The Vancouver Warriors made an impact across the lacrosse world on and off the floor. From a Mann Cup championship run to the PLL playoffs and lots of community work closer to home, the Warriors have been busy in August.
Three Warriors are headed to the Mann Cup: Goaltender Christian Del Bianco, defencemen Ethan Ticehurst and Remo Schenato of the Coquitlam Adanacs will face off against the Six Nations Chiefs. The series will be held at Iroquois Lacrosse Arena and kicks off Friday, September 11th at 8:00 p.m. E.T.
The Chiefs have won the Mann Cup the last three times and have taken home the trophy a total of nine times. The Adanacs won the Mann Cup once in 2001, when Warriors Head Coach and GM Curt Malawsky was part of the squad and also served as an alternate captain.
The Warriors announced their coaching lineup for the Junior Warriors Elite Academy starting in the fall, which helps U11 and U13 co-ed players develop skills learning from NLL players.
Forward Curtis Dickson is the Executive Director for the program, while forward Adam Charalambides is the U13 Director, and defenceman Matt Beers is the U11 Director.
The Warriors were busy putting smiles on kids’ faces with visits to B.C. Children’s hospital to spend time with patients and play some lacrosse.
The Warriors battled against one another in the WLA finals with a trip to the Mann Cup on the line.
The semifinal series saw the Victoria Shamrocks sweep the Nanaimo Timbermen 3-0 in a best-of-five series, and the Adanacs edged the Maple Ridge Burrards 3-2.
Marshal King had nine goals and five assists through three games, and earned a first star in Victoria’s 17-8 win, putting together a seven-point performance (5G, 2A). Nanaimo Timbermen’s Ryan Sheridan compiled four goals and six assists for the Timbermen during the series.
For the Adanacs, Maple Ridge Burrards series, Del Bianco was doing Del Bianco things and earned two first-stars and one second star through the five-game series. Delbs had 38 saves in Coquitlam’s 8-3 win over Maple Ridge and 43 saves to close out the series with a 7-4 win in Game 5. In the Adanacs’ 9-6 win in Game 3, the netminder had 41 saves, earning a second star.
Coquitlam defenceman Ethan Ticehurst scored an empty netter in Game 3 to extend the Adanacs’ lead late in the third period.
Through that series, Maple Ridge Burrards forward Marcus Klarich had 14 points (5G, 9A) and was the first star in Game 4, putting up five points (2G, 3A) leading the Burrards to a 9-7 victory.
Forward Payton Cormier also amassed 14 points (4G, 10A), recording three four-point nights.
Maple Ridge defenceman Jackson Suboch contributed an assist in the second period to give the Burrards a 5-3 lead, ultimately taking Game 1 by a 9-7 score.
The WLA finals proved to be exciting as the third-place Adanacs topped the first-place Shamrocks 4-2 in a best-of-seven series, Del Bianco, Ticehurst, and Schenato coming out victorious against King.
Del Bianco gave star-worthy performances in five of the six games throughout the series. He stopped 55 shots he faced to help Coquitlam to a 5-4 win in Game 3 and had 40 saves in an 8-7 closeout win in Game 6.
Schenato chipped in two assists for Coquitlam in the series.
King recorded 18 points (6G, 12A) in the finals, including four-goals in Game 4, good for the first-star nod. Despite scoring over half of his team’s goals, Coquitlam took the game 8-6. King contributed five assists in Game 6.
The PLL season wrapped up, and playoffs started, the quarterfinals rounding out the month of August. Boston Cannons defenceman Owen Grant and Philadelphia Waterdogs faceoff specialist Alec Stathakis are in the midst of the PLL playoffs and will face each other in the semifinals on September 7th.
The Waterdogs finished first in the Eastern Conference, earning a bye to the semifinals, while the Cannons finished second in the East.
Owen Grant (Boston Cannons) forced two turnovers and picked up two ground balls in Boston’s 12-9 win over the California Redwoods. In the quarterfinals against the Maryland Whipsnakes, Grant recorded a caused turnover and three ground balls in the Cannons’ 9-7 victory.
Alec Stathakis (Philadelphia Waterdogs) went 15-for-28 off the draw and picked up seven ground balls in an 18-10 win over the Atlas. Stath scored a goal, while picking up seven ground balls and going 11-for-22 from the circle in an 11-9 win over the Maryland Whipsnakes.
Reid Bowering (New York Atlas) scored two goals on 66.7% shooting in New York’s 14-9 loss to the Denver Outlaws. Bowering also scored a pair and picked up two ground balls in the Atlas’ 18-10 loss to the Philadelphia Waterdogs.
The Atlas missed the playoffs this season, after winning the PLL championship last year.
School is starting next week, and the Warriors will be back in schools across the Lower Mainland with their Stick to School program. Through the program, children learn about the Warriors, the history of lacrosse, rules of the game, and get to try their hand at skills, all led by the Warriors themselves.
To bring the Warriors to your school for their Stick to School program, send a request here.