| Period Scores | 1 | 2 | 3 | Total |
| Niagara | 0 | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| Victoria | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14 |
| Goaltending - STOPS | 1 | 2 | 3 | Total |
| Niagara - Watson | 16 | 11 | 10 | 37 |
| Victoria - O'Neill | 12 | 8 | 9 | 29 |
| Victoria - Heyes | 3 | 3 | ||
| Faceoffs | Wins | Loss | ||
| Niagara | 16 | 20 | ||
| Victoria | 20 | 16 | ||
| Game Stars | ||||
| Niagara - Steve Toll | ||||
| Victoria - Gary Gait |
| GOAL | TEAM | SCORER | ASSISTS | TIME | PERIOD | SPECIAL TEAMS | SCORE |
| 1 | VICTORIA | GAIT | REISIG/HAMILTON | 2:28 | 1 | VICT 1 - 0 | |
| 2 | VICTORIA | GAIT | TAPP | 3:22 | 1 | VICT 2 - 0 | |
| 3 | VICTORIA | REISIG | GAIT | 4:39 | 1 | PP | VICT 3 - 0 |
| 4 | VICTORIA | GAIT | 11:48 | 1 | VICT 4 - 0 | ||
| 5 | VICTORIA | REISIG | GRANT PEPPER | 16:16 | 1 | PP | VICT 5 - 0 |
| 6 | VICTORIA | GAIT | LEIES | 18:24 | 1 | MS | VICT 6 - 0 |
| 7 | VICTORIA | JENNER | BLACKWELL | 18:45 | 1 | VICT 7 - 0 | |
| 8 | NIAGARA | JOHNSTON |
HENDERSON/ LAROCQUE |
2:29 | 2 | VICT 7 - 1 | |
| 9 | NIAGARA | TOLL | 6:39 | 2 | VICT 7 - 2 | ||
| 10 | NIAGARA | R. KILGOUR | 8:39 | 2 | VICT 7 - 3 | ||
| 11 | VICTORIA | GAIT | REISIG/BROWN | 11:12 | 2 | PP | VICT 8 - 3 |
| 12 | NIAGARA | TOLL | 14:26 | 2 | VICT 8 - 4 | ||
| 13 | NIAGARA | JOHNSTON | FANNELL/CALDER | 15:09 | 2 | VICT 8 - 5 | |
| 14 | VICTORIA | GAIT | TAPP | 0:15 | 3 | VICT 9 - 5 | |
| 15 | VICTORIA | BROWN | DODDRIDGE/PRAT | 0:30 | 3 | VICT 10 - 5 | |
| 16 | VICTORIA | BROWN | MARECHECK/GAIT | 1:52 | 3 | PP | VICT 11 - 5 |
| 17 | VICTORIA | PRAT | LEIES/JENNER | 3:21 | 3 | VICT 12 - 5 | |
| 18 | NIAGARA | RONSON | DAY/TOLL | 4:36 | 3 | VICT 12 - 6 | |
| 19 | NIAGARA | FISHER | JOHNSTON | 4:59 | 3 | VICT 12 - 7 | |
| 20 | VICTORIA | LEIES | REISIG/BROWN | 8:56 | 3 | VICT 13 - 7 | |
| 21 | VICTORIA | MARECHECK | PRAT/BLACKWELL | 13:09 | 3 | VICT 14 - 7 | |
| 22 | NIAGARA | RONSON | R. KILGOUR/TOLL | 17:47 | 3 | PP | VICT 14 - 8 |
| TEAM | NAME | MIN | REASON | TIME | PERIOD |
| NIAGARA | D. KILGOUR | 2 | HIGH STICK | 3:49 | 1 |
| NIAGARA | TURNER | 2 | BENCH | 3:49 | 1 |
| VICTORIA | ALEXANDER | 2 | ROUGHING | 3:49 | 1 |
| VICTORIA | JENNER | 2 | SLASHING | 6:43 | 1 |
| NIAGARA | FISHER | 2 | ROUGHING | 10:06 | 1 |
| NIAGARA | FISHER | 2 | ROUGHING | 10:06 | 1 |
| VICTORIA | MARECHEK | 2 | ROUGHING | 10:06 | 1 |
| VICTORIA | MARECHEK | 2 | ROUGHING | 10:06 | 1 |
| VICTORIA | ALEXANDER | 2 | BACK CHECK | 12:49 | 1 |
| NIAGARA | MEARNS | 2 | SLASHING | 13:30 | 1 |
| NIAGARA | SMITH | 2 | BENCH | 15:55 | 1 |
| VICTORIA | JENNER | 2 | HIGH STICK | 16:34 | 1 |
| NIAGARA | D. KILGOUR | 2 | ROUGHING | 17:36 | 1 |
| NIAGARA | D. KILGOUR | 2 | ROUGHING | 17:36 | 1 |
| VICTORIA | DESORMEAUX | 2 | ROUGHING | 17:36 | 1 |
| VICTORIA | 44?? | 2 | SLASHING | 4:18 | 2 |
| NIAGARA | D. KILGOUR | 2 | SLASHING | 6:12 | 2 |
| VICTORIA | REISIG | 2 | SLASHING | 6:12 | 2 |
| NIAGARA | MEARNS | 2 | HOLDING | 9:50 | 2 |
| VICTORIA | ALEXANDER | 2 | HOLDING | 12:07 | 2 |
| NIAGARA | GRAHAM | 2 | BACK CHECK | 17:33 | 2 |
| NIAGARA | HENDERSON | 2 | ROUGHING | 19:36 | 2 |
| VICTORIA | DESORMEAUX | 2 | ROUGHING | 19:36 | 2 |
| NIAGARA | MEARNS | 2 | HOLDING | 1:28 | 3 |
| VICTORIA | HAMILTON | 2 | DELAY | 15:51 | 3 |
Mann Cup '97': Game 5 report:
ROCKS WIN MANN CUP ROCKS WIN
Well, The Victoria Shamrocks goal for 1997 has been acheived. Victoria has won the 1997 Mann Cup with a 14 to 8 win over the Niagara Gamblers tonight. The Champagne will be flowing in Victoria tonight!!!!
In 1996 the Rocks were satisfied to win the WLA title, and to just be at the Mann Cup, loosing out to a tough Six Nations team.. But not in '97', anything less than a Mann Cup championship would have been a disapointment to the players, the organization, and the fans.
The first period started out, just like game 4 ended. Victoria's defense was playing strong, and the offense was in high gear. If there were any doubts about who the series MVP was going to be awarded to, they quickly got erased in the first. Gary Gait was on fire, running around and thru the Gambler defense to notch 4 goals, and an assist. He finished with 6 goals and 2 assists, made a couple of good defensive plays, ran the ball well, escpecially on the penalty kills. First period ended 7 - 0
But in the second, it looked like the Rocks thought they could just coast. The Gamblers weren't ready to roll over, and their confidence got a boost with the help of a couple of weak goals on Marty O'Neill, then a power play goal (on a Marty O'neill slashing penalty). The Gamblers out scored Victoria 5 - 1 in the second, to narrow the lead to 8 - 5
Coming out for the 3rd period the Gamblers were all pumped up and ready to go...the Rocks poor showing in the second had the Gamblers thinking they could do it........ but then the whistle blew, 15 seconds in Gait scores, at 30 seconds Rick Brown scores, then Brown scores again at 2 minutes in...... Any thoughts the Gamblers had of mounting a comeback were gone.
Game Stars were Toll for the Gamblers, and Gary Gait for the Rocks.
The Mike Kelly Memorial Medal (series MVP) was awarded to Gary Gait ! No question, without a doubt a great series, by an amazing player. Gary controled the game everytime he was on the floor.
Other MVP considerations could have been Rod Tapp who won the vast majority of the faceoffs he took, ( Daryl I would love to see the stats on this) and Darren Reisig who played very spirited, hardworking, games, at both ends of the floor, from game 3 on.
The Gamblers can be proud of the effort they put forth tonight, and throughout the series. The inexperience of the younger players showed abit, then starting in game 3 they got pushed around by the bigger, tougher Rocks defense, and injuries to key players Darris and Rich Kilgour, and Jason Luke made it near impossible for them to play at the level needed to compete with a very talented and deep Shamrocks roster.
Rock Coach Nirmal Dillon with Assistants' Dave Pirog, and Bob Cool have done a great job of managing a new mix of players (and their ego's) this year and are to be congratulated.
Not to be forgotten, the Shamrock executive, lead by President Doug Jones, and GM Lloyd Robbie have also done a very good job this year. They gave Nirmal lots of talent to work with..... and have of done a great job of marketing and promoting the game in Victoria.
Victoria is just a buzzing with Lacrosse right now, and the Rocks are leading the way....and it feels great!!!!
Daryl, thanks for the opportunity to share my views and observations... Its been fun.. Great job with the Web page. Dispite the final result I am sure all the eastern readers have appreciated the information.
Peter Cassidy was able to speak with a few of the Shamrock players and coaches after the game. Here are Pete's interviews:
Hey Daryl!
I talked to Nirmal Dillon immediately following the Shamrocks win. Here's a transcript of that conversation (more interviews to come):
Nirmal Dillon, after Victoria Shamrocks captured the 1997 Mann Cup:
What are your thoughts just now?
It's just a wonderful feeling, I'm so happy for these guys. I didn't realize, for me personally, how important this would be. I've got a lot of silver medals, but it's nice to have this gold one hanging around my neck.
Tell me a little about the players.
The players in general-we had a team meeting, and the team said that we're family. And that's the way they were. Even the second period tonight, I said, "We have to focus, we're family." We were fighting on the bench, and family's fight sometimes, but we got over that. We came back and just roared over them.
Depth was a big thing. We've got five guys that didn't dress that could play on nearly any other team. I think from goal out, we're very strong. All year long we've had injuries and bringing guys in and out. We had to insert different guys in the line up, give them roles, and we ended up in first place. That's a sign of a lot of depth.
How did you choose Marty O'Neil to start this series over Bob Heyes? Even though Marty ended the playoffs with a lay-off.
There's two reasons. Marty, last year in the Mann Cup played very well, and Bob Heyes is better than anybody I've ever seen coming off the bench. You start Bob, you lose that.
How big a factor was Gary Gait on your team?
You got a Gait on your team - you're half way there! He just wasn't going to let us lose. The first two games he was sick, he says, "I'll be OK", he lost his stick, strung one that morning, and still played well. He's an amazing athlete.
A little bit on Grant and John Hamilton:
Grant and John, they've been with the team a long time. They've both worked very hard and they've both been captain of the team.
Do they play different styles?
It's hard to say, Grant's maybe a little more offensive-minded than John is. John's a more defensive ball player, but they both give you one hundred percent every night.
Look forward for me a little bit, how's next year shaping up. Do you guys see yourselves back?
That's the aim. That's the goal. It's always the goal.
I want your thoughts on Gary Gait, not just about the numbers, but about his defensive play, and his demeanor. He is such an unassuming person, for a superstar.
He's just an amazing person. He's a superstar of this game. You talk to him, you wouldn't know it. He doesn't say a lot in the dressing room, but when he talks, people listen. He just said, "We're not going to lose this series." He wouldn't let us.
Can you credit some people that didn't get the headlines?
Dave Bremner and Mike Simpson have been great leaders in the dressing room, other people just don't see that. Desormeaux, the X-man. He came back after many years, took a while to get his form back, the last half of the season he's played amazing. He's a leader out there by example, he doesn't say much but when he does speak he says all the right things. Warren Blackwell, Rodney Tapp.
When taking about face-offs, you have to talk about him Rod Tapp.
I've been trying to get him to Victoria for four years. Finally got him here-we won a Mann Cup. He's an all-around athlete, he's good offensively, he's good defensively, he'll do whatever you ask him to do. He's just a real good lacrosse player.
What do you see happening in the sport now, Is it growing in popularity?
It's definitely growing. If the WLA goes toward the run and gun fast game, gets rid of the goons, and plays good strong defense. It'll go. If we see too much fighting, it won't go.
Any final thoughts?
There are so many thoughts in my head right now. We've got twenty-five players, everybody contributed. We had a lot of problems this year, bringing people in and out. At the time it looked insurmountable. We just worked hard, gave up our summer and it's all worth it now.
Pete Cassidy got these comments immediately following the Shamrocks win
Here's a chat with Grant Hamilton:
Congratulations, Grant, this is your first Mann Cup?
This would be my first, yeah. It's been a long time coming. I went through junior, it took me a long time to win the Minto, and I've been in the league a long time...
You played your junior in Victoria?
Yes. I played for the Legion. We went to the Minto four years in a row, and we finally won our last one. Now in senior, we came close last year. Man, it's been a long time coming. It's great.
How does Gary Gait fit in on your team?
Gary's a great guy. He grew up here, we all know him. I just love watching him play, he's a great athlete, it's unreal. I'm proud to call him my friend, we get along great, he's just a class act altogether.
What was the key to defeating the Gambler's?
Well, I think we had to open up, start the running game, use the depth we have, we started to use all three of our lines. We didn't want to get into a offense versus defense game because then it's their best five against our best five. We wanted to use our bench and it worked out for us. We knew it had to break sooner or later.
The Gambler's looked intimidated...
I think what happened was, they have a good team too, but it's hard to play in this arena. Look at the fans, it's gotta be intimidating, their the best fans ever. They've been behind us the last three seasons, all the credit goes to them too.
What's the problem you have with your knee?
I ran into a guy in July, and I may be getting some surgery this winter. I gotta go in for some tests, we'll see what happens. It felt pretty good, the emotions take over...we'll see what happens, you get to the point where you have to make a decision. I haven't made that decision, I'm going to wait until next year.
Pete Cassidy got these comments immediately following the Shamrocks win
Marty O'Neil
Congratulations, Marty, how does it feel?
It's awesome, what more can you say? I just want to give credit to Doug Jones, Lloyd Robbie, Nirmal Dillon, Randy Radonich for putting Victoria on the map. You know, even when we were six for eight, the only year we missed the playoffs, in '87, we still outdrew every team in the league. Victoria has great fan support. Doug Jones built on that. We had three thousand people for the first game of the season, it's been a team effort from the community right on through.
You have won a Mann Cup before?
Yeah, 1995 with Six Nations.
You came to Victoria to play lacrosse?
No, I went there to play lacrosse. I've been playing on Boston the last five winters and I had a girlfriend in Boston. I had a chance to go to Six Nations, and make a few bucks playing lacrosse and Victoria looked like another out-in-the first round team that year. I just thought I'd make a change, and it worked out for the better, but it doesn't compare to this.
These are guys I've played with all my life, I've grown up to play, I've played with Alton Davis since I was eight years old. John Hamilton and Rob Desormeaux since I was ten years old, there's no way you can measure that.
How does this compare with playing in the MILL league?
Playing in front of five thousand people, and probably knowing four thousand is pretty un-nerving. I can tell you last year when we sold out in the fourth game against North Shore and continued having a large crowd, it's pretty neat, that's all I can say about that.
You had a suspension waived so you could play in the Mann Cup?
Yeah, there was a little altercation in the fourth game of the WLA (Western Lacrosse Association) finals, I'll have to serve the suspension next year in WLA games. The Mann Cup is a CLA (Canadian Lacrosse Association) sanctioned event, not a WLA event, as well, the Gambler's have a player suspended in OLA (Ontario Lacrosse Association) play that will have to serve his next season.
How does Gary Gait fit in?
He doesn't have to fit in. He grew up in the game in Victoria and it's just a homecoming for him. It would have been nice if Paul were here too because we love them both.
We still have Gary, and Tommy, Rod Tapp and Neil Doddridge. I can't say enough about those two. Neil Played his rookie year here in '91, he was my roommate. I played with him in Boston, great guy, I'm so happy for him, he's a great player. It's about time he got his dues.
Pete Cassidy got these comments immediately following the Shamrocks win
Congratulations, Tyson, is this your first Mann Cup?
I've never won the Mann. Was close last year. It took me five years to win a Minto Cup. We hosted one in St. Catherine's back in '87. We weren't supposed to be there we were just the host. But then it took until 1990 to win in New Westminster against Victoria and Richmond. I thought it would take me at least five years to win it in senior. Five years came around and we lost to New Westminster in four straight in the (WLA) finals here at home.
I knew I was close. My style of play won't allow me to stay around the game that long, not wearing a mask and whatever. Then last year, we made it to the Mann Cup. It was fun, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. We lost four straight, against all the guys that I'd grown up with, I said, "I want to get it back home." It won't matter if it's Six Nations or Niagara Falls 'cause in that league people change teams all the time.
I wanted to make a statement. There's no trophy in this world more coveted than the Mann Cup. You can forget your World Series, you can forget your Stanley Cup, the Minto Cup in junior, the President's Cup in senior 'B'. None of those feel more like tradition, than this Mann Cup. That's all I wanted.
My son, he's only fifteen months, but he knows what's going on. He saw his Dad out there playing, he watches the ball...here's a Mann Cup.
There's that MILL league or NLL and they have their championship. Sure, you make money playing down there, and it's nice to play in front of seventeen, eighteen thousand fans but I'm happy playing in front of my home crowd knowing that I helped build the fan base, the fans respect us as players, I respect them as fans. No matter through thick or thin, they are always on our side. This Mann Cup isn't just for the Shamrocks, it's for everyone!
What happened to the cup (The Mann Cup separated into two pieces during the presentation)?
They told us that it'd been welded, to hold it at the bottom. By the time I got to the head of the line, we had a salad bowl on one side and the wood on the other. It's not a problem, there going to get it welded up tomorrow, it's no big deal. We weren't the first to break it. We actually got a team picture about four night's ago with Cup intact, so it's OK.
How has Gary Gait contributed to this team?
Gary contributes if he's got the ball, or he doesn't have the ball. Some people might say that we only use Gary Gait as an offensive power, but this past week with Steve Toll and Jason Luke blabbing their mouths a little bit saying, "We're the fastest players in this league". They found that the old guy doesn't have bad wheels himself, he can run pretty fast if he wants to.
Congratulations, Gary. You're going to be a busy man in lacrosse next year? I'll be playing in the NLL. Hopefully. We still have some things to work out, but it should be fun.
What team will you play for?
I don't know yet.
How does that new league look, commercially?
It seems pretty good. The old league was around for a long time we're hoping this one will be, too. The new league started and it absorbed the old league.
What can you say about the '97 Shamrocks?
Well, it's just an outstanding team. All the players really came together. They all put out an outstanding effort.
How can someone help the sport to grow?
Just give back to the game whatever way you can. Do whatever you can to help at the level you are closest to.