The St. Albert Miners start working this weekend toward a historic fourth President’s Cup.
The winners of three consecutive senior B national lacrosse championships are digging deep to continue the team's dynasty of greatness.
“We’ve had a lot off success in past years and we have high expectations for everyone on the team from vets to new players so we’re not going to rest on past laurels," said Jason Riley, a returnee on defence for the Miners, 87-4-2 during the championship era after losing the 2015 Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League provincial final.
At the 2018 nationals, the Miners equalled the longest championship streak in the President’s Cup 55-year history and the previous teams to three-peat were the 1976-78 Vernon Tigers and 1986-88 Fergus (Ont.) Thistles.
“People are gunning for us,” said Riley, stating the obvious. “Going into games people are going to be more than ready to come out and put their best lineup forward. They’re going to want to topple us.”
The score from Friday’s season debut against the host Beaumont Outlaws was unavailable at press time.
Tonight at 8 p.m. the Miners play the Edmonton Warriors at JRC Arena.
“Everyone is ready to go for sure,” Riley said. “We want to put together a good start with another President’s Cup in our view.”
The Miners have logged extra hours in the off-season in preparation for the upcoming season.
“In practice we’re playing against the best players in the league who are in our own dressing room. We practice just as hard as we play so that’s kind of what we’re focusing on. We want to come out ready to play and make sure everybody is in good shape and ready to battle,” said Darren Kinnear, an offensive position player. “We’ve got a lot of returning guys and a couple of new faces here so you want get a feel for your new teammates and get your chemistry rolling again with everybody else.”
As in past years, the roster for the opening weekend will not be the same for the RMLL playoffs and nationals.
“We have guys away playing in the NLL (National Lacrosse League) and stuff like that so from the start of the season to the end sometimes it’s a considerably different lineup but that gives us a chance to see what kind of new talent we have and evaluate and move forward,” said Riley, the team’s penalty minute leader in the 2018 regular season with 22 in 15 games.
Last year the Miners finished 8-1 at the eight-team nationals after compiling a 22-1-1 mark in league play and playoffs.
“We have to forget about what happened last year and worry about what our goal is this year and what we’re trying to accomplish to get back to nationals and hopefully win another one,” said Kinnear, who has competed in the last four President's Cups with the Miners, including the 2015 bronze-medal winning team that finished 27-3 and all three losses were at nationals, and five nationals overall.
Last year’s President's Cup was the fourth in five years for the Miners and the sixth since 2010 after the team's fifth consecutive RMLL provincial final and the eighth in nine years.
The first Presidents’ Cup for an Alberta team since the 2007 Sherwood Park Outlaws was celebrated by the Miners at the 2016 tournament in Leduc and the host team went undefeated five games for an overall record of 25-0-1.
The Miners are also the first team to repeat since the 2011-12 St. Regis Braves of the Three Nations Senior Lacrosse League with an 8-1 mark at the 2017 nationals at Iroquois Lacrosse Arena on the Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario while finishing 32-2 overall.
Last year’s 10-8 overtime cliffhanger in the final against the host Naniamo Timbermen, the West Coast Lacrosse League champions, cemented the Miners’ status as future inductees into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in the team category.
“That overtime game was probably the most intense game I've ever been apart of in my life. It was really special,” said Kinnear, the sixth-highest scorer on the Miners last year with 57 points, plus 19 goals in 13 games in league play.
The Miners are now synonymous with lacrosse royalty in the country.
“We’ve made a name for ourselves, not just in St. Albert but all over western Canada and Canada in general,” Riley said. “We went from being relatively unknown to people stopping us on the street when they see the (Miners) logo. We definitely didn’t have that exposure before so that’s really nice to be ambassadors of the game and grow the game and to see how lacrosse is growing in Edmonton, St. Albert and surrounding communities.”
It takes a special person to be a Miner.
“We have a great tradition and guys coming into the organization will find out pretty quick that we’re not your standard senior B lacrosse team. We hold everyone to a different level of performance and accountability,” said Riley, 30, a Miner since junior in 2010.
The Miners are also tighter than a drum and it shows as national champions.
“We’re such a close team. We do everything off the floor together, we have lots of events as a team, and that helps us battle for one another. We’re all brothers here. I would do anything for anyone on this team,” said Kinnear, 28, who lives in Red Deer and has made the commute to St. Albert for practices and games since his junior days with the Miners.
LOOSE BALLS: The Miners and Warriors will clash again May 12 as the fourth and final game on Lacrosse Day in St. Albert at Akinsdale Arena. Ball drop is 9 p.m.
The Miners also have their fingers crossed that the City of St. Albert will hang the three President’s Cup banners in the rafters at Go Auto Arena, the home floor for the senior B team, in time for the May 13 contest against the Outlaws at 8 p.m.
