maryland Whipsnakes 14-12 to advance to the semifinals,but fell to Bowering and the Atlas 13-11 to come up one game short of the championship final. 

Adam Charalambides (Carolina Chaos) had two goals, one of the goals halted a six-goal run by the Denver Outlaws, to help Carolina take a 12-11 win. Bides had a goal against the Utah Archers in the Chaos’ last regular-season game. 

The Georgetown, Ontario native had one goal in the Chaos’ quarterfinal match, falling 14-12 to California. 

Owen Grant (Boston Cannons) in a game against his Warriors teammate, Grant picked up one ground ball and caused two turnovers in the win. Grant also had a goal, an assist, two ground balls, and caused two turnovers against the California Redwoods. 

 

Coming Up 

September means back to school – and back to Warriors Elite Academy. 

Registration is open to co-ed players ages U11, U13, and U15 with tryouts being held at Langley Events Centre.  

To register, visit here.