[ad_1]
Breadcrumb Trail Links
Curt Malawsky says that team founder Les Wingrove would have ‘loved to see how full the arena was and the atmosphere and the support’
Get the latest from Steve Ewen straight to your inbox
Published Aug 25, 2024 • Last updated 3 hours ago • 5 minute read
You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.
The Coquitlam Adanacs celebrate their Minto Cup Junior A lacrosse national championship on Friday Photo by SHELLY FEY /prv
Article content
The Coquitlam Adanacs’ Minto Cup win this week on home turf could double as a history lesson about the club.
Advertisement 2
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
- Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events.
- Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account.
- The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.
- Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword.
- Support local journalism.
SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
- Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events.
- Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account.
- The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.
- Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword.
- Support local journalism.
REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
- Access articles from across Canada with one account.
- Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.
- Enjoy additional articles per month.
- Get email updates from your favourite authors.
Sign In or Create an Account
or
Article content
The Adanacs claimed the Canadian Junior A box lacrosse crown Friday, with their 9-6 win over Ontario powerhouse Orangeville Northmen giving them a sweep of the best-of-three championship series at the Poirier Sports and Leisure Centre.
The Adanacs finished the four-team event, which also featured the Port Coquitlam Saints and Raiders Lacrosse of Calgary, with a 4-1 record. Their lone loss came to Orangeville in round robin play.
Ontario has won 13 of the past 17 Mintos. Coquitlam has captured those other four age 21-and-under championships, with their last one before this year coming in 2018 in Calgary, led by netminder Christian Del Bianco.
Advertisement 3
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Coquitlam’s jerseys this season included a tribute patch to Les Wingrove. Wingrove was one of the team founders in 1979, and did turns as their coach and general manager before moving on to the Senior Adanacs.
He died in 2018. He was 74. The team started the tribute patch on its jerseys that season. Wingrove had been an adviser to Junior Adanacs general manager Scott Wortley.
Wingrove’s Senior Adanac rosters over the years included players like Pat Coyle, who’s coach of these Junior Adanacs, as well as Nick Rose and Rusty Kruger, who are the GM and coach, respectively, of Orangeville.
Those Wingrove teams also featured Curt Malawsky, who’s the coach and GM of the National Lacrosse League’s Vancouver Warriors. His son Cody Malawsky was one of the leading scorers for these Adanacs this past week, highlighted by bagging four goals and one assist in Friday’s clinching victory.
Canucks Report
Thanks for signing up!
Article content
Advertisement 4
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Wingrove used to make a point of coming out to watch Cody play mini-tyke when he was starting out lacrosse some 15 years ago, Curt said.
“What would Les have thought of this week? The first word that comes to mind is ‘proud,’” said Malawsky, 54. “I think he would have loved to see how full the arena was and the atmosphere and the support from the alumni and parents and fans from all over the Lower Mainland.”
Craig Wingrove, 52, echoed those thoughts about his dad. Craig is a former Junior and Senior Adanac himself. He said he had people stopping him at games this past week and “thanking me just for being a Wingrove.”
“The growth and the success in lacrosse in Coquitlam would be what he would be most proud of,” he said. “Twenty-two hundred screaming fans in those final games … the atmosphere was spectacular.”
Advertisement 5
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Look at this respect for Jack Kask from his Adanacs goalie mentor and former Adanacs #MintoCup champ, Christian Del Bianco. Keep your eyes on Jack Kask – he’s just getting started. pic.twitter.com/8IQQNjZhlC
— Adam Levi (@AdamLeviLAX) August 24, 2024
Advertisement 6
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
There were other connections you can make to the past. Wortley played for the Junior Adanacs. The same goes for assistant coach Chris Gill. So did Gord Kask, who was the Minto Cup tournament co-chair. His son Jack Kask was Coquitlam’s goalie and wound up taking Minto Cup most valuable player honours.
Jaxon Fridge was one of the Adanacs defenders. He’s the grandson of the late Ted Fridge, a former general manager and president of both the Junior and Senior Adanacs. Dad Daren Fridge is a former Junior Adanac player himself.
There was even more. Coyle lists the late Dr. Don Hedges as one of his major mentors. Hedges was officially an executive with the Senior Adanacs for 25 years. Unofficially, he was the doctor on call for all of lacrosse, working with players and staff from various teams in the Lower Mainland. Hedges died in 2022 and Coyle said at the time we’d never know exactly how many people in the game that Hedges had helped over the years.
Advertisement 7
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
“There were generations here. A lot of hall-of-famers were in the building, which was really cool. And I think the product on the floor in the last two games especially was exceptional. I heard multiple compliments about how good the skill level was,” Curt Malawsky.
The Coquitlam Adanacs celebrate their Minto Cup Junior A lacrosse national championship on Friday, Aug. 23. Photo by SHELLY FEY /Submitted
The history is important to the program’s current brain trust. The Adanacs’ white jerseys had the tribute crest for Wingrove. Their gold jerseys had one for Marc Lalonde, an executive with the Junior Adanacs who died in 2020.
Wortley talked up Saturday how close this group was this year. He said that there were players hanging out on the arena floor Saturday afternoon, wanting to be around each other and not have the season come to an end.
He said the team staff had a similar bond. He particularly commended team physio Saqib Niaz and his wife Amber for going above and beyond this year for the team. They are expecting a child this week, Wortley said.
Advertisement 8
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
“If you could make sure to mention them at any point in a story, that would make my Minto complete,” Wortley explained.
Curt Malawsky maintains that the success of both Coquitlam and PoCo is something B.C. lacrosse can build on. Coquitlam advanced directly to the final series after round robin. PoCo, who were playing in their first-ever Minto, lost 13-9 to Orangeville in the semifinal game. They had beaten Orangeville 12-7 in the round robin opener.
Coquitlam had swept PoCo in the best-of-five B.C. final to grab the top seed from this province for the Minto. PoCo took the host berth.
“I think this adds belief. I think B.C. teams now can see that if they put together the right team and play the right way they can have success,” Malawsky said.
Advertisement 9
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
“I thought PoCo had a good team. Obviously Coquitlam had a good team. I think our talent in B.C. is getting better and better.”
Coquitlam Adanacs fans celebrate their Minto Cup Junior A lacrosse national championship on Friday, Aug. 23 Photo by SHELLY FEY /Submitted
The Victoria Shamrocks will represent B.C. in the best-of-seven Senior A Mann Cup national championship series starting Sept. 6 at the home of the Ontario champion. The Peterborough Lakers and Six Nations Chiefs were tied at 2-2 going into Game 5 on Sunday.
Ontario teams have won 15 of the past 16 Mann Cups, with the 2005 Shamrocks the lone B.C. team to break that string. The last Lower Mainland team to win a Mann Cup was the 2001 Adanacs, a squad that had Wingrove as its GM.
x.com/steveewen
SEwen@postmedia.com
Recommended from Editorial
-
Can the Vancouver Warriors make their own Roberto Luongo trade and add Christian Del Bianco?
-
Why the Vancouver Warriors are the Canucks’ ‘test kitchen’
Article content
Share this article in your social network
[ad_2]
Source link
Fitnessnacks – #Coquitlam #Adanacs #break #Ontarios #grip #Minto #Cup #tourney
Courtesy : https://theprovince.com/sports/lacrosse/coquitlam-adanacs-minto-cup-orangeville-northmen-salute-to-clubs-past-too