Coquitlam Adanacs repeat as Minto Cup champions

The Coquitlam Adanacs have captured the 2025 Minto Cup, defeating the Orangeville Northmen in back-to-back games at the Meridian Centre to claim Canada’s top prize in junior lacrosse.

The weekend sweep not only delivered Coquitlam its second consecutive national title, but also marked a historic milestone: the first time in nearly five decades that a Western Canadian team has won the championship on Ontario soil.

“I’m just really proud. We forget that they’re kids still – young men – and we could rely on everyone to do their jobs,” said Pat Coyle, head coach for the Adanacs. “We have a group of guys that are just willing to do whatever it takes to win, and I feel lucky to be a part of it.”

The Adanacs opened the best-of-three final on Thursday, Aug. 21 with a 7-5 victory, a tense and tactical battle in which forward Cody Malawsky carried the offence. 

The 19-year-old – son of Vancouver Warriors head coach Curt Malawsky – scored four times and added two assists, repeatedly breaking through Orangeville’s defensive coverage.

For game two on Friday, Aug. 22, the Adanacs and Northmen traded goals all night in front of a packed house, with the Ontario fans roaring each time the hometown team struck back.

After dominating Coquitlam in their first meeting of the tournament, the Northmen stumbled out of the gate in the final, surrendering the opening three goals. By halftime, however, Orangeville had erased the deficit, battling back to level the score at 6–6.

The third period turned into a rollercoaster. Orangeville struck for two quick goals and stretched the lead to 9–7.

But the momentum swung sharply the other way as the Adanacs rattled off four in a row to surge ahead 11–9. The Northmen refused to fold, closing the gap to a single goal with just under four minutes remaining, leaving the crowd on edge for a dramatic finish. 

Coquitlam leaned heavily on Ryan Colsey, who erupted for five goals and two assists. 

When the horn sounded, Coquitlam players poured onto the floor in jubilation, their sticks and gloves littering the turf as they dogpiled on goaltender Jack Kask, who stopped three shots in the final 10 seconds.  

Tournament MVP honours went to Malawsky, whose consistency across the championship was unmatched. He finished the Minto Cup with 15 goals and 13 assists. Colsey’s heroics in the second game earned him Coquitlam’s Player of the Game nod.

“Malawsky was huge for us,” Coyle said, adding he thinks he’s probably the best junior lacrosse player in the country.

Coyle said Colesy’s performance felt like his “coming out party.” 

“We’ve sort of seen what he’s been capable of for two years, but I think a lot of the country got to see what a dominant player he is.”

However, Coyle said the team’s success boiled down to players embracing their role to the best of their ability.

“Some of the guys need to be garbage men and some of the guys need to be surgeons,” he said. “The surgeons are the ones getting the articles written about them, but the garbage men are just as important.”

The Coquitlam Junior A Adanacs have now won back-to-back Minto Cups, and have taken home the championship five times in the last 15 years, and appeared in the finals 10 times.

Coyle, who has coached the team to victories in 2016, 2018, 2024, and 2025, credits the culture of the Coquitlam Adanacs – from the executive, coaching staff, players, volunteers – for its success.

“It’s just a top class organization,” he said. “There’s been teams that have been more talented, but didn’t have the same culture as us, and that can be the difference between winning and losing.”

Not since Burnaby Cablevision’s triumph in 1977 had a Western team hoisted the Minto Cup in Ontario. And with consecutive titles in 2024 and 2025, the Adanacs became the first B.C. team since the Burnaby Lakers in 2004–05 to repeat as national champions.