We are just five days away from the start of the 2025 Minto Cup, and the field is yet to be set. We do know three quarters of the tournaments participants though, with Coquitlam and the Raiders punching their ticket over the weekend.
It has certainly been an unusual playoff season, especially given the recent losses of key players who are competing for the Canadian national team in South Korea. But the show goes on, and this could set up to be one of the most unusual Minto Cups of all time, given the lack of dominance shown by all three of the provincial winners.
Tonight is game six of the OJLL Finals, where Orangeville will finally look to put away the Whitby Warriors. The Northmen lost both of the previous two games in Whitby, including one of the wildest finishes you will ever see in game four. Whitby scored twice in the last 33 seconds of game four to tie the game, before fans in the arena accidentally shattered a pain of glass. Whitby eventually won the game in overtime after a very long delay.
For a preview of tonight’s game five and a recap of the action elsewhere, keep reading below!
Who Can Break Through?
The 2025 OJLL Finals will be remembered for a few reasons. One is the aforementioned sequence in Whitby that needed to be seen to be believed. Another is the incredible three games that have gone to overtime in this series. And the last one is the almost unbelievable lack of scoring in the series.
In regards to the overtime, it’s incredible to think that Whitby could lose tonight, and finish the series with a positive goal differential. All of Orangeville’s three victories have come by 1-goal margins, with two needing the extra period. Whitby is actually still plus three in goal differential on the series.
The goaltending has been incredible, with Evan Constantopoulos and Tyden Redlick taking over this series. Obviously, the lack of scoring has also coincided with the departures of OJLL leading scorer Lucas Littlejohn and others on the Whitby side, and the injury to Liam Matthews. Matthews returned in game five and did score the game winning goal, but it’s safe to say he’s operating at less than 100%.
It’s hard to imagine these games finishing at 4-3, especially after last year’s OJLL final with this same Northmen team. Game seven last year finished by a score of 20-12, so 32 combined goals. That’s one more than the last three games of this series, combined!
The Warriors are allowing just 5.6 goals per contest in the finals so far, while the Northmen are allowing just 6.2. To put that into context, let’s compare with some other OJLL finals series in recent memory. Keep in mind that the teams in the chart were all the Ontario Champions. To have a goals against average like Whitby and be at risk of losing is certainly a historical outlier.
| Team | Year | GAA in OJLL Finals |
| Orangeville Northmen | 2009 | 6.2 |
| Orangeville Northmen | 2010 | 6.5 |
| Whitby Warriors | 2011 | 7.8 |
| Orangeville Northmen | 2012 | 6.6 |
| Whitby Warriors | 2013 | 11.0 |
| Six Nations Arrows | 2014 | 5.5 |
| Six Nations Arrows | 2015 | 7.0 |
| Orangeville Northmen | 2016 | 7.75 |
| Six Nations Arrows | 2017 | 3.0 |
| Brampton Excelsiors | 2018 | 6.4 |
| Orangeville Northmen | 2019 | 6.8 |
| Whitby Warriors | 2022 | 8.0 |
| Burlington Blaze | 2023 | 8.8 |
| Orangeville Northmen | 2024 | 9.4 |
Technically speaking, the Warriors would have the best GAA since the 2017 Arrows, who held the Mimico Mountaineers to just 3 goals per game. The finals were just two games that year, with both teams already advancing to the Minto Cup.
The closest full series was the 2014 OJLL Finals which was also won by the Arrows. In a four-game sweep, the Arrows held the Warriors to games of 2 and 3 goals, helping cement their legacy as a historically great team.
Again, it’s important to stress that BOTH teams in this series would be among the best GAA teams in history, making it one of the lowest scoring final series.
So to preview game six, the analysis is pretty simple… Can anyone score?
Tune in tonight to find out.
Adanacs Keep the Streak Alive
The Coquitlam Adanacs won the BCJALL championship on the weekend, extending a dynastic streak unlike many seen in the sport’s history. The Adanacs have won every BCJALL championship except for two since 2009.
One of the two years they did not win was 2016, when Delta beat them in the finals. The Adanacs went on to win the Minto that year.
But it was a different journey this year than it was last summer. I wrote about it then, but the 2024 Adanacs were undefeated in the BCJALL playoffs, a rare feat for any team.
This year, they faced a much stiffer test, especially from the Victoria Shamrocks in the finals, with Victoria pushing the Adanacs to six games. However, Victoria lost starting netminder Grayson Manning and forward Greyson Thompson after game four due to their Team Canada commitments. While nothing should take away from the Adanacs accomplishments, Shamrocks fans will certainly wonder what could have been.
But with or without certain players, the Adanacs highlight an unusual lack of dominance from the best teams. All three final series in the three major provinces went to six games or more, with no individual team looking particularly elite. When you combine that with the fact that St. Catharines lost in the first round, it’s fair to wonder who the favourite might be in the Minto Cup.
But this all sets up for an incredible 2025 Minto Cup, with legitimate arguments for each team, whoever they will be.
If you’re an Adanacs fan, you are likely ok with getting some stiff competition before the journey eastward. This year’s Coquitlam team will try to become the first Western team to win the Minto in Ontario since the 1977 Burnaby Cablevision team won in Ontario.
Editors note: This article previously stated that the last BC team to win in Ontario was the 1979 Cablevision team. That team did win, but the 1979 Minto Cup was held in Alberta. The 1977 team was the last to do it in Ontario.
If there is a year to do it, this might be it.
Raiders Rally
Speaking of years to do it, the Raiders Lacrosse Club will be hoping to become the first Alberta team to win the Minto after rallying to win the RMLL finals in seven games. The presumptive favourites all year to come out of Alberta, the Raiders Minto Cup dreams were in serious jeopardy when they found themselves down three games to the Mountaineers.
They got 1-goal victories in games five and six, before finishing the comeback with a 7-5 victory in game seven. Unfortunately there is a bit of a lag on statistics in the RMLL, but the Raiders have been paced by a balanced scoring attack that includes several players who got experience at the Minto Cup last year.
At that Minto, the prevailing sentiment was that it was a good learning experience for the Raiders, that would help them challenge for the trophy in the following years.
In 2025, there will be no moral victories for the Albertans.
Five teams remain in contention for the 2025 Minto Cup. Only four will make the tournament.
It’s a great week to be a lacrosse fan.