There will be no Seventh Heaven for the Victoria Shamrocks.
The Six Nations Chiefs saw to that at Bear Mountain Arena on Friday night, swiping a come-from-behind 8-5 victory over their western hosts and securing the Mann Cup title — Canada’s Senior A lacrosse championship — in six games.
It was the Chiefs’ fourth Mann Cup crown after winning three straight from 1994-96, the last of which was a 4-0 series sweep over the Shamrocks.
According to historians, it was the first time Victoria has lost a Mann Cup series at home since the early 1950s.
This also marks the eighth straight time the East has defeated West as Ontario and Major Series Lacrosse maintains its death grip on the cherished trophy.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve had that Mann Cup down on Six Nations. It feels great to bring it back home,” said Chiefs sniper Cody Jamieson, who was named tournament MVP and helped inspire the come back, down 5-4 after two periods.
“All we said [after the second] was we had to keep playing Chiefs’ ball. We had a tough time penetrating their defence and obviously Vino [goalie Matt Vinc] was back there holding them in it,” said Jamieson.
Vinc, who had played Wednesday’s 11-7 loss with the flu, was much better on this night, but the Shamrocks defence couldn’t hold off the charge.
“I believed in our heart and our toughness,” said veteran star Colin Doyle who bagged the game-winner at 16:29 of the third period.
“These guys worked us, this was not an easy task,” Doyle said of the gutted Shamrocks, who shed plenty of tears afterward. “These were the two best teams in Canada going at it. They represented Victoria really well and we had to work for this and that’s what makes it feel so good.”
It felt like a kick in the stomach for the Shamrocks, who scored three times in the second to come back from a 4-2 deficit. They couldn’t hold the lead in the pivotal third.
“They kept coming,” said Shamrocks head coach Bob Heyes. “We gave them a hard game tonight. We punished them and they kept coming. They’re a great team. ... There’s not much difference between winning and losing and this is really tough right now.”
The Chiefs came out strong with a power-pay goal by Kasey Beirnes at 1:46 of the first period, just seven seconds after Cory Conway was tagged for roughing.
Then Jamieson made it 2-0 at 9:28 before Conway buried a long-distance bullet for Victoria at 12:20. Conway added his second when he got inside the Chiefs’ defence at 17:40 of the first and the period ended 2-2.
Stephen Keogh restored the Six Nations lead at 2:19 of the second and Beirnes claimed his second on a power play at 8:55 on an assist from Doyle, who moved into sixth in all-time Mann Cup scoring with his second helper of the night.
The Shamrocks wouldn’t quit, bouncing back with three straight from Nolan Heavenor, Scott Ranger and Jeff Shattler as Victoria took a 5-4 lead into the dressing room.
Beirnes collected his hat-trick goal midway through the third on a delayed penalty call. Jamieson finished with two goals and four assists, while Craig Point also had a goal as the Chiefs scored three times in the final 3:31.
“It makes us stronger,” Heyes said of the tough defeat. “It’s a cliché, but next year these guys will be hoisting that cup out east somewhere. I can guarantee that.”
