Six Nations triumph at national lacrosse cup

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It certainly didn't take the Six Nations Chiefs long to prove they belonged with the big boys of Canadian lacrosse.

The Chiefs, a second year franchise, captured the national senior title, the Mann Cup, on Sept. 14. Six Nations had earned the right to play host to the Canadian finals by winning the Ontario Lacrosse Association crown.

In the Mann Cup, Six Nations battled the Western Lacrosse Association champs, the New Westminster Salmonbelles. The Chiefs won the best of seven series in six games.

During their inaugural season last year, the Chiefs, which included the nucleus of the Arrows' championship side, quickly discovered success in the junior ranks did not necessarily translate into success at the senior level. In fact, the Chiefs managed to win only one game in their first season.

Six Nations' executive realized changes had to be made. They began to make moves during the off-season by hiring coach Les Wakeling and manager Peter Grosse. This pair had led the Ontario-based Brampton Excelsiors to back-to-back Mann Cup championships in 1992-93.

Wakeling obviously didn't mind leaving a national champion to go to work for a team which had posted only one victory the previous season.

"After winning a couple of Mann Cups, if nothing else I knew it would be a challenge," he said.

On their way to national glory, the Chiefs had to overcome plenty of obstacles, including a few in the Ontario Lacrosse Association's boardroom. Before leaving Brampton, Grosse released several of the club's top stars, who had said they were discontent with the Excelsiors' organization.

When Wakeling and Grosse signed with Six Nations, a number of unhappy Brampton players said they too wanted to join the Chiefs. As can be expected, plenty of bad blood arose - with accusations at a premium by officials from both Six Nations and Brampton.

Eventually the OLA approved the player transfers. But the Chiefs were forced to financially compensate Brampton to the tune of $5,000.

Through these transfers and other trades, a total of 11 former Brampton players ended up with Six Nations. One of the ex-Excelsiors to join the Chiefs was John Tavares, who is one of, if not the top, box lacrosse players in the world.

After winning a third consecutive Mann Cup, Tavares said the latest one was the sweetest.

"This one feels greater because of all the things we had to go through to put this team together," said Tavares, who only played 13 regular season games but still won the OLA scoring title with 89 points (44 goals, 45 assists.) "It feels great to bring a championship to Six Nations because of lacrosse's origins."

Six Nations registered a 14-5-1 mark during the regular season, good for second spot in the OLA standing. The Brooklin Redmen, who played one less game, ended up in the top spot with 16-3 record.

Despite losing the first two games of the Ontario championships against the Redmen, the Chiefs rebounded with four straight victories to win the best of seven series.

Six Nations also fought back in their opening playoff series against Brampton. The Excelsiors had won the first two contests before the Chiefs stormed back to win four in a row.

"We won, though, because of a lot of hard work and because of a lot of heart,"

he said. "Also, everyone made the decision that they were going to accept the role that was given to them. This was the most disciplined team I've ever coached. There were no complainers and no bitchers."