2023 RMLL schedule released: Junior A season starts May 13
Luke Bowen, Edmonton Miners (Photo: Dave Fryer)
The Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League has flipped their Junior A schedule status from “in progress” to “final” in recent days, the Alberta- & Saskatchewan-based league starting their season on Saturday, May 13 at Bill Hunter Arena in Edmonton, Alberta.
Bill Hunter Arena, which is the home floor of the Edmonton Miners, will also play host to this year’s Minto Cup. In 2022, the Miners not only represented the four-team RMLL at the Minto Cup held at the Powerade Centre in Brampton, Ontario, they came just a win away from becoming the league’s first-ever Minto winner. Their performance ranked as one of last year’s most thrilling & important lacrosse stories.
The Miners will actually play in 2023’s first two RMLL regular season games when they host the second half of their season-opening double header against the Calgary Mountaineers on Sunday, May 14.
A weekend later, the Saskatchewan SWAT will host their own back-to-back opener when the Okotoks Raiders travel to Saskatoon’s Kinsmen Arena for games on May 20 & 21.
Click here to see the entire 2023 RMLL Junior A regular season schedule.
Last year the Miners & Mountaineers finished with an identical 12-3 record to sit tied for first in the league with the Raiders finishing third at 5-10 and SWAT sitting last with just a single regular season win.
The Miners went on to sweep the SWAT 4-0 in the first round of the RMLL playoffs, then bettered the Mountaineers in the all-Alberta final, 4-1.
At the Minto, the Miners became the first RMLL team to win the tournament’s semi-final game, and then came incredibly close to capturing the national title, which was won by the OJLL’s Whitby Warriors 2-1. Led by Panther City Lacrosse Club rookie Mathieu Gauthier, the Miners offense would also rewrite all RMLL individual player records at the Minto too. Born in 2002, Gauthier will play his final season of Junior A lacrosse this summer.
While Edmonton did lose top players like Jake Bowen (Queens University of Charlotte), Marcus Needham (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University) captain Bennett Smith (Queens University of Charlotte) and BC-based goalie Keegan Lutsch-Melenychuk (BCJALL trade deadline acquisition) to graduation, last year’s Minto runners-up bring back many notable names from 2022’s record-breaking roster.
As this year’s host province, the RMLL will send two teams to the Minto tournament, which typically takes place in late August.
Stay tuned for The Lax Mag’s preseason National Junior Rankings, which orders all teams from the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League, British Columbia Junior A Lacrosse League and Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League from first to 23.