The Prince George Posse begins its quest for the provincial A2 title on Friday.
The host team has its first game action Friday at 10:30 a.m. at Kin 1 against Kamloops, followed by a 5:30 p.m. game against Coquitlam, also at Kin 1.
Saturday at noon, the Posse plays Port Moody.
Nanaimo, Port Coquitlam, Semiahmoo and Penticton are the other A2 teams. The top two teams in each pool advance to the semifinals Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. The championship game is set for Sunday at 11:15 a.m. at Kin 1.
The Posse started out this season as a B team and rolled over its B competition in tournament play this year, winning all four tournaments it entered handily. The B.C. Lacrosse Association took note of the lopsided scores and forced the Posse to step up to the A2 division for the provincial tournament.
"At the beginning of the year I had 11 runners and at the time I didn't have a veteran goalie, but we had an influx of players," said Posse coach Blake McIntosh. "We had a lot of success at the B level and there's no doubt we'll be competitive in A2."
The Posse tried to get into A2 tournaments but by the time it became apparent the team was strong enough for A2 there was no leeway to allow it in as a late entry.
Some of the Posse players have been involved in minor lacrosse for 10 years and other than regional playoffs they've never played as a rep team in a tournament they've hosted.
"This is 10 years in the works, from the first time we took a novice team to Calgary for the Canada Day tournament and won the B division," said McIntosh.
Posse midgets Jake McIntosh, Andrew Heitman, Cameron Prouse, Griffin Wal, Jared Huston and Doug Porter all suited up for the BX Pub Bandits in the Prince George Senior Lacrosse Association playoffs and played well in their first senior lacrosse action.
The 16-year-old McIntosh finished with nine goals and four assists in just three games and was among the top PGSLA playoff scorers, despite the best efforts of his father, Blake, 42, who plays for the Westwood Pub Devils, to keep him and the other midgets off the scoresheet.
As co-coach of the Posse with Don Wittmeier, Blake McIntosh figures the senior experience will pay off for his midget team this weekend.
"I'm happy that my midgets had the opportunity to play with them and play against us - it's difficult to play against the kids I coach and my son - I'd much rather play with him," Blake McIntosh said. "It's just going to help their confidence come playoff time. If they can take a beating from (Devils defender) Dave Bennett and myself and some of the other guys they'll be well-prepared to play against kids their own age. They didn't look out of place in the senior league and I'm pretty proud of how they played."
Before the A2, B and C tournaments begin, the top teams in the province will square off against each other in the A1 tournament Wednesday and Thursday at the Kin Centre. The Posse coaches are encouraging their players to watch those games to pick up a few pointers and Blake McIntosh says lacrosse fans in the city should take advantage of the chance to see B.C.'s best wrap up their minor lacrosse careers.
"You're going to see the top players in the province, future junior A and senior A players, and probably some NLL players," he said. "This is where all that development is fostered and fans will enjoy that."
