Adanacs championship run resonating with fans and families, executive says

Scott Wortley knows what it feels like to lose a Minto Cup on his home floor. 

Wortley, now general manager of the Coquitlam Jr. Adanacs, who are currently competing in the Minto Cup Finals at the Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex, lost back-to-back Minto Cups as a player in 1992 and 1993 — the former of which was hosted in Coquitlam.

He joined the Adanacs in 2012, two years after the club last won the Minto Cup at home. 

Although he’s overseen two Minto Cup-winning teams since then — 2016 and 2018 — he doesn’t know what a win in front of home fans would mean. 

“I can’t explain what it would be,” Wortley said. “Tears, pure enjoyment, quiet confidence and happiness. I really don’t know.” 

The Adanacs are two victories away from making any one of those feelings a reality. Coquitlam opened the best-of-three Minto Cup finals against the Orangeville Northmen, winners of the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League, on Thursday night. 

Despite losing to Orangeville earlier in the tournament, the Adanacs advanced directly to the finals by virtual of having the highest goal differential in the round-robin stage. Coquitlam went 2-1 in the preliminary round.

The Northmen, who also went 2-1 in the round-robin, had a slightly worse goal differential than the Adanacs and were relegated into a semi-final matchup against the Port Coquitlam Saints. Orangeville dispatched Port Coquitlam 13-9 on Tuesday to set up a rematch with Coquitlam. 

Wortley may have briefly thought about what a victory may look like, but he isn’t overlooking the Northmen, a squad that Coquitlam has faced four times in the Minto Cup finals dating back to 1993. 

“They’ve got a real strong team, probably as deep as any team I’ve ever seen,” said Wortley, adding that the Orangemen bolstered their lineup with a number of mid-season roster additions including goaltender Connor O’Toole, a recent Vancouver Warriors draft pick. 

O’Toole, who left his hometown club, Brampton Excelsiors, at the end of June, has recorded two of the Northmen’s three Minto Cup victories in net this year 

“It’ll be tough. But we got some athletes and 26 guys that we can rely on.” 

The two teams have split their previous four meetings in the Minto Cup finals. The last time they met in the championship round was in 2016, when Coquitlam edged Orangeville in a series that was held in Langley. 

On this year’s squad, Wortley says there are about a dozen players with connections to the 1992 team that lost the Minto Cup on home floor. 

“There’s a lot of parents here, my age, born in the ’70s, that have kids playing on this Adanac team that would have grown up in School District 43,” he said. “It’s that circle of life… It’s [this team’s] opportunity, that’s what important, not us, it’s about these guys.” 

Coquitlam has three players — Jaxon Dillon, Cody Malawsky and Noah Manning — ranked in the top seven in scoring during this Minto Cup, despite playing one less game than Orangeville and Port Coquitlam.

The Northmen boast the tournament’s top two leading scorers, Liam Matthews and Joey Spallina, the latter of whom leads all players with 24 points. The Mount Sinai, New York native has already committed to Syracuse University. 

No matter the end result, Wortley credits the crowd for helping propel his team to the championship final. Coupled with the fact that Port Coquitlam also qualified for the Minto Cup, he said the crowd has been electric all tournament. 

“I hope the vibe translates to the broader community,” he said. 

On the court, Wortley also hopes to share a Minto Cup title with Chris Gil, an assistant coach who joined the Adanacs earlier this year. The two teammates, members on the 1992 Adanac squad that lost the Minto Cup at home, have unfinished business. 

“We have this opportunity to win together,” Wortley said. “Hopefully we can get there and have that final moment.”