YORKTON - Canadian sports fans might not know the Minto Cup like they do the Stanley or Grey Cups, but they probably should.
The Minto Cup is awarded annually to the champion junior men's box lacrosse team of Canada.
The Cup was donated in 1901 by the Governor-General, Lord Minto.
In 1934 the last trustee appointed to supervise the Cup died, and the Lord Minto of the day eventually transferred it to the Canadian Lacrosse Association, which decided to award it as the trophy for the national junior men's champion, starting in 1937.
The 2022 winners were the Whitby Warriors who took the Minto winning the deciding game in a best of three with the Edmonton Miners in August.
The Miners made history even in the loss as the first-ever Prairie team in a Minto Cup finals.
“It was unreal, just playing in it. There’s definitely a huge atmosphere with the Minto Cup,” offered Miner Jake Bowen.
“Overall, it was a great experience,” echoed Mathieu Gautier, who is currently on the roster of the SJHL’s Weyburn Red Wings. “It’s every junior lacrosse player’s dream to make it there. It’s quite the journey. It’s the best teams in Canada.”
Bowen said looking through the program was inspiring “looking through at the history of all the teams that won it.” He also noted the long history really came into focus when he noticed no Cup was awarded one year because of the World War. “… The history behind the cup is so incredible.”
As for the Miners run, both players said they knew people weren’t expecting a team out of Alberta to really challenge for the Minto Cup, but the players always believed.
Gautier said the team felt they were contenders last year, but the Cup was not competed for in 2021.
“The COVID year we had a really good team,” he said. “We were all hoping to make it this year.”
Before the Miners had even played a game this season head coach John Lintz went around the dressing room asking “what everyone wanted to get out of the season,” recounted Bowen.
There was only one goal, to win the Minto Cup.
Bowen said they still knew that they were underdogs in a major way.
“Nobody outside of Alberta believed in us,” he said, adding it was even that way once they qualified for the tournament.
Bowen said he understands why teams from Alberta are under appreciated, playing in a league with only four teams, so the competition is not generally what teams face in Ontario, and B.C.
But, the players believed they could wear ‘the glass slipper.’
“We were there to prove something, not just to compete, but to win,” said Bowen, who racked up 10 goals and 21 points in the Miners’ seven Minto Cup games.
Gautier said being discounted became almost a rallying point for the team.
“It fired everybody up in the room to be the underdogs,” said Gautier who was clearly fired up personally, potting nine goals and a team-leading 32 points in the Minto Cup run. (In 23 RMLL games, the St. Albert native recorded 110 points and received the Jim Bishop Award for leadership, sportsmanship and outstanding play).
Things started out like maybe it was just going to be a case of competing but falling short, as the Miners lost their opening game against the Whitby Warriors 11-9, then fell 9-8 to the Toronto Beaches.
Then the Miners stayed in the mix edging the Victoria Shamrocks 10-8.
Finally, in the semi finals the Miner offence caught fire pounding the Beaches 20-12.
The win over the Beaches was historic marking the first time a team from Alberta, or from the Prairies for that matter, would be in the Minto Cup finals.
“The Beaches win was amazing. It was the first time an Alberta team made it to the final,” said Bowen. “. . . It was a great first for Alberta to make it to the final, but we wanted so much more.”
In game one of the best-of-three Whitby rolled to a 12-8, but a day later the Miners kept the dream alive with a 9-8 win in overtime, on a goal by Davis Dame.
The Miners were one win away.
The deciding game was a defensive gem with Marcus Needham drawing the Miners within one late, but when a penalty shot rang off the post in the final minute the Warriors had a 6-5 win, the ‘glass slipper’ not quite fitting the team from Alberta.
“We battled until the end,” said Bowen, who is committed to Queens University of Charlotte. He added the loss hurt, and even days later was he finally starting to appreciate what the Miners accomplished.
Gautier said the loss of course hurt.
“Right after the loss it was just disappointing,” he said.
But time has changed the perspective.
“All the hard work and effort, we can still feel good about it,” said Gautier. “… It was two good teams going at it head-to-head.”
And the loss did leave Gautier hungry and wanting another shot at the Minto Cup in what will be his last Junior year having already been drafted by Panther City Lacrosse ninth overall in this year’s NLL draft.
And, Bowen expects to be right there with his Miner teammates too.
