Playoffs? We are talking playoffs this week for the 2024 CUFLA season. The post-season begins with the first year of the Super Qualifier Weekend.
First off, let’s recap the news from last week.
McGill Wins the Weekend
Last week we discussed the upcoming showdown between Queen’s and McGill and it lived up to the hype, especially for fans of defensive lacrosse. Tied at 3-3 after three quarters, McGill got fourth quarter goals from Zach Bye and the eventual game winner from Owen Howard.
It was a tough spot for Queen’s who had to play Ottawa the day before, but the valiant effort indicates a possible sleeper run in the playoffs from the Gaels. They can play with the circuit’s best.
With their perfect regular season on the line, McGill took the quick turnaround in style, heading up to Peterborough and beating Trent 11-7 on Saturday. The victory finished off their 10-0 regular season, one of two teams to accomplish the task this season. Bye was again impressive, finishing with 5 goals and 2 assists, while Alex Erbstein added 2 goals for McGill. Jack Macalpine and Dallyn Rai had 3 points each for the Excalibur.
Outside of the two McGill wins, there were two other one goal games this weekend. First, Ottawa took down Bishops 13-12 in a game that had standings implications. Ethan Parkhouse scored the game winning goal with just 8 seconds remaining in the contest to complete an epic comeback for the Gee-Gees.
Bishops led 7-3 after one quarter but Ottawa chipped away, winning the fourth quarter by a 4-1 margin. The win spoiled one of the performances of the season from Bishops’ Liam Reynolds, who finished with 8 goals.
The Gaiters weekend would only see more heartbreak on Sunday when they again lost a one-goal game, this time in overtime to the Careton Ravens. A last-minute tying goal by Gaiter Maxwell Chiarella sent the game to the extra period, but Cole Byrne scored for the Ravens in overtime to seal the victory.
Super Qualifier
Looking forward now to the Super Qualifier weekend, here is what you need to know.
Six teams will take part in the final weekend and the Baggataway Cup. One of those teams is the host Brock, who have already advanced with an exemption. Brock did create a documentary series which is worth watching, check that out below.
That leaves 5 seeds left. Three of them will come from the eastern conference, which only has six teams. That means every eastern side makes it to Super Qualifier weekend.
Those games will be the following:
Carleton at Queens Saturday 12 PM
Ottawa at Trent Saturday 1 PM
Bishops at McGill Sunday at 5PM
For the west, only four teams (other than Brock) will make it to the Super Qualifier. Nipissing will take on Western on Friday in London, and Toronto will try to pull the major upset against Guelph on Sunday.
Toronto won the tie-breaker against 4-6 McMaster based on goal differential.
According to the CUFLA account on X, the Trent and McGill games will be streamed, so stay tuned for links to those games.
Individual Leaders
With all teams having finished the regular season, the 2024 scoring champion was Guelph’s Liam Aston. The Beaches Jr. A product scored 24 goals and 22 assists, and it was that balance that gave him the edge. McGill’s Bye led the circuit in goals with 29, while Brock’s Jaden Patterson led in assists with 41. Check out the chart below for the full breakdown of the top scorers.
Stay tuned next week for a recap of the Super Qualifier and a look ahead to the big dance!