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Excelsiors book spot in Minto Cup final with 12-6 win over Coquitlam

August 26, 2009 - 22:57 Neil Stevens, THE CANADIAN PRESS

BRAMPTON, Ont. - The Brampton Excelsiors wanted another shot at the Orangeville Northmen and they got it with a 12-6 victory over the Coquitlam Adanacs in a Canadian junior lacrosse championship semifinal Wednesday night.

Cam Flint scored the game's first two goals and Mike Burke potted three in the third period as Brampton advanced to the best-of-three final against Orangeville beginning Friday night.

The Northmen got a bye to the final for going undefeated through the round robin, beating Brampton 8-5 in the process. They also knocked off Brampton in the Ontario final after losing the first three games of a best-of-seven series.

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So, the Excelsiors are intent on making amends by depriving the defending Minto Cup champions of a second straight national title, and the semifinal win over Coquitlam has them revved up.

"Yeah, Orangeville, we've been waiting for this," said coach Brian Beisel. "We'll all have to play good.

"If we have one guy have an off game it's not going to be good enough against Orangeville. If we come prepared to play and play hard, and above that play smart, they're beatable."

Steve Fryer supplied top-notch goaltending in the win over the B.C. champs although it wasn't one of his tougher assignments. Brampton had a 56-35 shots advantage so Coquitlam's loss couldn't be blamed on goalie Dan Lewis.

Brampton's other goals were scored by Dan Patterson, Scott Tinning, Andrew Marcoux, Kyle Andrews, Dane Stevens, Andrew Potter and Adam McGourty.

"That's what we hope for every night," Beisel said of the machine gun attack. "It's tough to defend if you've got a lot of guys just getting one or two rather than relying on one player to get you five or six."

Scoring for the Adanacs were Corbyn Tao, with two goals, Travis Cornwall, Robert Church, Ben McIntosh and Garrett McIntosh.

Flint picked a top corner of the net on Brampton's first shot 55 seconds into the game, Flint made it 2-0 at 2:17, and the Excelsiors led 4-2 after 20 minutes.

Power-play goals by Church and McIntosh 30 seconds apart early in the second period tied it but Coquitlam couldn't sustain momentum. Brampton pulled ahead again and was up 7-5 after 40 minutes.

It was all Brampton in the third period. A power-play goal by Burke at the 49-second mark and a goal by Potter at 1:14 made it 9-5. The Excelsiors had far too many offensive weapons for the Adanacs. Burke made it 10-5 at 7:50 with a fourth consecutive Brampton goal and coach Brian Beisel's players could begin thinking about the rematch with their regional rivals.

"It's a chance for redemption," said captain Kyle Rubisch. "It was tough to come back after (the blown Ontario final) but we've got the guys we think can do it.

"We've got a lot of talent and a lot of heart and when we work hard we're a talented team. We've just got to give it our all."

Brampton last won the Minto Cup in 1959.

One thing is certain: the trophy will stay in Ontario for the fourth year in a row.

Coquitlam was in the mix for the first time in 16 years, and head coach Dan Perreault was satisfied with his players' efforts this week.

"Brampton is a very good team," he said. "We didn't have enough.

"Overall, I thought we put in a good effort. We threw what we had at them but they're a good team."

Perreault loses only five players to the age limit for next season.

"We're hoping to be back next year," he said. "We'll take this as a learning experience.

"For the guys returning, we'll try to figure out what level we have to get our game to to compete with the Orangevilles and Bramptons. It's been 16 years so we're proud of the guys."

Perreault wouldn't venture a guess at who'd prevail in the final.

"You know what, they're both very good teams," he said. "Two different styles of play. I think it's going to be a heck of a final."