The lowest single-game goal totals at the Minto Cup since 2003
Coquitlam vs. Calgary, Minto Cup Day 1 (Photo: GOAT Sports Photography)
Last year The Lax Mag’s coverage of the Minto Cup centered around the record-smashing success the Edmonton Miners experienced while registering by far the best-ever results by a Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League team at the tournament.
A day into 2023’s edition of the Minto, and instead of examining at all-time highs, we’re looking at the lowest of the lows.
Going back to 2003 - the first summer the Minto was no longer a seven-game series between Ontario & British Columbia and instead a fresh four-team format - the single goal the Calgary Mountaineers produced in last night’s 14-1 loss to the Coquitlam Adanacs matched an all-time low for goals scored in a single game by a single team.
The solo goal scored was the sixth time since 2003 that a team has finished with so few. The others:
2010 – New Westminster Salmonbellies 10, Okotoks Raiders 1
2011 – Coquitlam Adanacs 12, Okotoks Raiders 1
2012 – Orangeville Northmen 15, Calgary Mountaineers 1
2018 – Coquitlam Adanacs 16, Calgary Mountaineers 1
2019 – Orangeville Northmen 12, Victoria Shamrocks 1
It was Coquitlam’s Jack Kask that allowed that one goal on 33 Calgary shots on Sunday, which is the only time any of the above one-goal performances had one goalie garnering all the glory: Frankie Scigliano & Brandon Mulligan (2010), Steve Fryer & Josh Phillips (2011), Dillon Ward & Michael Fournier (2012) and Christian Del Bianco & Nate Faccin (2018) were the tendy tandems that did the same.
Only eight games (again, since 2003) had a greater goal differential than the 13-goal gap last night’s final finished with. All of those results have had an RMLL team on the wrong side of the score line.
A Minto-match loser has scored two or fewer a total of twelves times since 2003, although not all of those games included an Alberta representative. The Six Nations Arrows beating the Coquitlam Adanacs 9-2 during a 2017 round-robin game is the only non-RMLL result to register on that list. Dougie Jamieson was the winning shot stopper in that one.
Calgary did easily avoid allowing the most goals in a game since that first year the RMLL was allowed entry into the tournament. Those goal-scoring highs include:
2018 – Brampton Excelsiors 25, Okotoks Raiders 8
2005 – Six Nations Arrows 21, Edmonton Miners 7
Tonight, the Mountaineers will face maybe the tournament’s most imposing offense in the OJLL Champion Burlington Blaze (Bill Hunter Arena, 5pm MT), who averaged eleven goals per game through three rugged rounds in Ontario’s playoffs. They had eleven last night to open the tourney against the host Edmonton Miners too.
The Blaze offense was led by forward Braedon Saris during the postseason (14GP, 39G, 41A). The eventual Dean McLeod Award (Playoff MVP) winner easily led the province in point production. Saris’ 80 playoff points were 26 more than the player sitting in second – his teammate, Alex Marinier (14GP, 27G, 27A).