The top two teams in the league will duke it out for the Dale Rolufs Memorial Championship Trophy.
The coveted mug goes to the winner of the Prince George Senior Lacrosse Association playoffs. This year, that will either be the BX Pub Bandits or College Heights Pub Assault.
The match-up between the top-seeded Bandits and second-ranked Assault was assured when the Bandits beat the Mackenzie LumberJax 19-7 Wednesday night at the Coliseum. With the victory, BX Pub completed a sweep of Mackenzie in the best-of-five semifinal series.
In the other semifinal, the Assault downed the Twisted Cork/Regional Security Stylers, also in the minimum number of games.
It's safe to say the final series will be a hotly-contested battle of attrition. A sweep one way or the other is about as likely as a pothole-free drive through Prince George streets.
"Both teams have really good goaltending and a lot of firepower on offence and are really good on the back end to keep it close," said Bandits player/coach Ryan Bellamy. "It's always competitive and both teams want to win. There are some really good players that have played some high-end lacrosse and they bring it night in, night out."
The championship series, a best-of-seven affair, will begin Monday at the Coliseum. Games are also scheduled for Wednesday, Thursday and Monday, July 16.
If the series extends beyond four games, the remaining contests are set for Wednesday, July 18, Thursday, July 19 and Monday, July 23. All games will start at 8 p.m.
During the regular season, the Bandits compiled a 13-2 record and the Assault finished at 12-3. Head-to-head, the Assault held a 2-1 edge in wins. In those three games, only two goals separated the clubs. The Assault downed the Bandits 11-9 on April 28 and the Bandits exacted some revenge by claiming an 11-10 victory on June 6. In the rubber match, played on June 20, the Assault edged the Bandits 11-10.
This will be the third year in a row the Bandits and Assault will fight for the playoff championship. The Assault were the victors in 2011 and the Bandits took the title in 2010.
During the 2012 regular season, the top-10 scoring list featured three members of the Bandits and four members of the Assault. Bandits players Damon Calfa (58 goals, 104 points), Drew Doig (42 goals, 87 points) and Tyler Halliday (34 goals, 69 points) finished second, fifth and 10th respectively, while Dave Jenkins (49 goals, 98 points), Craig Dunfield (40 goals, 89 points), Nathanael McFayden (45 goals, 83 points) and Clarke Anderson (38 goals, 71 points) of the Assault were third, fourth, seventh and eighth in scoring.
In the championship series, the Bandits may or may not have Doig in uniform. He's recovering from a leg infection and, if he's able to play, would provide a big boost to his club.
"He's going to be getting checked out [by his doctor] before the series starts so hopefully he'll be back in the lineup," Bellamy said. "You can't replace a player like Drew. He's a main component on our offence. He helps run it."
In Wednesday's semifinal game, the Bandits' four-man wrecking crew of Calfa, Ryan Waddington, Cole Paciejewski and Halliday sent the LumberJax into the off-season. Calfa finished the night with six goals and eight assists, Waddington had five goals and five assists, Paciejewski collected four goals and five helpers while Halliday scored four times and added an equal number of assists. Trent Poulin, with four goals and one assist, was the best of the LumberJax.
