Kelowna Raiders seeking revenge in regional lacrosse final - KELOWNA NOW

The Thompson Okanagan Senior Lacrosse League (TOSLL) regular season has come to an end and the playoffs are well underway, with the Kelowna Raiders set to face the Kamloops Rattlers in the Rowcliffe Cup.

The best-of-three series begins in Kelowna at Memorial Arena on Friday and shifts to Kamloops for game two on Sunday. If a winner is still not decided, the series-clinching third game will be in Kelowna on July 25.

While the Raiders have won the provincial championship for the past two seasons, the team fell short of winning the Rowcliffe Cup in last year’s final as Armstrong pulled off an upset.

“I think we're feeling pretty good about it...losing this trophy last year, I think we have a bad taste in our mouth,” said captain Andrew Garant on how the team is feeling going into the final.

“I think we're ready to get that trophy back in Kelowna.”

Just like last year, the Raiders dominated the regular season en route to an 8-1 record this past season, with their only loss coming against Armstrong.

Among those eight wins, the Raiders defeated the Rattlers on three separate occasions by a combined score of 53-16.

“It definitely gives us some confidence going in, as we beat them all three times this year, but I think if we go into it with that mindset, I think there's an opportunity that we lose out on that,” explained Garant on the team's confidence after sweeping Kamloops in the regular season.

“I think that's what we did, kind of, last year versus Armstrong. We kind of dominated the regular season and then Armstrong came to play in the finals. So I think going into it with a fresh mind and just saying: ‘let's just play our game’ and not ‘let's just go in there and know we're going to win.' Let's just go in there and play and do what we do."

While the Raiders have proven that they were the best team in BC for the past two years, Garant thinks the team is more well-rounded this season.

“In previous years, we've struggled offensively to get the ball going and then some games we'd rely on our defence to pick us up,” he said.

“But I feel like this year we were really well-rounded from the top end to the bottom. I think that's really kind of developed our full team game.”

Friday’s match is set for 8 pm and there is a $7 entry fee. The game will also be live-streamed on Facebook.

“It's a fast-paced sport,” said Garant, on why someone should come watch.

“If you like a lot of goals and a lot of physicality, there's lots of hitting, there's lots of scoring, it's super fast pace and it's always a good time.”