1977 - B.C. RULES! 


 Something about the Brampton Excelsiors and Canadian Championships just
 did not jive.  The Excelsiors had enjoyed success in the past, however
 the recent years had been a nightmare.  Not just for Brampton.  It
 seemed the OLA could kiss the Mann and Minto Cups goodbye the moment
 Brampton earned the right to face the western champs.  In 1976 BC swept
 the championships for the first time in fourteen years.  They defeated
 the Excelsiors at both the Senior and Junior levels.  Back in 1962
 Brampton were again victims twice.  In '77 the Senior Excelsiors would
 go west again.  After their heartbreaking loss the previous year, plus
 carrying a four series Mann Cup losing streak, they were due some good
 fortune.

 Owen Sound once again finished with the best record in the Major
 League.  On this occasion they were a clear first place finisher with a
 19-5 mark.  The defending champs followed a couple of wins behind.
 Brooklin, Fergus and Six Nations all had losing records.

 The Brampton duo of Steve Mastine and Pat Differ dominated league
 scoring.  They were the only players to break the 100 point mark.  Bob
 Burke and Bram Wilfong also had strong years for the Excelsiors.  The
 North Stars' Ted Greves and Redmen rookie Stan Cockerton were the only
 two to score more than 50 goals.  Greves got support from Thom Vann and
 Norm Hope.

 The playoffs were anti-climatic as no series lasted longer than five
 games.  The North Stars swept Brooklin.  The Excelsiors eliminated
 Fergus and Owen Sound both in five games.  That was it for Senior
 lacrosse fans in Ontario.  Brampton packed its' bags and headed west to
 try and avoid losing in the Mann Cup Final for the third consecutive
 year.

 Vancouver won the WLA for the second time in three years.  They
 finished first in the league with a 16-7-1 record, in spite of giving
 up as many goals as they scored.  In the Final they narrowly survived a
 seven game series against a strong Victoria club.

 Thus a rematch of the '75 Final would take place.  This time it would
 be a best of seven series, unlike the best of three earlier.  That was
 too bad for Brampton as they won the first two games this time.  The
 second victory was by a convincing 18-7 score.  They should have
 grabbed the cup and ran, before it was too late.  Soon Mastine was
 injured with a broken finger and Burke was knocked out of the series
 after three games.  Meanwhile the Burrards had finally recovered from
 that tough WLA Final as they ran off four straight wins to reclaim the
 Cup.  Doug Hayes averaged three goals a game to lead the series.

 At least the Excelsiors would not be representing Ontario at the Minto
 Cup.  Rexdale saw to that by sweeping Bramalea in the first round of
 the playoffs.  They next lost to Peterborough in a dramatic seven game
 semi final.  In their third year of Jr.A, the Whitby Builders broke
 through to win the OLA crown.  They eliminated Peterborough in five
 games to win the championship.

 They would host, probably the greatest Junior lacrosse team to ever
 come out of British Columbia.  Burnaby Cablevision won 35 out of 37
 games and placed six scorers in the top ten, while also having the best
 defence, led by Rod Banister.  They would be sorely tested in Ontario.
 Whitby had no Minto Cup experience, however they came out of a very
 competitive league with a 31-4 record.  History was truly on their
 side.  Though Victoria had won the championship the year before, the
 west had won only four Minto Cups in over twenty years - none of them
 in Ontario.  One had to go back to the mid fifties, then to 1949 for
 the only two times BC teams had won in the east.  On both occasions the
 Minto Cup was held at a neutral site and both times the west sent
 essentially BC All-Star teams.

 1977 would be completely different.  After the Stan Cockerton
 controversy of the year before, it was agreed that both Ontario and BC
 would send their club champions, with no pick ups!  For the first time
 since 1941, lacrosse would have a truly canadian team championship.
 Yet another difference was Whitby hosting the series at Iroquois Park
 Arena.  Another Ontario triumph was expected by most fans.

 The Builders opened with competitive 12-8 and 12-9 victories.  Then the
 Cables found their legs.  The key contest was the fourth game, a tight
 12-11 decision for Burnaby.  Whitby were a beaten team after that,
 losing the next two games 15-4 and 17-10.  All experts agreed on the
 reason for the comeback: Rod Banister.  His brilliant goaltending
 netted him the McConaghy award.  His foes, the likes of Cam Devine, Ken
 Colley and Bryce Jordan, were left in total frustration.  At the other
 end, Wayne Colley's debut in the Minto Cup Final had been an unhappy
 one.  He struggled against the sharpshooting of Dan Wilson, Dan
 Perreault and company.

 How significant a win was it?  No other BC team has won the Minto Cup
 in Ontario since then.  Not even the Gaits, who had two cracks at it,
 nor the more recent Burnaby Dream Teams have been able to breakthrough
 in the east.