Junior B history
The Nepean Knights history actually dates back well before its 1993 inception. The original Nepean junior team was the Nepean Lumberjacks of the OLA Junior "C" league in 1975 and 1976. Nepean was virtually a vacant lot for lacrosse until the 1990s, when locals applied for an expansion team in the OLA. In 1993, the Knights and the Mimico Mountaineers were granted expansion into the OLA Junior "B" league. Unlike Mimico, which has seemed to carry rather average results every year, Nepean seems to have more of one extreme or the other. From 1993 until 1997, the Knights only pulled off 19 victories in 110 contests. They failed to make the playoffs each year and were looking much like a failed franchise. But from 1998 to 2004 with the exception of a rather average 2002 seasons, the Knights hit the OLA like a Bat out of Hell. They made the playoffs seven straight year and made it to the semi-finals four times. They even finished first place in their conference in 1998, and made to the semis in their first ever playoff.
The 2005 to 2007 seasons were not so plentiful. Junior A lacrosse came to Ottawa in 2005 and that team drew most of its players from the Knights roster. This resulted in the team having three straight losing seasons, despite coming close to cracking .500 in 2006. With the Ottawa Titans on a two-year leave of absence, the Knights 2008 season was big improvement with the team going 11-9 and having a strong showing in the playoffs against the Mimico Mountaineers.
The Ontario Lacrosse Association is a not-for-profit sport organization and a member association of the Canadian Lacrosse Association, the national governing body for lacrosse in Canada. The Ontario Lacrosse Association is the largest provincial lacrosse governing body within Canada. The mission of the OLA is to govern, improve, foster, and perpetuate the sport of lacrosse in Ontario. It was established in 1897.
The Ontario Junior B Lacrosse League (OJBLL) is a box lacrosse league sanctioned by the Ontario Lacrosse Association in Canada. The league features twenty-five teams in Ontario, one in Quebec, and one in the Akwesasne that annually play a 20-game schedule and four rounds of playoffs for the J. A. MacDonald Trophy. After the conclusion of the playoffs, a league champion represents the OJBLL at the Founders Cup National Junior B Championship.
Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) is a Senior A box lacrosse league with 7 teams based in Ontario, Canada sanctioned by the Ontario Lacrosse Association. The league championship team each year goes on to play against the champions of the Western Lacrosse Association for the Mann Cup in September. The championship is hosted alternately between Ontario and British Columbia.
The Barrie Lakeshores are Junior "A" box lacrosse team from Barrie, Ontario, Canada. The Lakeshores play in the OLA Junior A Lacrosse League.
The Green Gaels are a Junior "B" box lacrosse team based in Clarington, Ontario, Canada, that plays out of the Garnet B. Rickard Recreation Complex in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada. The Gaels play in the OLA Junior B Lacrosse League.
The Gloucester Griffins are a Junior "B" box lacrosse team from Gloucester, Ontario, Canada. The Griffins play in the OLA Junior B Lacrosse League.
The Halton Hills Bulldogs are Junior "B" box lacrosse team from Georgetown, Ontario, Canada. The Bulldogs play in the OLA Junior B Lacrosse League.
The Huntsville Hawks are Junior "C" box lacrosse team from Huntsville, Ontario, Canada. The Hawks play in the Ontario Junior C Lacrosse League. They were known as the Huntsville Legionaires in 1965, Huntsville Tornadoes in 1966, and as the Huntsville Hawks from 1967 to the present.
The West Durham Ironheads are Junior "B" box lacrosse team from Pickering, Ontario, Canada. The Ironheads play in the OLA Junior B Lacrosse League.
The Mimico Junior A Mountaineers are a Jr. A box lacrosse association in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Mountaineers operate junior-age and younger teams. Their home arena is Mimico Arena in the Mimico neighbourhood of Toronto. Beginning in 2015, their primary junior team will be a member of the Ontario Junior A Lacrosse League. From 1993 until 2014, the Mountaineers were members of the Ontario Junior B Lacrosse League.
The Oakville Buzz are Canadian box lacrosse team from Oakville, Ontario, Canada that play in the Ontario Junior A Lacrosse League. The Buzz played in the OLA Junior B Lacrosse League from 2001-2018. The Buzz won the 2006 Founders Cup Canadian Junior B National Champions.
The Elora Mohawks are Junior "B" box lacrosse team from Elora, Ontario, Canada. The Mohawks play in the OLA Junior B Lacrosse League.
The Six Nations Rebels are a Canadian Junior "B" box lacrosse team from Hagersville, Ontario on the Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve. The Rebels play in the OLA Junior B Lacrosse League. The Rebels hold the record for most Junior B national championships in Founders Cup history with seven.
The Hamilton Bengals are Junior "B" box lacrosse team from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The Bengals play in the OLA Junior B Lacrosse League.
The Niagara Thunderhawks were a Junior "B" box lacrosse team from Niagara, Ontario, Canada. The Thunderhawks played in the OLA Junior B Lacrosse League. The franchise folded after 18 years in 2021.
The Point Edward Pacers a are Junior "B" box lacrosse team from Point Edward, Ontario, Canada. The Pacers play in the OLA Junior B Lacrosse League. The Pacers are four-time Founders Cup Canadian Junior B champions.
The Mississauga Tomahawks were a Junior "A" box lacrosse team from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The Tomahawks played in the OLA Junior A Lacrosse League. Some former Tomahawks players who have gone on to professional lacrosse are John Tavares, Peter Tavares, Anthony Cosmo, Jeff Shatler, Drew Candy, Jamie McKeracher, Cory Leigh, John Rosa, Rob Kirkby, Ted Dowling, Mat Giles, Jason Clark, Neil Doddridge and Ted Dowling.
Jeff Zywicki is a former professional lacrosse player from Ottawa, Ontario. He played college lacrosse at UMass. He was drafted 8th overall by the San Jose Stealth in the 2005 National Lacrosse League Entry Draft. He also played in Major League Lacrosse for the San Francisco Dragons, Denver Outlaws and the Toronto Nationals, who drafted him.
The Brampton Excelsiors are a Junior "B" box lacrosse team from Brampton, Ontario, Canada. The Excelsiors play in the OLA Junior B Lacrosse League and are eligible to compete for the Founders Cup National Championship. The Excelsiors are members of the same system of teams as the Major Excelsiors and the Junior A Excelsiors.
The Ontario Junior C Lacrosse League (OJCLL) is a box lacrosse league sanctioned by the Ontario Lacrosse Association in Canada. The league features teams split into three regional divisions. OJCLL annually play a 16-game schedule and playoffs for the Meredith Cup league championship.
