Ontario Junior B Lacrosse League Explained

Pixels:140px
Sport:Box lacrosse
Founded:1965
Teams:24
Commissioner:Dave Vernon
Champion:Akwesasne Thunder (2023)

The Ontario Junior B Lacrosse League (OJBLL) is a box lacrosse league sanctioned by the Ontario Lacrosse Association in Canada. The league features twenty-five teams in Ontario, one in Quebec, and one in the Akwesasne (which straddles the two aforementioned provinces and New York) that annually play a 20-game schedule and four rounds of playoffs for the J. A. MacDonald Trophy. After the conclusion of the playoffs, a league champion represents the OJBLL at the Founders Cup National Junior B Championship.

History

The Ontario Junior B Lacrosse League of the Ontario Lacrosse Association has been around since at least 1965. The OJBLL compete for the J. A. MacDonald Trophy annually at the provincial level. At the national level, the OJBLL has been extremely dominant at the Founders Cup tournament only losing out to other leagues a handful of times in the last 40+ years.

Players from the OJBLL and the Ontario Junior A Lacrosse League are often drafted straight into the professional levels of lacrosse, the National Lacrosse League and Canadian Lacrosse League.The league has changed formats few times in the last few decades. The league has played with no divisions (1990) and with as many as seven (2005). In the past few years, the league has expanded to Oakville, Windsor, London, Cornwall, Hamilton, Niagara, Markham, Orangeville, and Welland. Also, for the 2007 season, the City of Caledon applied to resurrect its old Caledon Bandits franchise, but was offered a spot in the new OLA Junior C Lacrosse League in 2008. Kahnawake Hunters joined the OLA Junior B League in 2009 after not fielding a team in the OLA or Iroquois League for five years. In 2012, the Brampton Excelsiors joined the OJBLL.[1]

Clarington Green Gaels had a run between 1998 and 2004 when the Gaels won four Founders Cups Canadian Junior B titles and two J. A. MacDonald Trophy championships.[2] Of the more recent expansion of the league, the Oakville Buzz have been the most remarkable franchise to be built. In 2006, the Buzz team went 19-1 and strolled through the playoffs with little opposition. The Buzz went undefeated at the Founders Cup and crushed the hopes of the host Windsor AKO Fratmen, beating them by a score of 10–4 in the final.[3] Oakville made the jump to Junior A for the 2019 season.

Six Nations Rebels dominated the league from 2007 through 2014, winning five league championships (2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013) and six Founders Cups (2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014).[4]

Orangeville continued the league success at Founders Cup winning back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2017. Elora Mohawks kept the OJBLL streak alive when they captured gold at the 2018 national championship. It would mark the sixth gold medal in the history of the Mohawks.

Teams

Eastern Conference
TeamJoinedCentre
Akwesasne Indians1996 Akwesasne
Brampton Excelsiors2012 Brampton
Clarington Green Gaels1995 Clarington
Gloucester Griffins1990 Gloucester
Halton Hills Bulldogs1992 Georgetown
Kahnawake Hunters2009 Kahnawake
Mimico Mountaineers2019 Mimico
Nepean Knights1993 Nepean
Newmarket Saints1995 Newmarket
2001 Orangeville
Orillia Kings2009 Orillia
West Durham Ironheads2002 Ajax
Western Conference
TeamJoinedCentre
Cambridge Highlanders2023 Cambridge
Elora Mohawks1987 Elora
Guelph Regals1992 Guelph
Hamilton Bengals2006 Hamilton
London Blue Devils2003 London
Owen Sound North Stars1980 Owen Sound
Point Edward Pacers1999 Sarnia
Six Nations Rebels1996 Hagersville
St. Catharines Athletics2022 St. Catharines
Wallaceburg Red Devils1998 Wallaceburg
Welland Generals2001 Welland
Windsor Clippers2003 Windsor

Champions

Overall champions are bolded. In three-division years, the italics denote finals runner-up. Champion moves on to the Founders Cup national championship.

YearChampionFinalistSeriesScores
1965 Huntsville Teen Towners Whitby Steelers 4-1 8-6, 11-7, 21-12, 9–10, 14-8
1966 Toronto Township Combines Oshawa Steelers 4-2
1967 Elora Mohawks Dixie Combines 4-0
1968 Elora Mohawks Oshawa Steelers 4-1 16-8, 13-9, 14-10, 15–17, 15-11
YearWestCentralEastSeriesScores
1969
1970 Rexdale Warriors Whitby B&R Trans CC
1971 Hamilton Bengals Rexdale Warriors Cornwall Celtics 3-1
1972 Hamilton Bengals Whitby B&R Trans Cornwall Celtics 3-1
YearWestEastSeriesScores
1973 Niagara Warriors Whitby B&R Transporters 4-1
1974 Whitby B&R Transporters FC
1975 Windsor Warlocks 3-0
YearWestEastSeriesScores
1977 Scarborough Saints 2-4
1978 Point Edward Pacers St. Regis Mohawks 2-1
1979 Point Edward Pacers
YearWestEastSeriesScores
1981 Niagara Spartan Warriors 4-2
1982 Owen Sound Signmen 4-2
1983 Point Edward Pacers 4-0
1984 Point Edward Pacers 4-1
1985 Scarborough Saints 0-4
1986 Mississauga Tomahawks 3-4
1987 Mississauga Tomahawks 4-0
1988 Kitchener-Waterloo Braves Peterborough Stags 4-0
YearChampionFinalistSeriesScores
1989 Orangeville Northmen 4-3
1990 Orangeville Northmen 4-2
1991 Huntsville Hawks 4-2
1992 Scarborough Saints 4-0
1993 Owen Sound Flying Dutchmen 4-2
1994 Orillia Kings 4-1
1995 Orillia Kings 4-0
YearWestEastSeriesScores
1996 St. Catharines Spartan Warriors 4-1
1997 Orillia Kings 0-3 4-16, 6-10, 10-28
1998 Six Nations Rebels 4-2 8-9, 13-10, 12-11, 7-5, 7–11, 10-4
1999 Elora Mohawks 3-1 8-7, 12-11 OT, 10–11, 9-8
2000 Clarington Green Gaels 2-4 8-9 2OT, 9–7, 7-10, 7–6, 7-8, 10-11 OT
2001 Wallaceburg Red Devils FCN/A
2002 St. Catharines Spartan Warriors 3-0 9-3, 8-4, 13-5
2003 Barrie Tornado 2-3 15-8, 10-15, 6-8, 12–5, 8-11
2004 Clarington Green Gaels 2-3 16-4, 8-9, 12–1, 7-8 OT, 7-10
2005 Elora Mohawks 3-1 9-7, 14-5, 4–9, 9-8
2006 Oakville Buzz 1-3 5-10, 6-8, 8–7, 1-5
2007 Six Nations Rebels 3-0 8-6, 10-7, 9-6 OT
2008 Six Nations Rebels 3-1 12-3, 10-2, 4–8, 8-6
2009 Clarington Green Gaels 0-3 4-10, 7-12, 7-13
2010 Halton Hills Bulldogs 2-3 11-14, 8-9, 7–1, 8–7, 3-8
2011 Six Nations Rebels 3-2 14-11, 6–9, 5–8, 13-9, 10-7
2012 Six Nations Rebels 3-0 15-6, 8-7, 11-10
2013 Six Nations Rebels 3-1 19-10, 6-4, 9–13, 7-5
2014 Six Nations Rebels 3-0 16-2, 14-13, 13-5
2015 Akwesasne Indians 1-3 6-11, 12-15 OT, 10–8, 5-9
2016 Orangeville Northmen 3-0 7-6, 9-8, 7-4
2017 Orangeville Northmen 3-2 8-9 OT, 7-6 OT, 10-11 2OT, 13-8, 13-5
2018 Elora Mohawks 3-1 13-5, 9-7, 4–8, 10-4
2019Six Nations RebelsAkwesasne Indians3-27-10, 10-9, 5–11, 11-6, 9-7
2020 & 2021 Season Cancelled due to COVID-19[5]
2022Windsor ClippersNepean Knights0-34-6, 6-11, 1-8
(*) denotes that OLA championship was awarded through a superior record at Founders Cup/Castrol Cup tournament.

Former teams

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: April 20, 2012 . Junior B lacrosse is back! . https://web.archive.org/web/20210917214323/https://www.bramptonguardian.com/community-story/3071669-junior-b-lacrosse-is-back-/ . 2021-09-17 . Brampton Guardian.
  2. Web site: 2004 Founders Cup. August 25, 2004. Vernon Tigers.
  3. Web site: August 28, 2006 . Oakville Buzz wins national lacrosse title . https://web.archive.org/web/20210926124839/https://www.insidehalton.com/community-story/2910986-oakville-buzz-wins-national-lacrosse-title/ . 2021-09-26 . Inside Halton.
  4. Web site: Six Nations Rebels dominant in winning fourth straight Founders Cup. August 25, 2014. Inside Lacrosse.
  5. Web site: 2020 Junior ‘B’ lacrosse season cancelled. 4 June 2020. Sydenham Citizen.
  6. Web site: Oakville Buzz to join OJALL in 2019. February 1, 2018. Ontario Lacrosse Association.