Let’s get to the point here.
There have been plenty of distractions in the 2013 Mann Cup, from beating of the drums, loud music, battle of fans, charges of racism and now illegal goalie equipment.
But the No. 1 story here, on the floor, five games into the Canadian Senior A lacrosse championship, is Cody Jamieson is eating Matt Vinc’s lunch.
The Six Nations Chiefs star has a death grip on the most valuable player award which will be handed out at the end of this best-of-seven series, which the Chiefs lead 3-2.
Forget all the other bull-poop people are hyping (Twitter right now is an embarrassment) regarding this special event.
Jamieson is THE story, coming off a 10-point (officially they had him down for nine, but officials missed his seventh assist) in Wednesday’s 11-7 victory over the Victoria Shamrocks.
Yet, he was a mere blip in any coverage because of what Chiefs coach Rich Kilgour referred to as “shenanigans” when the Shamrocks asked for not one, but two illegal goalie equipment checks.
Personally, I believe the Chiefs dropped the ball not making sure the pads of Brendan Miller and Evan Kirk were legal. They could have been measured beforehand, as was the case with Victoria netminders Vinc and Matt Flindell, and for that very reason the comments being made on Twitter are stupidity at its finest.
Get over it, it happened in Game 4 of the Shamrocks series vs. Burnaby when Vinc and Flindell were both booted for the same infraction.
Yes, it’s considered taboo to make that call but, when you get right down to it, a lot of coaches would go down that avenue to gain some type of advantage. Sure, they won’t admit it publicly, but win at all costs is nothing new to sports, lacrosse included.
I’m not condoning what Shamrocks coach Bob Heyes did when he went to the well in desperate fashion.
I’m more flustered with the fact that Jamieson’s efforts are being ignored.
Ten goals and 12 assists in five games is easily the best performance we’ve seen so far in this series and it shouldn’t be a surprise as many call the Chiefs’ star the best player in the game today.
“Most certainly, if we win this series, he’s been our most dominant player, without question,” said Chiefs veteran Colin Doyle. “He takes games over when he needs to.
“Tonight we needed him to and he did,” Doyle added after the 11-7 Wednesday win. “What separates him from a lot of guys is, when the going gets tough he seems to get better.
“When the game is on the line, he wants the ball. He doesn’t necessarily have to score, but he’ll make a play with it – draw a penalty or dish it.”
The funny part is, I asked Jamieson before this series started if he thought he had a way to beat Vinc - his Rochester Knighthawks teammate in the National Lacrosse League - and his response on the eve of Game 1 was he had no idea and that maybe something would come to him overnight.
“I think he has some tricks up his sleeve, he just didn’t want to delve into it,” Doyle said of his Chiefs teammate.
“Matt’s a great goalie. It’s not easy to beat Matt. He’s a heck of a goalie. You need time, space and sometimes a little luck,” said Doyle, who came in to play goal on Wednesday when Miller and Kirk were tossed.
The latter – that being luck - has nothing to do with it.
Jamieson has simply been better than Vinc in this showdown, WAY better the last two games in which he’s recorded 12 points (should be 13).
Yet, Doyle was named the game star on Wednesday after he volunteered to play goal with Kirk and Miller both banished.
“When was the last time a goalie was named player of the game with a .500 save percentage? I guess the bar wasn’t set that high,” Doyle said with a laugh.
Meanwhile, the Shamrocks aren’t chuckling.
They face elimination Friday night and their body language is suggesting they are done.
What will their minds tell them in Game 6?
Their thoughts better include a way to stop Jamieson.
