1970 - A NEW DECADE, A NEW RIVALRY 


Belleville and Brantford had met in the playoffs the previous year,
however Peterborough and Brantford had never met.  That was about to
quickly change.  The two titans of Senior lacrosse would meet in the OLA
Final the next four years.  The Belleville squad returned to the Lift
Lock City and adopted the nickname Lakers, which the professional club
had used.  With the demise of the pro league all the players returned to
the OLA.  John Davis came back to amateur lacrosse and switched from #16
to his now famous #9.  Davis had worn #43 with Oshawa, the traditional
number worn by Green Gael captains back then.  Upon moving to Senior he
was forced to give up #43.  A certain Brooklin fan claimed that he
couldn't wear 43 because up in Peterborough no one knew how to count
that high!  Larry Ferguson also returned to the Lakers.  For the first
time Ferguson wore a face mask.  After fifteen years and over three
hundred stitches he was due for a change.

John Davis had been out of Junior lacrosse four years and had won four
scoring titles.  That string was ended by his former teammate Gaylord
Powless.  Powless' 90 assists were too many to keep up with as Davis
finished a distant second.  The top ten list was littered with ex-Gaels.
Behind Powless and Davis were Jim Higgs(5th) Brian Thompson(6th) and
Larry Lloyd(7th).  Thompson scored 82 points despite missing a third of
the season.  Cy Coombes surpassed them all with a league leading 66
goals.

With the boys back home, the former giants of the Senior League became
minnows.  Brooklin managed a third place finish and a winning record,
however they never threatened to win a fourth consecutive championship. 
Brampton fell to last place, missing the playoffs for the first time in
over thirty years!  Matters would only get worse in the years to come. 
Both clubs would have losing records in 1971.  It would be 1972 when
they were really snookered.  Both the Redmen and Excelsiors were
prepared to challenge for the Mann Cup when the OLA suddenly created its
Major League, consequently relegating Brooklin and Brampton to B status.

Merv Marshall became the third of the great wandering goaltenders.  He
scored in a game against Brantford, beating none other than Buff
McCready.  Pat Baker was unimpressed.  He conceded that it was colourful
but not what lacrosse was about.

The troubles for Brooklin and Brampton were never ending this year.  The
Redmen started the year with Glen Lotton as coach.  He was fired after a
20-7 loss to Peterborough.  Bob Vesey replaced him and immediately beat
Brantford 15-13.  The Vesey Redmen would have the Warriors number all
year, as the playoffs would prove.  Meanwhile the Excelsiors went to
Brooklin for a game minus starting netminder Joe Musial.  Wayne Thompson
had to sub for him but Thompson had no equipment!  Fortunately the
Redmen were playing out of the Civic Auditorium in Oshawa, so Thompson
was able to borrow equipment from the Green Gaels.

On a sad note, former Athletic George Teather passed away that summer. 
Teather had founded the Old Boys Association.  An organisation dedicated
to preserving St.Catharines' rich lacrosse history.  The Old Boys are
still going strong today and supporting all current St.Catharines teams.

Brantford and Brooklin met in one semi final.  The other saw
Peterborough sweep Huntsville by scores of: 13-6, 14-10, 22-6 and 16-13.
 The Warriors would not have it so easy.  They may have finished first
by a point, however the third place defending champions would not go
quietly.  The Warriors demolished Brooklin in the opener 17-4.  They met
a very different squad in Oshawa the next game.  The Redmen narrowly won
15-14.  Thus the homer series was off and running.  That form was
maintained over the next three contests.  Brantford won 19-13, followed
by a 13-9 Brooklin victory, then a 12-8 triumph for the Warriors.  Game
Six was the tightest of the series.  Brantford tied it with their
goaltender pulled.  The defending champs regrouped for overtime and won
16-13.  Thus the deciding contest came down to Brantford's offensive
firepower versus Brooklin's experience.  Experience nearly won out. 
Late in the third period Larry Lloyd scored his fourth goal to put the
Redmen ahead 10-9.  Gaylord Powless tied it with two minutes remaining. 
Next Ron MacNeil beat Merv Marshall for the winner with 68 seconds left.
 The Warriors then ran out the clock to preserve their 11-10 victory.

The first of four meetings between Peterborough and Brantford would be
the shortest series.  The Warriors took the opener at home 18-13.  In
Peterborough their road woes continued - a 16-11 loss.  The crucial
contest in the series would be Game Three.  Cy Coombes made the trip
with the flu and was even sick on the bus.  On the floor he scored five
goals!  Bill Armour scored four times, with three assists.  The Lakers
edged Brantford 14-13.  The Warriors replaced Rodger Williams in goal
for Ron Thomas but their losing ways continued.  The Lakers took Game
Four 16-10.  Thomas did play the final six minutes and made an impact. 
He knocked out John Davis then fled to the bench with Carm Collins
chasing him.  Brantford coach Ross Powless then defended his goalie
against Collins.  The seeds of hatred had been sown.  This was not going
to be a pretty rivalry.  The ugliness was fully evident in the last
game.  Gary Powless went between the pipes and Peterborough beat him 22
times.  Pat Baker allowed 15 goals in the series clincher.  Coach Bob
Allan removed Baker from goal to the safety of the bench with two
minutes remaining.  By that time the Brantford fans were littering the
floor with garbage.  However it was their boys who had been trashed and
the Petes who were heading west.

Heading to New Westminster for the beating of their lives.  The
Salmonbellies had put together one of the greatest teams of all time. 
They went 22-8 to finish first in, what was now called, the Western
Lacrosse Association.  They then defeated Coquitlam in a six game final.
 The Fishmen had scoring champ Wayne Goss, plus Paul Parnell, Mac Tyler
and Dave Tory.  Joe Comeau was in goal and Steve d'Easum was an all star
defenceman.

Every game of the final was played in front of a full house at Queen's
Park Arena, even though none were particularly close.  The Salmonbellies
won each contest by at least four goals.  In the second game they
doubled Peterborough 16-8 while outshooting them 65-38!  Parnell led the
series with 13 goals and 25 points, plus took home the Mike Kelly Award.
 Ed Goss was next best at 21 points.  Comeau set a Mann Cup record for
goaltenders with 9 assists.  John Davis was best for the Lakers with 13
points.

On the Junior Front, a veteran Lakeshore squad brought the Minto Cup to
Toronto.  They upended the defending champions in the Semi Finals, then
produced the second greatest comeback in OLA Jr.A history.  They trailed
Bramalea three games to one in the league final.  The Maple Leafs
battled back to force a seventh match.  In the deciding contest they
fell behind by a substantial margin.  Yet the Lakeshore kids refused to
lose.  They came from behind again to take the game and the
championship.  After that it was an easy four game sweep of Burnaby. 
Brian McCutcheon won the McConaghy.  Bill Coghill's 190 regular season
points left him one shy of Gaylord Powless' record.  In combined regular
season and playoffs Coghill finished with 236 points, equalling John
Davis' 1963 mark.  Powless was still best, having twice had 239 point 
seasons.