1980- THE DROUGHT ENDS 


 Back in 1931, Brampton Excelsiors won the Mann Cup for the second
 consecutive year.  It was a remarkable repeat, considering how many
 players the Excelsiors had lost to professional lacrosse.  Equally
 impressive was their trek west to defend their title.  Brampton should
 have had a dynasty in the making.  It wasn't meant to be.  The loss of
 so much talent to professionalism hurt badly, even worse when their top
 two scorers defected after the '31 campaign.  If that wasn't enough of
 a challenge, the last field champions had to adapt to the box game in
 1932.  The Excelsiors did not make it three in a row.  Far from it.
 Instead they started a championship drought which lasted nearly half a
 century.  Brampton did win back the Cup in 1942, plus another OLA title
 the following season, however it was a combined team based in Mimico.
 For the Excelsiors, a couple of OLA Finals was the best they could do
 over three decades.  The sixties saw two OLA titles and numerous league
 finals but no Mann Cup.  The seventies were no better for the Brampton
 squad.

 1980 should not have been any different.  There were four teams in
 Major again, as Fergus replaced Ohsweken.  All four would make the
 playoffs.  A lucky break as the Excelsiors would finish fourth!  The
 Major clubs combined their schedule with the Senior B League.
 Naturally three of them had winning records.  Brampton won 7 times
 while losing 16.  The basement dwellers met Brooklin in the Semi Final.
 The first place Redmen had won all six regular season games, each by
 at least seven goals.  They were led by rookie of the year Ken Colley,
 who scored 72 goals while running away with the scoring title.  In
 total, six Brooklin players made the top ten.  Bram Wilfong was the
 lone Excelsior.  The drought looked safe for another year.

 The Redmen did have an Achilles heel: eight rookies and six sophmores
 in their line up.  Brampton at least had experience on their side.
 They also got a scheduling break.  The series opened in Brampton, even
 though Brooklin had home advantage.  In Game One the pennant winners
 would be minus seven regulars.  The madness was about to begin.

 The opener will be remember for a bench clearing brawl with many
 spectators on the floor.  Brooklin lost goaltender Wayne Colley and
 Chuck Lepine.  Both were ejected from the game along with Excelsior
 Gord Lyons.  It will also be remembered for Mark Thompson scoring the
 winner in the final 5 minutes.  11-10 Brampton as Thompson and Ken
 Archdekin both had hattricks.  Dave Wright scored three times for the
 Redmen.  The Excelsiors next won in Brooklin.  They led all the way in
 a 15-9 game.  Thompson, Lyons and Bob Burke all scored three goals.

 Brooklin coach Tony Gray gave each line a pep talk about playing
 tougher defence prior to Game Three.  The third and fifth games were
 also scheduled for Brampton.  The visitors played like the top team
 they were, winning 13-10.  Ken Colley led with a hattrick.  The Redmen
 next won at home 12-6.  A six goal third period broke this one open.
 Wayne Colley blanked Excelsior shooters for a 42 minute stretch over
 the second and third periods.  Blaine Harrison was top marksman with a
 trio.

 The bubble appeared to have burst on the last place club.  Yet
 scheduling would be key.  As the pivotal first game had been held in
 Brampton, the even more important fifth game would also be in Brampton.
 The Redmen would host the final two.  That would only be an advantage
 if the series went seven games.

 After 28 minutes of play Brooklin led comfortably 7-3.  They would not
 beat Barry Maruk again until the last 3 minutes.  Mark Fisher and Burke
 each scored four goals to bring the Excelsiors back.  They won it 14-9.
 Again the Redmen started fast in Game Six.  They won the opening
 period 5-3, thanks, in part, to Larry Graham's three goals.  After that
 Brampton's zone defence in front of Maruk shut Brooklin down.  Lyons
 finished with a hattrick as the Excelsiors came back for a 12-6
 victory.

 That was the series Brampton was not suppose to win.  After that it
 would all be shockingly easy for John McCauley's chargers.  With the
 ex-Rexdale Warrior Barry Maruk playing the best lacrosse of his life,
 the Excelsiors' Mann Cup drought was living on borrowed time.

 Next came the defending OLA champs from Peterborough.  The Lakers had
 struggled past Fergus in seven games.  They had to win Game Six in
 Fergus 17-11, then narrowly escaped the seventh game with a 10-9
 decision.  Just barely getting by was not going to work against the
 high flying Excelsiors.  Brampton dispatched Peterborough in five
 games.  They would host New Westminster in the Mann Cup.

 It was a matchup not made in heaven.  A last place team versus a third
 place club.  Neither had a winning regular season record.  Yet they
 both had won when it counted.  New Westminster came from 3-1 down in
 the Semi Final to eliminate first place Coquitlam.  The Excelsiors
 entered the series with a 15-19 record on the year.  The Salmonbellies
 were only marginally better at 19-18.  Still, they were both playing
 for the Canadian championship and that's all that mattered.

 Bert Large, George Masters and George Thompson performed the ceremonial
 face off.  All three had been on the Combines' championship team of
 '42.  Thompson had played on the last Excelsior champion in '31.  Large
 had been Brampton's starting netminder when they won their fourth OLA
 title in 1926.  By 1931 he had left the team to play professionally.

 It was a hot and humid series, which took its toll on the westerners.
 Starting goaltender Rod Banister had to be replaced after two periods,
 in the opener, because of the heat.  New West led 10-9 at the time.
 Brampton won it 14-10.  This was the last year for picking up players
 from other teams.  The Excelsiors chose well.  Peterborough's Bob
 Wasson was player of the game with 5 points.  Wasson and Tom Patrick
 scored 44 seconds apart to put the easterners ahead for keeps.

 The next night the Salmonbellies again played with the lead until the
 humidity wore them out.  They led 7-6 late in the second period when it
 all fell apart.  Three goals by Gord Lyons, Mark Thompson and Bob
 Wasson concluded the session.  Fast emerging superstar Barry Maruk
 displayed his lethal passing by setting up all three goals.  He then
 shut down the visitors in the third as Brampton won going away 14-9.
 The other Peterborough pick up, Jim Wasson, had an 8 point game.

 Matters got bleaker for the westerners prior to Game Three.  Brian
 Tasker - who was a WLA Second team all-star - flew to Calgary on the
 off day for business then got stranded because of the Toronto air
 traffic controllers strike.  Never mind, Bob Tasker made up for it with
 a 9 point game.  This time the Salmonbellies built too big a lead to
 blow.  They outscored the home side 8-1 in the second period.  With a
 12-5 lead they broke even in the third period, 5 goals apiece.  It was
 a rough game and New Westminster took advantage with 9 power play
 markers.  Gilles Bezeau led them with 7 tallies on the night.

 Tasker was back for Game Four.  His plane could have been late and he
 still would have made it.  This contest was delayed 45 minutes as head
 coaches John McCauley and Al Lewthwaite argued over sweater colours!
 The Excelsiors cleaned up their act in this one.  Terry Sanderson -
 picked up from Brampton's Senior affiliate Orangeville - took their
 only penalty.  New Westminster did not get a power play the entire
 night.  Sanderson made up for his foul by scoring the game winner in
 the last 2 minutes.  The eastern champs outshot the Salmombellies
 60-45, winning 9-8.

 The losing team scored first in every contest.  New Westminster kept
 that record perfect by getting the first goal in the fifth and final
 match.  Brampton counted the next four to win the period.  The visitors
 battled back to tie it 5-5, only to be crushed by three late goals in
 the second.  Bob Wasson, Bob Burke and Gord Lyons did the damage.
 Lyons and Wasson struck again to start the last period.  At 10-5 it was
 all over.  The Excelsiors cruised home for an 11-7 win and their first
 Mann Cup triumph in 49 years.

 Barry Maruk was named seried MVP.  He was at his best during the fifth
 game.  He made 43 saves, intercepted four breakaway passes and set up
 two goals.  He finished the series with 10 assists.

 Another drought, of sorts, ended in Jr.A.  With a fine mix of veterans
 and youth, Whitby Builders finally won the Minto Cup.  Going back to
 1960, they had been jinxed in the Canadian Final.  They returned to New
 Westminster twenty years later and upset a physically superior
 Salmonbelly club in five games.  After a fourth game 14-13 defeat, the
 Builders blew out the westerners 22-7 in the deciding match.  John
 Jordan had 12 assists in the finale!  A fitting way for veterans Jordan
 and Cam Devine to conclude their careers.  Jordan set a series record
 by scoring 41 points.