~2004/2006 Mann Cup Champions!! 2005 Mann Cup Finalists!! 2006 Minto Cup Champions!!~
--
The Rocks....Dave.....c'mon guys
by
Alright, let's take stock. The Shamrocks are the best team in the WLA. They don't suck. They beat Peterborough in six last year.
Lewis Ratcliff 100 regular season points.
Dan Dawson 53 regular season points.
Anthony Cosmo 8.03 GAA
Scott Evans 93 regular season points.
Dan Carey 57 regular season points.
Pat O'Toole 8.88 GAA
They match up on paper as two excellent teams.
The diving, I must admit really pissed me off as well. I understand that it is a part of the game. But it shouldn't be such a large part of any teams game plan. Especially in lacrosse.
But other than that. Both teams came into this series with injuries. Hard fought playoff battles will do that. The eastern game is alot rougher than the western game. But that doesn't make either wrong, bad or otherwise.
Dave is right in saying, it's over. The refs stopped calling penalties on them. It was part of the game and then it was gone. It gave the Lakers as much as a rest as Victoria. Who knows maybe that's what enabled them to play as well as they did. Dwelling on the bad only retracts from the good. And the good is that the Lakers are the 2006 Mann Cup Champions. Don't cheapen the win by tearing the other team down. Cheapening the effort of the Shamrocks makes it seem that the Lakers didn't have to do much to win. They fought like hell for the Mann Cup and that is what we should remember and appreciate.
And.....The Shamrocks showed alot more professionalism in their loss than Brampton. The Rocks fans showed alot more maturity and love for the game than Brampton's. Remember the spamming that was going on in here during that series. So hats off to Dave and the Shamrocks. There were moments in the series when some things happened that everyone would like to forget. But that is exactly what we should do with them. Remember all of the great lacrosse. Remember the effort that both teams put in.
And celebrate by dwelling on all of the great goals, saves, hits and moments that this series brought. Mann Cup Champions, Peterborough Lakers, Dan Carey MVP, Pat O'Toole matching the playoff record for points, Offensive and Defensive players of the game, and all of the good times and good fights we had here on line. I already can't wait till next year.