It may feel more like a three-night coronation than a championship series when the West Coast Senior Lacrosse Association wraps up its 2022 campaign next week.
The Ladner Pioneers will put their perfect season on the line in a best-of-five championship series against the North Shore Indians. Games one and three are slated for Sungod Arena on Aug. 2 and 6 respectively (8 p.m.). It would be a big surprise if the series goes beyond that.
Ladner has rolled through the regular season with little in the way of resistance thanks to a line-up loaded with National Lacrosse League (NLL) talent. The stacked roster is all about taking a run for the franchise’s third-ever national title at next month’s President’s Cup in Leduc, Alta. slated for Aug. 28 to Sept. 3.
The trend in recent tournaments is teams from back east and Alberta have been led by NLL players to podium finishes. The Pioneers found that out in 2018 and again in 2019, the last time the event was held. It has resulted in bolstering their line-up like they never have before with players that typically would be playing in the Western Lacrosse Association this summer.
Calgary Roughnecks standout and Coquitlam native Tyler Pace passed up on his WLA season with the Langley Thunder to lead the WCSLA in scoring with 75 points and 40 goals in 14 games.
Hometown star and Vancouver Warriors veteran Logan Schuss skipped his senior “A” campaign in New West to pile-up 58 points in 11 games for Ladner.
Ryan Benesch, Zach Herreweyers and Phil Caputo are other pro snipers playing for the Pioneers, while the back-end features plenty of top end NLL talent too including Matt Beers, Jeff Cornwall and goaltender Eric Penney.
NLL playoff scoring leader Eli McLaughlin would make it a dozen in Ladner’s line-up for nationals if he recovers in time from a shoulder injury. It all adds up to the deepest roster in club history, but will it be enough to challenge for a national title?
The lack of league competition likely means the Pioneers won’t be battle-tested until they arrive in Leduc.
“For sure it’s a concern,” admitted head coach Ross Frehlick, following his team’s 14-6 regular season finale win over North Shore back on July 14. “We probably had about 20 really good minutes last night, but it’s tough when the games have gone the way they have. I think we have lost one period all season.
“We are just going to have to work hard in practice and make sure we are fit for nationals. This is definitely a deeper team (than 2019). We are better at the back end and better in goal.”
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North Shore advanced to the final by sweeping a best-of-three series against Victoria on the weekend, including a 17-7 win on Sunday.
