Lacrosse Legends

Aitchison or “Aichy” was born and raised in New Westminster, B.C., but he never played as a Salmonbellie.His career was as unique as his personality and he came to the game later than most as a high school field lacrosse player at age 16. A friend got him involved with the Junior Coquitlam J-Hawks. Aitchison felt so embarrassed by his inferior stick skills that he quit after 8 games.The coaches talked him into coming back and he progressed the rest of the year. In 1970 he was picked up by Burnaby to play in the Minto Cup – a real eye-opener for the newcomer to box lacrosse. He had a fine career with the Senior Coquitlam Adanacs from 1971-82.He was selected as the Rookie of the Year his first year and was awarded the Ed Bailey Trophy. On 4 occasions he made the WLA All Star Team. “Aichy” played in the 1980 World Box Lacrosse Championships and won gold as a member of Coquitlam’s squad. “Aichy” represented Canada in field Lacrosse in 1974, 1982 and 1986.He was coming off a serious knee injury in 1986 but amazing

Brian “Butch” Keegan had a lacrosse career that many would dream about. He had great success as a player and a coach.Keegan was one of the top scorers in both Junior and Senior Lacrosse, played on a Mann Cup team, a Professional League Nations Cup team and also coached four Presidents Cup champions.As a player he was awarded the Most Gentlemanly Player Award at both the Junior and Senior levels. Butch played for Canada in the first World Field Lacrosse Championship in 1967.He was one of the fortunate players to experience life as a pro in 1966 and then later in 1974 and 1975. His coaching prowess was recognized in 1989 when he was selected as OLA Senior Coach of the Year.All these accolades brought him induction into the inaugural class of the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1997, and then entry into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2000. Butch would put back into the game as a member of both the OLHof and CLHoF Eastern Seletion Committee for many years.

Bill Lefeuvre was inducted nto the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2002. His induction was fitting as he was a member of the core group that built the institution having raised much of the funding for the project.Lefeuvre also has stories on many of the major acquisitions on display there. There’s the 12 foot First Nations carving that greets visitors to the Hall, and the venerable Globe Shield as memorable examples. He’s been involved in the in the game in many ways. He was Coach and General Manager of the Founders Cup Champion Spartan Warriors in 1996. He also served as General Manager of the Major Series St. Catharines Athletics.His travels took him to Cape Breton and China where he has been involved in building the game. He even put his talents towards equipment manufacturing. Bill Lefeuvre’s impact on the game has been diverse and is of interest to all fans of the game.

A.J. Jomha is one of the great lacrosse people to come out of Alberta.He has excelled as a player, coach and builder of the game at all levels – local to national.Jomha started his time with the game in Edmonton’s minor program. As a player he was on the 1979 Alberta team that hosted the Minto Cup. Many players of that team would go on to win the first ever Founders Cup by Alberta in 1980. He went on to coach the 1985 Alberta entry into the Canada Games. He would later coach at the Junior B, Junior A and Senior B levels, winning a number of national championships along the way.He made his mark at the pro level serving as a scout for the Toronto Rock and Assistant Coach for the Edmonton Rush. He would advance to the position of Director of Lacrosse Operations for the Rush. At the Lacrosse Canada Board level he has served as Box Sector Chair and Director of National Championships as well. Jomha also played a strong role in the development of the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League featuring teams from Saskatchewan,

Ron Pinder grew up in Richmond, B.C.His first national championship came in the form of a Minto Cup ring playing for the legendary Richmond Roadrunners team in 1971.He would go on to win two Mann Cups for the Vancouver Burrards in 1975 and 1977. He finished his career with close to a 3 points per game scoring average.Pinder really made his mark in the Mann Cup. His dad, Roy Pinder, had won the Mann Cupp in 1949. Ron would “see him and raise him one” starting in 1975 when he was awarded the Mike Kelly award that year as the MVP of the Series.1975 was a great year for Ron Pinder. Jim Bishop called on him in the NLL playoffs to join the professional Montreal Quebecois .Montreal was down 3 games to 1 in the semi-finals against the Boston Bolts and came back to take them 4-3. They would go 6 games against the Quebec Caribous who would go on to win the Championship in the final year of the pro league.

Mike Benedict Jr. Has had a lifelong involvement with the game starting with a great high school career from 1986-1989 at Salmon River High School in New York State. He went on to play Junior B for both Akwesasne and Gloucester through 1992. He became a full time Senior Player in 1993 for the Akwesasne Thunder and was picked up by the Onondaga Redmen to play in the Presidents Cup and was named a 1st Team All Star. In 1994 he played in Manchester, England with the Iroquois National Team. He scored 10 goals in one Senior box game in 1995. He won a Gold Medal with the Akwesasne Thunder that same year winning the Championship MVP Award with a 5 goal - 5 assist performance. His rookie season with the MILL was with the Rochester Knighthawks also in 1995. Benedict’s MILL/NLL/MLL career included time with the Syracuse Smash, Buffalo Bandits, New York Saints, Columbus Landsharks, Rochester Rattlers and New Jersey Storm. Benedict has seen it all. Experiences include an appearance in an NLL PlayStation Video Game as an

Barry Alfred was inducted into the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2013. Alfred is known for his leadership and was selected Team Captain many times in his career with Kahnawake. He is known for bringing out the best in his teammates and was named Top Player in Quebec after posting 150 points. He saved some of his best performances for the Presidents Cup where he gained numerous MVP Awards, Leading Scorer Awards and All Star Nominations. Alfred began coaching in 1996 as Head Coach for the Kahnawake Senior B Mohawks until 2009. They had 7 Presidents Cup appearances. He also led his Masters Kahnawake Chiefs Team to a National Canadian Championship title. Alfred feels fortunate to have played with “greats” including Brian Jacobs, Louis Delisle, Ernie Mitchell, Galla Thomas, Barry Powless, Mike Benedict Sr. and Gaylord Powless.

Greg Thomas was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2006. He began his 27 year lacrosse career in Peterborough including four seasons on the P.C.O’s Junior A team. They won a Minto Cup in 1972. In 1973 Thomas headed west to tend goal for the Coquitlam Seniors for 10 years and single seasons with both New Westminster and the Vancouver Burrards. He had a lifetime save percentage of 74.3 percent in 269 games. He also scored as a goalie – one goal and 330 career assists. In one league game he had a goal and 5 assists. This productivity led to three All Star Team selections in the Western Lacrosse Association. He backstopped Canada West in the 1980 World Box Lacrosse Tournament. Other personal awards include the Maitland Trophy in 1979 and the Leo Nicholson Memorial Trophy as the WLA MVP in 1981. When he was through playing he coached youth lacrosse for 8 seasons.

Bill C-212 Throughout history the fortunes of the game of lacrosse have ebbed and flowed. The game has enjoyed some great times and some bleak ones. Somehow the game fights back from the precipice during the tough times and establishes itself on better footing. Its survival is uncanny and magical.The game was in dire straits at the end of the 1980’s. Internal mismanagement and the Federal design to cut off funding to non-Olympic amateur sports were threatening to deal lacrosse a fatal blow. What was needed to ensure survival was unclear. It seems when things are at their worst, a few intrepid souls whose passion for the game overrides their practical tendencies, seem to step up and fight the good fight. The idea of creating Bill C-212 would prove to be one of the most creative and difficult maneuvers the game had ever seen or needed to be successful. This story tells the tale of the six year struggle that ensued as lacrosse gained the status of Canada’s National Summer Sport.

Pierre Filion established the Quebec provincial lacrosse governing body from the ground up. He was hired in 1975 as Technical Director of the Québec Lacrosse Federation. Filion drafted a constitution, by laws, incorporated the Federation, drafted an operations manual and established a democratic procedure.In 1975 he created the QSLL, a QJLL and in 1976 three QJLL (juvenile leagues). Filion organized 14 regional lacrosse associations and managed provincial minor championships and Québec Games. He organized provincial and regional lacrosse clinics for coaches. Filion created the Québec Team Program at the Canada Games.In 1977 the Québec Lacrosse Federation presented a request on behalf of the CANAM League to obtain membership within the CLA and thus access annually to the Presidents’ Cup (the Senior B championship of Canada). Filion organized field and women’s programs in Québec and Intercrosse in QC schools. He was also very involved in the international development of lacrosse.

Dave Evans has made his mark in lacrosse as both a Builder and a Player in both the Box and Field versions of the game, for both the Men’s and the Women’s versions. As a player he was made an all-star and won MVP awards in three seasons in the Junior "A" division, toiling for Burnaby Cablevision.When he was a Senior he collected top goalie awards in the WLA in 1973. He followed up this achievement with the top goalie award in 1975 in the NLL League. Evans was the WLA playoff MVP in 1973 and 1977. Evans was a four time Maitland Trophy winner in 1973, 1977, 1980 and 1981. He had three All-Star ratings and a Mann Cup ring in 1977. Evans also represented Canada at the 1974 World Field Lacrosse Championships. The Vancouver Burrards retired his jersey in 1996 and he was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1995. As a coach he had three Canadian Senior Women Box Lacrosse titles and was Head Coach of the BC provincial women's field lacrosse rep team that captured seven Canadian titles.He was Assistant

Dave White is known as one of the great high school lacrosse coaches of all time. He ran the program at Salmon River Central School for 33 years. The school is located in Fort Covington, New York – near the Akwesasne Territory. White was presented the Gerald J. Carroll Jr. Exemplary Coaching Award for his efforts.White left Akwesasne to attend Mount Herman Prep School from 1966-1970 as a student-lacrosse player. His play and academic record lead to a scholarship to the Ivy League Brown University. He excelled in Lacrosse and played in the 1975 North-South Game where he scored the winning goal in overtime in the 25-24 thriller. He would be chosen as a member of the Can-Am Native team that played in the 1980 Nations Cup – the first world box lacrosse championship.

Tim Murdoch has been a long-time resident of Montreal, having his start in Princeton, New Jersey. He volunteered for 17 seasons as the head coach of McGill men’s varsity lacrosse team from 2003 to 2019, finishing with a career record of 191-88-2 in 281 contests for an overall winning percentage of .684. He guided the program to nine CUFLA East pennants (2007, 2011-2017, 2019), four undefeated regular seasons (2013-2015, 2019) and two national championships, claiming the league's Baggataway Cup in 2012 and 2015. In 2018, Murdoch received the Honora Shaughnessy Ambassador Award, presented to a friend of McGill who has made an exceptional contribution to the University as a role model in fostering loyalty, professionalism and team spirit. Murdoch played a leadership role in establishing the Canadian Lacrosse Foundation McGill Indigenous Lacrosse Scholarship for student-athletes. In 2019, the “Tim Murdoch Fund” was established to memorialize Murdoch’s coaching career at McGill.Murdoch has contributed much to the

Carol Patterson is one of the most important women in building international lacrosse and helping to launch Canada’s involvement with the women’s field game. Her lacrosse resume includes a career filled with coaching, officiating and administration. She has coached lacrosse in Baltimore County, New York State, at SUNY Buffalo and Niagara University.As an administrator she served as a Director on the board of the Iroquois Nationals. She was active in the family business Tuskewe Krafts – a wooden lacrosse stick manufacturer - with her husband John Wesley Patterson. Their sticks were distributed worldwide and coveted by female lacrosse players. They set up a Canadian company as well called Canam Lacrosse Ltd. Carol Patterson ran the Niagara Girls Lacrosse Camp as well.Patterson wrote the US Lacrosse PE Curriculum for grades 4-12 in 2006 and was involved in CD Rom and Course development for the Canadian Lacrosse Association.Some of her accolades include induction into the Western New York Lacrosse Hall of Fame,

Dan Wilson was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in the Class of 2011. This Junior A lacrosse star played for the famed Burnaby Cablevision in the late 70’s, winning two Minto Cups in 1976 and 1977. A perennial Junior A all-star, Wilson ended the 1977 campaign as league leading scorer with 196 points in just 28 games. Dan parlayed his talents in field lacrosse and was a member of the 1978 Team Canada squad.In nine Western Lacrosse Association seasons for the Adanacs, Bellies and Burrards, he was selected as an all-star on three occasions from 1979 to 1982. He took WLA Rookie of the Year honours in 1979 while amassing 121 points.Wilson led the Adanacs Nations in the ’80 Nations Cup Box Lacrosse Championship team while being named tournament MVP. Wilson led the team with 12 goals and 18 assists in five games.In 205 WLA regular season and playoff games, Wilson scored 238 goals and 386 assists for 624 points. Wilson won one Mann Cup ring in 1985 with New Westminster.Dan Wilson was also a member of

Dave Arsenault was introduced to lacrosse at the 1969 Canada Summer Games held in Halifax when he was 14 years old. He would play for Dartmouth, Shearwater, and Sackville for a year of Junior. His legacy to the game is that of a builder and this started at age 17 when he was asked to coach and referee. He moved to New Brunswick and went to play for the local Saint John Junior team. They played teams from Sackville, Caraquet and Charlottetown. Eventually a Maritime Junior Lacrosse League formed.The legendary Bill McBain became head coach of the New Brunswick Junior team in 1976 and took them to the Founders Cup in Windsor, Ontario later that year. Another memorable moment occurred when the 1977 Canada Summer Games were held in Newfoundland. The New Brunswick team went to the Rock a few weeks before the Games to help Team Newfoundland prepare for the competition. Arsenault kept his playing career going when he played for the first New Brunswick Senior Team in 1978. That team travelled to the Presidents Cup late

There are certain stories that are legendary in their own right. They are bigger than a single individual and affect the sport in a major way. The Nations 80 Cup was an event that laid the groundwork for the direction lacrosse would take in the future. It featured 5 teams from around the world travelling to British Columbia for the first truly international box lacrosse festival. Australia, Canada East, Canada West North American Natives and the USA . It would lay the groundwork for the first FIL sanctioned World Indoor Lacrosse Championship in 2003, and also the beginning of the Iroquois Lacrosse National Team program. Members of the five teams and knowledgeable spokespeople tell the story from their own unique perspectives. Join Dave Evans (Australia), Stan Cockerton, Wayne Colley and John Dalgliesh (Canada East )Frank Nielsen, Greg Thomas and Dan Wilson (Canada West), Jeff Gill, Lewis Mitchell and Dave White (North American Natives) and Craig Moore (USA) in a wide-reaching retelling of this major world t

Kerri Hardill received her first lacrosse stick for Christmas when she was 4 years old. She remembers attending the lacrosse school for girls in Peterborough at age 11 and at 12 years old (1974) the first girls teams started in Lakefield and Peterborough. In 1975 -76 she played on the bantam boys team in Bridgenorth as well as on the girls team. When she was in Grade 11-13 she was invited to play on the high school boys field team by Coach Don Barrie. In 1978 she received an invitation to try out for a women’s field team started by Paul and Stan Gilkinson. This was the start of women’s field lacrosse in Ontario and Canada. This lead to a tryout in 1981 for Team Canada which would participate in the inaugural women’s World Cup in Nottingham England in 1982. Kerri was a member of the Ontario Women’s Field Lacrosse Team from 1983-1994. Herteam won many Bronze and Silver medals at the National Championships, finally getting Gold in 1994. Hardill was involved with Team Canada from 1982 – 1994 winning Bronze at the

Windsor’s Miro “Medo” Martinello is a builder of the game and was recognized for this through his induction into the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2005. Medo attained tremendous success as a Player, Coach and Ambassador for Canadian lacrosse for over 55 years.As a Player he learned from Jim Bishop in the 1968 Professional League and Bishop called him one of “...the top 5 players he had ever had the pleasure to coach”.He is known for his innovative coaching ideas at the professional level including positions inSyracuse, Quebec and Detroit. His coaching acumen was recognized when he received the Professional League Coach of the Year Award in 1975 with Quebec City and in 1991 with the Detroit Turbos.He coached the Windsor Junior team to Eastern Canadian Championships in 1972 and 1973Medo has received national and local recognition for his involvement in lacrosse and was the recipient of the Canadian Government 125th Medal of Confederation for OutstandingAchievement in 1992.He will forever be known as one of t

Bruce Logan was nominated and received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal forvolunteer activities with The CLA and Lacrosse New Brunswick in 2012. The beginning was in 1969. He and his friends used Javex bottles with the face cut out and screwed to broom handles as lacrosse sticks. His father brought in real sticks from Ontario soon after for the kids to use.New Brunswick lacrosse took off after that.In 1972 a Pee Wee Team was developed in Saint John to play against a Nepean Team that wasstopping off in Saint John .This was the first time the game was played competitively in Bruce’sarea.From 1974- 1979 Logan played in The Maritime Junior Circuit for Saint John, New Brunswick.New Brunswick teams included Saint John, Sackville , Fredericton, Caraquet, as well asCharlottetown PEI, Halifax and Dartmouth , Nova Scotia. During that time he played for Team New Brunswick at the Canada Summer Games in St. John’s, Newfoundland. He went on to play for the Provincial Team at the Founders Cup Tournaments in Sarn