The Heritage Cup is an international box lacrosse tournament between the national teams of Canada, Iroquois and United States. The games feature mostly players that were members of National Lacrosse League teams.
The inaugural Heritage Cup was played on October 2, 2002 at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, and featured Team USA against Team Canada. Team USA won the game 21-16. [1]
UNITED STATES
| Name | Pos | NLL team |
|---|---|---|
| Jake Bergey | F | Philadelphia |
| Richard Brzeski | D | Philadelphia |
| Roy Colsey | F | New Jersey |
| Hugh Donovan | D | Colorado |
| Kevin Finneran | F | Philadelphia |
| Jamie Hanford | D | New Jersey |
| Peter Jacobs | D | Philadelphia |
| Jay Jalbert | D | Philadelphia |
| Dwight Maetche | G | Vancouver |
| Pat McCabe | D | New York |
| Erik Miller | G | Colorado |
| Mark Millon | F | Philadelphia |
| Chris Panos | F | Calgary |
| Brian Reese | D | Colorado |
| Mike Regan | F | Albany |
| Tom Ryan | F | Philadelphia |
| Tom Slate | D | Philadelphia |
| Dave Stilley | D | Philadelphia |
| Tim Soudan | F | Rochester |
| Regy Thorpe | D | Rochester |
Head Coaches: Darris Kilgour (Buffalo), Tony Resch (Philadelphia)
CANADA
| Name | Pos | NLL team |
|---|---|---|
| Rob Blasdell | G | Albany |
| Glenn Clark | D | Toronto |
| Anthony Cosmo | G | Toronto |
| Pat Coyle | D | Toronto |
| Colin Doyle | F | Toronto |
| Gary Gait | F | Colorado |
| John Grant Jr. | F | Rochester |
| Tracey Kelusky | F | Montreal |
| Curt Malawsky | F | Rochester |
| Blaine Manning | F | Toronto |
| Jim Moss | D | Albany |
| Gavin Prout | F | New York |
| Josh Sanderson | F | Albany |
| Dan Stroup | F | Toronto |
| Dan Teat | F | Albany |
| Steve Toll | F | Toronto |
| John Tavares | F | Buffalo |
| Jim Veltman | F | Toronto |
| Bob Watson | G | Toronto |
| Cam Woods | D | Albany |
Head Coach: Les Bartley (Toronto)
The 2004 Heritage Cup was held at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado on October 16, 2004. The game once again featured Team USA against Team Canada, but this time Team Canada came out on top, winning 17-8. [2]
UNITED STATES
| # | Name | Pos | Sh | Age | NLL team | Ht. | Wt. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dwight Maetche | G | R | 41 | Vancouver | 6'0" | 195 |
| 2 | Erik Miller | G | R | 33 | Colorado | 6'5" | 235 |
| 4 | Josh Sims | F | L | 26 | Colorado | 6'2" | 200 |
| 5 | Jamie Hanford | D | R | 29 | Colorado | 6'2" | 215 |
| 6 | Brian Langtry | F | R | 28 | Colorado | 5'11" | 180 |
| 9 | Keith Cromwell | F | L | 25 | Philadelphia | 6'1" | 195 |
| 10 | Jay Jalbert | D | R | 27 | Colorado | 6'2" | 210 |
| 71 | Regy Thorpe | D | R | 33 | Rochester | 6'1" | 240 |
| 11 | Kevin Finneran | F | L | 37 | None | 6'2" | 200 |
| 13 | John Rosa | D | L | 34 | Anaheim | 6'2" | 213 |
| 15 | Jeff Sonke | D | L | 25 | Colorado | 6'2" | 200 |
| 20 | Scott Stapleford | D | L | 23 | Colorado | 6'0" | 185 |
| 21 | Mike Regan | F | R | 26 | San Jose | 5'10" | 190 |
| 22 | Ryan Powell | F | R | 26 | Anaheim | 6'1" | 195 |
| 27 | Dan Marohl | F | R | 26 | Philadelphia | 6'1" | 190 |
| 32 | Shawn Nadelen | D | L | 25 | Philadelphia | 6'0" | 200 |
| 34 | Brian Reese | D | R | 28 | Colorado | 6'3" | 210 |
| 41 | Nicky Polanco | D | R | 24 | None | 6'4" | 215 |
| 55 | Chris Panos | F | L | 30 | Anaheim | 6'0" | 195 |
| 77 | Dave Stilley | D | R | 30 | Colorado | 6'2" | 220 |
Head Coach: Tony Resch
Assistant Coach: Jamie Batley
Assistant Coach: Jimmy Rogers
General Manager: Steve Govett
CANADA
| # | Name | Pos | Sh | Age | NLL team | Ht. | Wt. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Dan Dawson | F | R | 23 | Arizona | 6'5" | 225 |
| 7 | Colin Doyle | F | L | 27 | Toronto | 6'3" | 215 |
| 9 | Kaleb Toth | F | R | 27 | Calgary | 6'0" | 190 |
| 10 | Gavin Prout | F | R | 26 | Colorado | 5'10" | 185 |
| 11 | John Tavares | F | L | 36 | Buffalo | 5'11" | 175 |
| 15 | Rob Kirkby | D | R | 25 | Calgary | 6'3" | 200 |
| 16 | Blaine Manning | F | R | 25 | Toronto | 6'1" | 205 |
| 17 | Steve Toll | F | R | 30 | San Jose | 6'0" | 187 |
| 22 | Gary Gait | F | L | 37 | Colorado | 6'2" | 210 |
| 23 | Cam Woods | D | R | 28 | San Jose | 6'3" | 205 |
| 24 | John Grant Jr. | F | R | 29 | Rochester | 6'2" | 224 |
| 27 | Peter Lough | F | R | 29 | Arizona | 6'2" | 210 |
| 32 | Jim Veltman | F | L | 38 | Toronto | 6'2" | 185 |
| 38 | Gee Nash | G | L | 26 | Colorado | 6'0" | 190 |
| 39 | Pat O'Toole | G | R | 33 | Rochester | 6'0" | 215 |
| 40 | Ian Rubel | D | L | 26 | Toronto | 6'0" | 200 |
| 44 | Anthony Cosmo | G | L | 27 | Toronto | 6'2" | 205 |
| 45 | Taylor Wray | D | R | 23 | Calgary | 6'2" | 225 |
| 55 | Jim Moss | D | R | 27 | San Jose | 6'0" | 180 |
| 71 | Tracey Kelusky | F | R | 29 | Calgary | 5'10" | 180 |
Head Coach: Les Bartley
Assistant Coach: Walt Christianson
Assistant Coach: Ed Comeau
Assistant Coach: Bob McMahon
General Manager: Johnny Mouradian
| Year | Location | Winning team | Score | Losing team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 |  Canada (Mississauga, Ontario) |  United States | 21-16 |  Canada | |
| 2004 |  United States (Denver, Colorado) | Canada | 17-8 | United States | |
| 2013 | Canada (Montreal, Quebec) | Canada | 12-11 |  Iroquois | |
| 2017 | Canada (Hamilton, Ontario) | Canada | 19-6 | United States | |
| 2023 | United States (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) |
Box lacrosse, also known as boxla, box, or indoor lacrosse, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in Canada in the 1930s, where it is more popular than field lacrosse. Lacrosse is Canada's official national summer sport. Box lacrosse is played between two teams of five players and one goalie each, and is traditionally played on an ice hockey rink once the ice has been removed or covered. The playing area is called a box, in contrast to the open playing field of field lacrosse. The object of the game is to use a lacrosse stick to catch, carry, and pass the ball in an effort to score by shooting a solid rubber lacrosse ball into the opponent's goal. The highest level of box lacrosse is the National Lacrosse League.
The Toronto Rock are a professional box lacrosse franchise based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Eastern Conference of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The team was the first Canadian franchise in the NLL. Oakville resident Jamie Dawick is the current owner of the Rock, purchasing the team after the 2009 season. Since 2014, Dawick has also served as their general manager. The Rock play their home games at FirstOntario Centre which they currently share with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the OHL.
Bruce Arena is an American soccer coach who is the head coach and sporting director of the New England Revolution.
The Philadelphia Barrage were a field lacrosse team that are based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and member of Major League Lacrosse. They were the Bridgeport Barrage from 2001 to 2003 at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The team then relocated to Philadelphia from the 2004 season to the 2007 season when they became a traveling team for 2008. They ceased operations before the 2009 season due to the economic situation in the United States. The Philadelphia Barrage were resurrected for the 2020 season.
Tracey Kelusky is a Canadian former lacrosse player and current head coach of Panther City LC. Kelusky played for the Columbus Landsharks, Montreal Express, Calgary Roughnecks, Buffalo Bandits and Philadelphia Wings. While with the Roughnecks, Kelusky was named captain and led them to titles in 2004 and 2009.
Michael Edward Keenan is a Canadian professional hockey coach who most recently coached the Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League. Previously, he served as head coach and/or general manager with several NHL teams between 1984 and 2009. He currently ranks fifth in playoff wins with 96. He is noted for his early career success in coaching Team Canada to win the 1987 Canada Cup round-robin tournament in a thrilling best-of-three series finale against Viktor Tikhonov's Red Army team.
Les Bartley was a Canadian lacrosse coach. Bartley led the Buffalo Bandits to three of their four championships in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL), and won four more championships with the Toronto Rock in the renamed National Lacrosse League (NLL). He was named NLL Executive of the Year in 2005.
Gary Charles Gait is a Canadian retired Hall of Fame professional lacrosse player and currently the head coach of the men’s lacrosse team at Syracuse University, where he played the sport collegiately. On January 24, 2017, he was named the Interim Commissioner of the United Women's Lacrosse League.
Terry Sanderson was the general manager of the Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League and has also held various coaching positions through the NLL. He was a member of the Sanderson family of Orangeville, Ontario, which has produced a number of lacrosse players and coaches.
James Edward "Scoop" Veltman is a Canadian former lacrosse player who played for the Toronto Rock, the Ontario Raiders, and the Buffalo Bandits in the National Lacrosse League. Veltman won three NLL championships with the Bandits and then five more with the Rock, where he was captain for ten seasons.
The 2006 National Lacrosse League season was the 20th season in the history of the league, which began as the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League in 1987. The season began on December 30, 2005 and concluded with the championship game on May 13, 2006.
The 2005 National Lacrosse League season is the 19th season of the NLL that began on January 1, 2005 and concluded with the championship game on May 14. The Toronto Rock won their fifth NLL championship, defeating the Arizona Sting 19–13 in Toronto.
Derek Keenan is a former lacrosse player, and current head coach and general manager of the Saskatchewan Rush of the National Lacrosse League. Keenan has won the NLL GM of the Year award and the Les Bartley Award for Coach of the Year three times each; he won both awards in 2006, 2010, and 2014 though he shared the 2010 Bartley Award with Chris Hall.
Bob Hamley is the current General Manager of the Panther City Lacrosse Club of the National Lacrosse League. He is also a former head coach and General Manager of the Edmonton Rush and Colorado Mammoth, and a former NLL player.
Darris Kilgour is a former professional lacrosse player and coach. Kilgour currently is the head coach of the Seneca WarChiefs (FNJBLL). He is from the Tuscarora Indian Reservation near Lewiston New York.
Tony Resch is a retired lacrosse player, and current field and box lacrosse coach. He is the former head coach of the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League from 1994 to 2001, and led the Wings to four Championships. Resch was named to the NLL Hall of Fame in 2008. Resch returned to coaching as the head coach of the Philadelphia Barrage of Major League Lacrosse. Resch graduated from Yale University, where he was a two-time All-American and three-time First Team All-Ivy League player.
Ed Comeau is a Canadian and head coach of the Georgia Swarm of the NLL. He is the former head coach of the Orlando Titans, until they folded in 2010.
Bob McMahon is a former head coach in the National Lacrosse League, and currently serves as an assistant coach with the Calgary Roughnecks.
Jamie Batley is a lacrosse coach who has coached several teams in the NLL and the Major Series Lacrosse. Batley is also a former player, who played with the Buffalo Bandits, Syracuse Smash, and Pittsburgh CrosseFire.
The Canada national indoor lacrosse team represents Canada in international tournaments of indoor lacrosse. It is the best national box lacrosse team in the world, having won all five World Indoor Lacrosse Championships, starting with the 2003 ILF World Indoor Lacrosse Championship held in Canada. Team Canada has never lost a game in the tournament. Their biggest rivals are the Iroquois Nationals, who have finished in second place in all four tournaments.