For the Vernon Sun Valley Source For Sports Tigers and Armstrong Shamrocks, the season goals are different.
One wants to make playoffs. The other wants to win provincials.
The two rivals start their quests tonight as the Thompson Okanagan Junior Lacrosse League begins its regular season with the Tigers visiting the Irish at the Nor-Val Sports Centre (7:30 p.m.).
Last season, the Tigers became the first team in league history to run the table during the regular season – 16-0. Vernon swept fourth-place Armstrong in the first round of the playoffs before suffering their only losses of the year – three in total – to the Kamloops Venom, who won the league playoff series 3-2.
“We are setting the bar high this year: we want to win the playoffs, go to provincials and win that,” said Tigers head coach Chris Scabar. “Our team won’t be satisfied with anything else.”
Scabar will have a relatively young squad though veteran snipers Ryan Sarazin, Quintin Harrish, Thomas Landels, Ethan Anderson and Jordie Barr are back.
Scabar, who will get help on the bench from returning coach Tyler Plante and former player Ryan Minchenko, will rely on his coaches and his veteran players.
“I’m going to give them a voice,” said Scabar. “Guys like Sarazin and Harrish have really stepped up so far and are nurturing the younger players. The maturity they’re showing to the young guys is great.
“With Ryan and Tyler, I can take a step back and really analyze things which will help me with my coaching.”
The Tigers will start the year with Darnell Hauca as their goalie. He takes over from graduating all-star Aaron Jensen, and Jensen’s backup, Jeremy Gray, who is currently injured.
Vernon plays its first four games on the road before its home opener Saturday, May 14, against the Irish.
In Armstrong, the Shamrocks have first-year goalie Francois Leroux and are searching for a goalie with junior experience as they look to improve on a 5-11 campaign from 2015.
“Francois is a good, young goalie but we’d love to find somebody with some more experience,” said team director Jeff Hanley, who will help head coach Jim Point on the bench.
The Shamrocks’ brass will be patient with a club that has only a handful of returnees, including the likes of Marlon Forrest, Sam Hanley and Nicholas Yadernuk, though Hanley is optimistic the team can return to the post-season.
“I think, league-wide, the whole playing field is going to be more level this year,” he said. “I think we have the talent. We have a few guys that can put the ball in the net and the defence will come along.”
