The Links: Miners overpower Warriors in OT to force series-deciding Game 3 for Minto Cup
We spent Monday morning collecting all the media mentions of last night’s Game 2 of the Minto Cup Finals between the Whitby Warriors and Miners Lacrosse Club, the Miners making a massive third period comeback to force overtime and then beat the OJLL champions 9-8 in the extra ten-minute frame.
Minto Cup Finals
Best-of-three series tied 1-1
Game 1: Whitby 12 over Miners 8
Game 2: Miners 9 over Warriors 8 (OT)
Game 3: Monday, August 29, 8pm ET
Prior to last night’s game, Matt Caruck of the JVI Sports Network and broadcaster of both of the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League and this year’s Minto Cup took a moment to acknowledge the tragic loss of Luke West, who was one of six young people who died in a single-vehicle crash in the early hours of Sunday morning in Barrie, Ontario. Luke played on the Barrie Bombers lacrosse club for more than a decade, long-time coach Jim Lowe telling The Star, “He was a tremendous young man, he was a leader on the floor. More importantly, he was the ultimate teammate.” The family of Haley Marin, who also perished in the crash, have shared a gofundme to help with funeral expenses.
Keegan Melenychuk, Miners Lacrosse Club (Photo: Dave Fryer)
As most were anticipating, the Miners’ Keegan Melenychuk returned to his starting-stopper spot after being pulled in Game 1. He played exceptionally throughout, making 46 saves in the series-saving victory. Below, check out the highest saves made in a 2022 Minto Cup game since the start of round robin, both Melenychuk and Whitby’s Kaleb Martin owning six spots on the top nine best single-game save totals during the tournament.
1. Keegan Melenychuk (Miners) 63 saves vs. Warriors (August 22)
2. Adam Bland (Shamrocks) 58 saves vs. Miners (August 24)
3. Will Johnston (Beaches) 55 saves vs. Miners (August 23)
4. Adam Bland (Shamrocks) 54 saves vs. Beaches (August 22)
5. Keegan Melenychuk (Miners) 48 saves vs. Beaches (August 25)
T6.Keegan Melenychuk (Miners) 46 saves vs. Warriors (August 29)
T6. Kaleb Martin (Warriors) 46 saves vs. Miners (August 22)
T6. Kaleb Martin (Warriors) 46 saves vs. Shamrocks (August 23)
9. Kaleb Martin (Warriors 45 saves. Beaches (August 24)
Scott Reed, Whitby Warriors (Photo: Dave Fryer)
Game 1 saw just three penalties called over 60 minutes. A night later, 23 minutes in the CAA Centre’s sin bin were assessed, including a five-minute major to Miners forward Luke Bowen, who made contact with Martin after jumping through Whitby’s soon-to-be cluttered crease.
Bowen, who did not play in Game 1, finished last night’s game with a goal and assist. “Luke is just an absolute menace. He gets after it. Great shot from outside,” said brother Jake Bowen during the game’s first intermission. “He’s a tough son of a…”, Jake almost finished before being cut off by Paul Hendrick going into the break.
Whitby was led offensively, as they have been all season long, by Brock Haley and Adam Poitras, who finished with five of the team’s eight on the night. They sit first and second as the tournament’s top two goal scorers heading into Game 3.
Mathieu Gautier’s 2 goals and 3 assists were enough to keep him as the Minto’s top point producer (29). While he’s unlikely to catch Johnathan Donville’s total of 39 points from the 2019 Minto Cup, the 20 assists he’s already registered will be on the healthier helper totals going back to 2003, that first summer Alberta was welcomed to the Minto Cup. Below are the highest assist tallies at the tournament since 2003. The first six names on that list would go on to be selected in the first round of the NLL Entry Draft, 2022’s edition just a few weeks away.
Most Assists at Minto Cup since 2003
1. Clarke Petterson, Brampton (2013) 30
2. Tyler Pace, Coquitlam (2014) 22
3. Johnny Powless, Six Nations (2014) 21
T4. Reilly O’Connor, Whitby (2013) 20
T4. Jeff Teat, Brampton (2018) 20
T4. Jonathan Donville, Orangeville (2019) 20
T4. Mathieu Gautier, Miners (2022) 20
Prior to 2022, the most assists a Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League player had during a single Minto season was Dan Taylor’s ten back in 2014. After Monday’s Minto finale, the Miners could have as many as six players with ten more more assists.
Gautier can also score (only Poitras and Haley have more than him this year), like this absurd effort to end the second period…
And speaking of silly scoring, this shorty by Caelan Mander, his third of the tournament, was surely one of the most money goals of this year’s Minto, for straight up style and scoreboard significance…
The eventual winner from Davis Dame in OT was definitely extra too…
The Cup-deciding Game 3 goes down at the CAA Centre in Brampton tonight at 8pm ET. Click here to purchase tickets or here to watch live online either on TSN.ca or YouTube.