A young lacrosse player from Airdrie is basking in the glory of helping make Alberta history.
Mason Dyck, a Bert Church High School student, and the Calgary Shamrocks junior B box lacrosse team defied the odds Aug. 18, winning the 2019 Founders’ Cup – the national championship for Junior B lacrosse.
The Shamrocks’ 16-15 victory in Winnipeg over the Six Nations Rebels marked the first time since 2009 – and just the fourth time in the last 47 years – a team from Alberta has won the coveted cup.
“It literally means everything,” said Dyck, a 17-year-old forward drafted out of midget lacrosse last winter by the Shamrocks. “I was lucky to be on a team that has been trying to win it, and to be the fourth team [from Alberta] to win it since 1972 – it’s pretty amazing.”
The Shamrocks finished fifth at the Founders’ Cup last year. This year, the team used that experience to put forth another competitive squad.
The “Shammies” dominated the South Division of the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League’s (RMLL) Junior B Tier 1 league, ending the regular season with a 19-1 record.
The success continued into the post-season, with the team booking another trip to the Founders’ Cup after claiming the RMLL Junior B Tier 1 championship.
In his first year of junior lacrosse, Dyck recorded 10 goals and 12 assists in 16 games.
“They definitely welcomed us [rookies] onto the team,” he said. “The dressing room was different from any other team – it was like a family in there.”
Once in Winnipeg, the Shamrocks showed its intentions early, coasting to a 5-0 record in round-robin play to book a spot in the gold-medal game. Having already secured a berth in the championship game, Calgary then rested many of its starters in the final round-robin fixture – a 19-3 loss to the Rebels.
Dyck played in three of those games, contributing two goals and three assists.
“I feel I did good with the opportunities I was given,” the rookie said. “It was quite an experience.”
The gold-medal game saw the Shamrocks coast to a 15-10 lead after two periods, but a late offensive surge from the Rebels in the third frame brought the team from Hagersville, Ont., within one goal.
After Six Nations pulled its goalie, giving the Rebels a one-player advantage, it was a tense final 30 seconds before the buzzer sounded.
The Shamrocks’ success this year ends a decade-long dynasty of Junior B lacrosse held by teams from Ontario.
“You can definitely see lacrosse in Alberta is growing,” Dyck said.
He attributed the Shamrocks’ development over the last few years to the team’s coaching staff, as well as the players’ chemistry.
“Our coaches were able to bring the whole team together in the past six years,” he said.
