Four teams are still in the hunt, while four more head for the consolation rounds at the 2025 Presidents Cup in Whitby, after quarterfinal Wednesday brought the first elimination games of the week.
One thing we know for sure is that there will be a new champion for the first time since 2019, as the Ladner Pioneers will not complete the four-peat this year. They lost to the Six Nations Rivermen on Wednesday and were eliminated from title contention. They have won every championship in this tournament since COVID.
Some of the quarterfinals were close and others less so, but let’s get right into the full recap of all the action. As a reminder, all of the games are available on YouTube for free.
Six Nations Rivermen 11 – Ladner Pioneers 6
The first quarterfinal matchup of the 2025 Presidents Cup saw the second-place team in Pool A take on the third-place team in Pool B, which featured Six Nations against Ladner.
For Six Nations, it was a rough start as they were not yet awake for the 11 am game, which saw them commit a penalty ten seconds into the game that gave Ladner a power play. Dylan Lacroix made them pay, as Ladner had an early one-goal lead.
In the early stages of the first period, Six Nations starter Tye Belanger was very uneasy in net and unable to find his footing as the Pioneers scored their second goal less than three minutes after their first to lead by two, five minutes in.
However, after Six Nations made some mental errors early on, they quickly corrected them and went on a four-goal run that spanned 12 minutes of play, including three on the power play. Tyler Brown had a goal and two assists on that run, and former Pioneer Zach Herreweyers tallied a goal as well.
The second period saw Herreweyers score his second and third goals to cap off the hat-trick, which helped extend the Rivermen’s lead. The once 2-0 deficit for Six Nations became a 7-2 lead for them by the midway point of the second period. Ladner already missing key guys like Erik Forsselius and did not have James Baker or Mark Yingling in their lineup, so the challenges were obvious for the BC side.
As the physicality increased, Ladner made four trips to the penalty box, resulting in three goals for Six Nations. Ladner was able to get one goal back in transition while killing one of those penalties as Mitchell Winter found Spencer Bromley off the bench to beat Belanger.
With the Rivermen owning a 9-3 lead after 40 minutes of play, Ladner’s chances at a fourth-straight Presidents Cup championship were in serious jeopardy. But less than a minute into the third period, Ladner was about to take a holding infraction when Head Coach Ross Frehlick called over the officials for a jewelry check on David Anderson. Per Lacrosse Canada rules, if a player is deemed to be wearing jewelry, they are ejected from the game, which washed out the penalty and prevented a power play for Six Nations.
Ladner would then use their size to their advantage as they drew three penalties in the period, and scored on all three of them to close the gap and start to gain some momentum. But as soon as they were able to find a little light, the Rivermen shut the door and the dagger came with 3:37 remaining in the third when Davin Bomberry was left all alone in front of Pioneers starting goaltender, Alexis Buque and potted a goal to make it 11-6 that put the game out of reach and end the possibility of four-consecutive Presidents Cups.
Edmonton Miners 14 – Allegany Arrows 13
Holy cow. As a journalist and someone who enjoys great lacrosse games, this one may be the most entertaining, enjoyable, and fun game I’ve ever watched.
There was an interesting storyline entering this game. The Edmonton Miners were the lower seed as they faced off against the Allegany Arrows, but if you take away the number of goals Edmonton scored against Saskatchewan–which was 33–they scored a combined nine goals through two games. That isn’t going to help you win games when it matters most. On the other side, Allegany had a great round robin as their only loss came against the Brooklin Merchants in a 12-10 affair and had a +22 goal differential. So the Miners’ offence was a question mark entering the contest with the Arrows.
But they came out guns blazing as they scored 90 seconds in, but Allegany responded 29 seconds later as Chris Cloutier fired a ball past Miners’ starting goaltender and Calgary Roughnecks member, Cam MacLeod. Dean Fairall scored Edmonton’s second goal before Cloutier potted his second marker of the game, but that was as close as Allegany got for the first half of the game.
The Miners then scored five straight goals from Cam Milligan, Colin Berghoff with two, John Lintz, and Tyler Sonnichsen scored his second of the game to give the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League representatives a five-goal cushion that saw the long faces on the Allegany bench and chased Arrows starting goaltender, Gowah Abrams.
Hold on, though. Edmonton may have size and speed, but they don’t have the human highlight reel that is none other than Buffalo Bandits forward, Chase Fraser. Everyone in the box lacrosse world knows who Chase Fraser is, as he has a flair for the dramatic and did he ever put on a show, but before we talk about Fraser’s goals, let’s talk about how we got to this point.
With Edmonton owning a five-goal lead, Cloutier scored his hat-trick goal for the Arrows’ third goal, and not long after is when Fraser scored his first of the game to make it a 7-4 game. Miners’ leader in points in the season, Jake Bowen, then entered the chat with a quick-stick goal as he streaked in behind the Allegany defence and scored.
But Allegany fought right back. A newly acquired player specifically for the Presidents Cup, Jacob Gasperetti, scored his first goal of the tournament, and then Fraser scored his second of the contest to make it 8-6. The Miners would get to nine before the period was over, but not before Fraser recorded his hat-trick and Zach Miller joined in on the Allegany second-period scoring as they rattled off six goals in the middle frame to shake MacLeod and make it a 9-8 game after two periods of play.
In the third, it was a spectacle to watch the man who is Chase Fraser. While on a power play, MacLeod made a shoulder save that popped into the stick of Miller, who passed it to Fraser, and he had a behind-the-back shot from distance that went top corner, tying the game at nine.
And what did he have for an encore? Just a casual 20-foot+ outside shot that went top corner again on MacLeod that triggered two legendary celebrations from Fraser.
Not long after, Cloutier tallied his fourth and fifth goals to take the lead for the first time in the game for Allegany, as they led 11-9 with under 15 minutes to play, which capped off a six-goal run from the Arrows.
But Edmonton wasn’t done yet.
Fairall found the back of the net, followed by Richard Lachlan, Marcus Needham, and once again, Bowen, who scored from his knees as he was getting hauled down. He went short-side on Martin, which made it a 13-12 lead for Edmonton with under ten minutes to play.
Cloutier was then able to tie the game back up with less than five minutes to play at 13-13. A spot in the semi-finals was on the line and the game went down to the wire.
Less than 30 seconds after Cloutier scored his sixth goal, Fairall still had time for one more, and he popped off his defender and sent a ball past Martin to make it a 14-13 game with 3:30 to play.
With less than 30 seconds remaining and Allegany calling a timeout to go 6-on-5, Cloutier and Fraser each had opportunities to tie the game up, but MacLeod stopped all three shots on the final Arrows possession that sent his team to the semi-finals with a 14-13 victory.
Snake Island Muskies 20 – Winnipeg Blizzard 3
The third quarterfinal match saw the Snake Island Muskies take on the Winnipeg Blizzard, and it was pure dominance from the Three Nations Senior Lacrosse League Champions as Mr. Presidents Cup himself, Joe Hall, had a highlight reel goal for Snake Island. He also added two assists to finish with three points on the day as he plays in his 19th career Presidents Cup, but has only won the trophy once, and he’s looking to change that this year.
However, with Hall only recording three points, it was up to the likes of Ryan Lanchbury, Stephen Keogh, and Brine Rice to power the offence as they had a combined 23 points on the day en route to a 20-3 victory over Winnipeg.
Brooklin Merchants 19 – Saskatchewan Roadrunners 5
The final quarterfinal featured the Saskatchewan Roadrunners against the Brooklin Merchants, and credit to Saskatchewan, who have had a difficult week at the 2025 Presidents Cup. But at the end of each game, they cheer for both their opponents and themselves, and always leave the floor with a smile on their face and are pleased with their efforts. But despite having the best attitude, it wasn’t enough as the hosts earned a 19-5 win and are off to the semifinals for the first time since 2016.
Semi-Final and Consolation Matchups
After the quarter-finals, we now know who is still in contention for the 2025 Presidents Cup: Brooklin Merchants, Snake Island Muskies, Edmonton Miners, and Six Nations Rivermen.
Consolation Games–Thursday, August 28
Ladner Pioneers vs Winnipeg Blizzard at 5:00 pm
Allegany Arrows vs Saskatchewan Roadrunners at 8:00 pm
Semi-Final Games–Friday, August 29
Edmonton Miners vs Snake Island Muskies at 5:00 pm
Six Nations Rivermen vs Brooklin Merchants at 8:00 pm
All games can be streamed at the JVI Sports Network on YouTube.