Regals, Mohawks battle to 7-7 draw in opener

Posted on April 26, 2019 by regals

(Photo courtesy of Gar Fitzgerald)

The Guelph Jr. B Regals and rival Elora Mohawks battled to a 7-7 tie in the Regals’ 2019 home opener Wednesday evening at Victoria Road Arena.

After trailing 2-0 early in the 1st period, Guelph battled back to take a 7-4 lead in the 3rd frame before the Mohawks drew even. After a scoreless 10 minute overtime, both teams left the rink with a point in the standings.

After dropping their opener 11-6 to Elora in 2018, it was a better effort this time around versus the defending National Champions. Both squads experienced some turnover from last year, but for different reasons. Elora lost a dozen players due to overage while the Regals brought in some new faces to improve their roster. Entering the 2019 season, Guelph has just 2 players who were born in 1999 or earlier in Captain Jack Burke and goaltender Chris Wood while the remainder of the team is in their 3rd season of eligibility or less.

“It was our first game playing altogether as a team,” Burke said in an interview with Guelph Sports Journal’s Rob Massey.

“I think it just took us a couple of minutes to get the kinks out and then from there we got back to our game. We slipped a little bit throughout, but we mostly kept it from there.”

While there is still plenty to work on for Guelph, things are looking up for a team that is looking to crack the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

The team will hit the road for 3 straight road games, beginning Saturday night in Windsor. From there, the Regals will play in Thorold on Sunday evening for a battle with the Spartans before heading north to play Owen Sound Thursday night. The team is back home next Friday night (May 3) when they welcome the Welland Generals to town.

To read more from Wednesday night’s contest, visit the GSJ’s story here.

Regals to Host Alumni Game on Saturday, May 11

Posted on March 8, 2019 by regals

Calling all Regals Jr. B Alumni!

The Guelph Jr. B Regals Lacrosse Club is holding its 2019 Alumni Game on Saturday, May 11 at 4:30 PM.

All Regals Alumni are invited to play in the game and support the Jr. B team afterward as they host Wallaceburg.

Below are the details for the game:

– 4:30 – 5:30pm – Alumni Game
– 7:00pm – Jr. B Game: Guelph vs. Wallaceburg

For $10, you will get a spot in the Alumni Game, a memorable Alumni t-shirt and admission to that night’s Jr. B game. Of course, all other charitable donations in support of your Jr. B Regals are welcome!

The alumni game will only be helmets and gloves. Please let us know if you will be in attendance by clicking “Going” or “Not Going” on the Event’s Facebook Page so we can get a headcount!

Also, please don’t hesitate in reaching out to former Alumni by sharing this event with them.

Regals Name Assistants To Round Out 2019 Coaching Staff

Posted on January 15, 2019 by regals

The Guelph Jr. B Regals are excited to announce the rest of its coaching staff for the 2019 season.

Joining the club are Dilan Graham, Peter Pavlinich, and Craig Wende. Graham takes over as the team’s Defensive Coordinator while Pavlinich will be in charge of the Offence. Both will assist Head Coach Al Burton on the bench for the upcoming season while Wende will help the Regals goaltenders throughout the season as a goaltending consultant.

Graham joins Guelph with many years of playing experience. Before being drafted 37th overall by the Boston Blazers in the 2008 NLL Entry Draft, Graham played 4 years of Junior A for the Toronto Beaches, where he served as team captain in his final season. He went on to play Major in the summer for 6 seasons with the Brooklin Redmen and Ajax-Pickering/Oakville Rock, captaining the team its final season in Ajax before relocating to Oakville, as well as playing stints in CLax and the NLL. Graham also played 4 years of NCAA D1 Lacrosse at Bellarmine University and won a CUFLA Championship with Brock University. Since exiting the game as a player, Graham has focused his attention on coaching where he was an assistant with Toronto (Junior A), London (Junior B), Toronto Minor Lacrosse and the EDGE Field Lacrosse program.

Pavlinich comes to the Regals with decades of lacrosse experience under his belt. Beginning at the age of 5, Pavlinich played Minor Lacrosse in Kitchener before graduating to play 2 years of Junior B in Kitchener and 3 years of Junior A in Elora. After his junior career ended he played Senior with the Fergus Thistles, where he was a member of a pair of teams that won the Presidents’ Cup. Pavlinich began coaching Minor Lacrosse once his playing career ended and has been doing so for nearly 25 years.

Wende will help coach the team’s goaltenders during Training Camp as well as at practices throughout the season. Wende, who is currently a goalie on the Georgia Swarm (NLL) practice roster, has more than 20 years of playing experience across all levels. He recently won the Ontario Sr. B Lacrosse League’s Goaltender of the Year Award in addition to being named to an All-Star team at the 2018 Presidents’ Cup Tournament in Nanaimo, B.C.

The Regals open the 2019 season on Thursday, April 25 when the defending Founders Cup Champion Elora Mohawks visit the Royal City. Game time is slated for 8:00 PM at Victoria Road Arena.

2019 Tryout Dates Announced

Posted on January 10, 2019 by regals

The Guelph Jr. B Regals Lacrosse Club announced its first 5 dates of training camp for the 2019 season.

The club will hit the floor for its 28th season on Sunday, March 3, when new head coach Al Burton will have his first look at his new team. Burton, who had previously been at the helm of the Oakville Buzz Jr. B team, rounded out his coaching staff this week with two assistants that will be formally announced in the coming days.

The Regals are anticipating a competitive camp with several position battles.

“My philosophy is to ensure that everyone is competing hard for positions, whether you’re a veteran or rookie,” Burton said.

“We want to ensure that all players are being held accountable. I’m not coming in with a hard line disciplinary approach. However, it’s a highly motivated firm but fair approach. On the first day of camp, every team in the league is in first place.”

The first 5 tryout dates are:

Sun. March 3 | 12 – 2 PM

Sun. March 10 | 1:30 – 3:30 PM

Sun. March 17 | 1:30 – 3:30 PM

Sun. March 24 | 10 AM – 12 PM

Sun. March 31 | 3:30 – 5 PM

Additional camp dates and exhibition games will be announced in the near future.

The camp is open to all interested players who were born between 2002 and 1998. If you are interested in attending the camp and do not reside in Guelph, a Permission to Run letter will be required from your home association before being permitted to step on the floor.

If you have any questions, please contact GM Matt Pelkey at pelks19@yahoo.ca.

Burton Takes Over Coaching Duties

Posted on November 14, 2018 by regals

The Guelph Jr. B Regals Lacrosse Club announced on Wednesday that Al Burton will be taking over the team’s Head Coaching duties for the 2019 season.

Burton will take over behind the bench after previous head coach Ken Hastie and the club mutually agreed to part ways at the conclusion of the season. The organization would like to thank Ken for his dedication over the past 1.5 seasons and wish him the best moving forward.

Burton takes the reigns with over 35 years of coaching experience across all levels of lacrosse. His coaching journey has seen him behind the bench at Major, Sr. B, Jr. B, and Jr. A.

He was most recently the head coach of the Oakville Buzz Jr. B team in 2016 and 2017 before stepping down for work commitments in 2018. Burton works in Guelph and could not make the full commitment back to Oakville for the 2018 season; however, Burton is now fully committed to the Regals.

“I’m highly committed to getting the team back on track and playing the right way,” Burton said.

“We want to ensure that all players are being held accountable. I’m not coming in with a hard line disciplinary approach, but it’s a highly motivated, firm but fair approach. My philosophy is to ensure that everyone is competing hard for positions, whether it’s a veteran or rookie. Everyone in the league is in first place on the first day of camp.”

In his 2 seasons with Oakville, Burton compiled a 26-13-1 regular season record before falling in the East Finals in 2016 and East Semi-Finals in 2017 – both in the 5th and deciding game – to the eventual Conference Champion Green Gaels.

The organization was sold on Al in their first meeting.

“Al is a stand-up guy,” said Regals General Manager Matt Pelkey. “We met with him for about 3 hours and just talked about everything. Lacrosse, life, you name it. He’s a well-decorated coach who has seen it all, but more importantly, he’s a solid person.”

“I played for Al in Senior B and you’re always going to know where you stand with him and he really preaches everything you’d want in a coach. He knows the game inside and out. He’s good with the players, someone you can talk to about anything, but is all business once he gets on that bench. He wants to win and wants to do it the right way. He’s a big preacher of trust, commitment, and accountability.”

“We could not be more excited to bring a guy like Al on board to lead this group back to the playoffs and to being competitive.”

The club is currently rounding out its coaching staff.

The 2019 regular season schedule will be released in January along with Training Camp details.