Excelsiors Break NLL Records

Teat Orleman Dawson Excelsiors break records
Dan Dawson, Steven Orleman and Jeff Teat have all broken NLL records this season

Saturday night’s New York Riptide game saw two Brampton Excelsiors break NLL records. Jeff Teat set two milestones while Steven Orleman broke a long standing record among rookie goalies. Earlier in the season, Dan Dawson also recorded two monumental achievements.

In the first quarter, Jeff broke two records simultaneously as he recorded his 62nd assist as a rookie, breaking Tom Schreibers 2017 record, and his 96th point as a rookie, breaking the record set by Randy Staats in 2016. Teat then went on to tally another five assists and two goals, finishing the game with 103 points, making him the first ever rookie to pass the 100 mark!

At the other end of the floor, a stellar performance by Jr. A Excelsiors alum Steven Orleman saw the fall of a record which has stood since 2002. In the first quarter, Orelman passed Matt King’s single season save record for a rookie goalie of 603. During his first season in the league, Steven has not missed a beat having already won rookie of the week awards earlier this year.

These two were not the only Excelsiors to break NLL records recently. Playing his 307th game in the league in March, Dan Dawson broke the record for most games played. More recently this month, he also tallied his 935th assist, passing fellow Excelsiors alum John Tavares for the all time leader in assists. Dawson also currently sits fourth in all-time goals and second in all-time points.

Jr. B Excelsiors Start off With Win

Brampton Excelsiors Jr. B

The Jr. B Excelsiors opened their season in Orillia on Thursday and made sure to start off with a win! In the 10 goal victory, Cameron Serrit and Chris DaSilva* each had hat-tricks on the night, as did Curtis Ward who also notched three assists for a total of six points, leading the team. It was an all around good showing for the team with 10 different players tallying points and Connor O’Toole allowing just seven goals. The game’s boxscore is available here.
*The Excelsiors’ 9th goal was miscredited on pointstreak, but was DaSilva’s third.

The Jr. B’s next play on Friday, April 29th in Mississauga before their home opener the following day when they will be looking to start at home with a win as well against the Halton Hills Bulldogs. That game will be 7:00 pm at Memorial Arena. Also on that same day, the BELC will be hosting our annual Excelsiors Alumni Game. The game will be at 2:00 pm to raise money for the B’s. The team is gearing up for an exciting season as they set their eyes on the 2022 Founders Cup which will be hosted right here in Brampton.

The team’s full schedule can be found here.

Excelsiors Will Chase the 2022 Mann!

Yesterday afternoon the BELC received a directive from the OLA upholding their vote on August 18 2021 to not recognized the sale or relocation of the Brampton Excelsiors. The league has set a deadline of April 30th for Major Series Lacrosse to comply, or the OLA will remove the Board of Governors and oversee the 2022 MSL season, including representation at the Mann Cup, directly.

The directive leaves open the option to put an expansion team in Owen Sound and allows for the players involved to choose which of the two teams they wish to play for. After months of frustration as MSL has shown a complete disregard for the OLA’s ruling, this directive ensures that be it under the MSL or direct oversight of the OLA, the Major Brampton Excelsiors will be competing for the Mann Cup this year!

More details on the schedule, team and sponsorship opportunities will be coming soon.

Excelsiors Alumni Game

Brampton Excelsiors Alumni

The BELC is gearing up for an exciting and historic 2022 lacrosse season. Not only will we be playing host to this year’s Founders Cup Championship and celebrating 150 years of the Brampton Excelsiors, but this year will also see the Major Excelsiors return to the floor as a community owned team!

Our Jr. B’s will be the first to kick off the season at Memorial Arena on April 30th, 7:00 pm against the Halton Hills Bulldogs. That afternoon the BELC will be hosting the annual Brampton Excelsiors Alumni game at 2:00 pm. Come out early and watch some of our former players step on the floor again to help raise money for our Jr. B’s Founders Cup run. Admission to the Alumni game is free and there will be some great prizes to be won at the silent auction!

For those itching to get our on the floor again, registration for the Excelsiors Alumni game is still open. Please contact Clint Nickerson (clint6887@gmail.com) for further details. The game will be played with Master rules with the $25 registration fee going to support our players. You’ll also get to take home a commemorative Excelsiors’ shirt following the game!

We look forward to Starting off this year with lots of excitement and hope to see you at the arena!

Excelsiors Fall to Athletics in OJLL Final

The Brampton Excelsiors brief Junior A season came to a heartbreaking close on Sunday in Oakville, losing the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League final to the St. Catherine’s Athletics 14-13.

The Excelsiors made the Iroquois Trophy final after posting a 6-2 record during round robin play, good enough for 2nd in their division, and defeating Whitby 8-7 in the semi-final. St Catherine’s had defeated Mimico in the other semi-final to secure their place in the finals.

The final was expected to be a defensive affair with both teams coming in averaging right around 5 goals against per game. The score was tied 3-3 after the teams kept trading goals. The 2nd period was an offensive explosion, with St. Catherine’s outscoring Brampton 9-7 to take a 12-10 lead going into the 3rd period. Late in the 3rd period, shortly after St. Catherine’s scored to go ahead 14-11, goaltender Steven Orleman was ejected from the game for slashing. Caleb Slinger came on in relief and made several saves which allowed the Excelsiors to stage a late comeback.

After cutting the lead to 1 with about 30 seconds to play, the Excelsiors went all out, getting several excellent chances including hitting a post with just seconds left, but they could not find the equalizer.

While the end result wasn’t what they wanted, I’m sure if you asked anyone 2 months ago, they would have been thrilled with the idea of even being able to play this season. The Junior A club would like to thank the OJLL, Commissioner Mark Grimes, The Toronto Rock Athletic Centre and everyone else who made this season possible.

The Brampton Junior A Excelsiors would also like to thank their 1999 born players for their contributions:

Pent Eistrat
Nathan Grenon
John Vezina
Kyle Waters
Oriale Mandeville
Kris Veltman
Steven Orleman

The future remains unknown for the 2000 born players, as decisions regarding increasing the age of the Junior A division still need to be made. If this is their last game, the Excelsiors wish to thank the following players:

Austin Hasen
Seth Van Schepen
Mackenzie Burke
Zac Sunderland
Owen Blount-Smith
Mathew DeAmicis
Patrick DeAmicis
Caleb Creasor
Jordan Medeiros

Lacrosse is Back

The U19 Women’s Field Lacrosse Team took the field in almost 2 calendar years today in Halton Hills, competing in a format similar to the new World Sixes. The team went 1-2 on the day with losses coming to Owen Sound 1 and Oshawa 2 and a win against Oshawa 2. The team features 7 rookies on it’s 11 player roster and will be playing in the B division. The girls are back in Halton Hills on July 24th before their short season comes to a close.

The women’s schedule can be found here.

The Junior A’s start play on their abbreviated season on July 24th. The OJLL is playing a condensed 2 weekend season and the Excelsiors start play at 1pm vs the Oakville Buzz. Attendance is restricted but the OJLL will be broadcasting their games on Youtube.

The Junior A schedule can be found here.

Excelsiors Achievements

The Brampton Excelsiors Lacrosse Club would like to recognize the achievements of:

Steve McCullough inducted into the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame Class of 2020.
Zeny Lipinski inducted into the Brampton Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2021.
Robert (Sandy) Sanderson inducted into the Brampton Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2021.

A little background into these great men…

Steve McCullough played his entire Ontario Lacrosse Association (OLA) career with the Brampton Excelsiors playing minor lacrosse from 1966-1975 before graduating to the Brampton Junior “A” team in 1976. He played Brampton Junior. “A” from 1976 to 1980. Steve was on the 1976 Brampton team who were Minto Cup Finalists. In five seasons Steve McCullough played 110 games scoring 99 goals, adding 148 assists for 248 Total Points. He also racked up 406 penalty minutes. In 1982 Steve joined the MSL Brampton Senior. “A” team and played there until 1986. Steve was known as a tough, hardworking defensive player who could score in key situations. Brampton Lacrosse awarded Steve a team MVP Award in 1980, and a team Top Defensive Award in 1985.

Inducted into the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2020.

Zeny Lipinski, who began playing lacrosse in Brampton in 1957, is an executive with the Brampton Excelsiors and was honoured as a lifetime member of the Excelsiors in 1999.

Following a professional career in which he amassed 423 points (171 goals and 252 assists) in 251 career games, Lipinski served as general manager of the Jr. A Excelsiors from 2000 to 2009 and guided them to the Minto Cup final in 2009.

He was also GM of the Major Excelsiors from 2010 to 2018 and guided them to the Mann Cup senior national championship.

Inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2016.
Inducted into the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2009.
Inducted into the Brampton Sports Hall of Fame in 2021.
Earned the Ontario Lacrosse Association President’s Award in 2000.

Robert “Sandy” Sanderson… Bob’s involvement with the Brampton Excelsiors began in 1969 when Ted Hore and Dean McLeod asked him to join the executive committee of the Brampton Excelsiors Lacrosse Club. Having never played the game, Sandy accepted the offer and jumped in with both feet and learned the game on the fly. Over the years, Sandy held every position with the Excelsiors with the exception of president as he dedicated himself to his new found love.

In 1982, Sanderson took the position of general manager of the Major Excelsiors. In 1986, he was named general manager of the Canadian Box Lacrosse team and won the gold medal at the World Games in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1987, Australia requested Sandy to assemble a box lacrosse team that would visit for clinics and exhibition games so they could begin their own box lacrosse programs. In 1988, Team Canada general manager, Dean McLeod, named him team manager of the Canadian U19 Field Lacrosse Team. The team competed in the first World U19 Field Lacrosse Championships in Adelaide and won a silver medal. It was all worth it as the Team Canada staff raised $125,000 to finance the trip. “I chose Sandy Sanderson to work with me with the national field lacrosse team in 1988 because I knew I was hiring a man of distinct character, dedicated to the cause and with the highest standard of integrity,” said McLeod.

Inducted into the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1997.
Inducted into the Brampton Sports Hall of Fame in 2021.

Congratulations gentlemen for always making the Excelsiors, and their community proud!