William Clayton had a hat trick and added an assist as the Coquitlam Adanacs beat the Brampton Excelsiors 8-6 on Thursday in Game 2 of the Minto Cup — a day after referees refused to officiate it on its original date.
Excelsiors star player Jeff Teat and head coach Dan Teat were both given match penalties for threatening an official at the end of Tuesday's 11-9 loss to the Adanacs in Game 1. When referees learned that Jeff Teat has been reinstated a few hours before Game 2 was to be played on Wednesday, they protested the decision.
With no immediate resolution possible, organizers postponed Game 2 and spent much of Thursday negotiating with all sides.
"It was long and drawn out, there was a lot of discussion, a lot of debate back and forth about how we could get the referees back on the floor," said Minto Cup convener Ron McQuarrie in a phone interview with The Canadian Press. "What's happening is that referee in chief Greg Hart is staying and four new referees are coming in."
Match penalties come with an automatic three-game suspension and can only be appealed based on factual error. Brampton filed an appeal and Jeff Teat's suspension was overturned although Dan Teat remained banned.
The Minto Cup has had a crew of four referees working its round robin and the five-game final. One referee was from Ontario, another from British Columbia, and two were from the host Rocky Mountain Junior A Lacrosse League that is in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Replacements Ron Getz and Duane Bratt of Calgary officiated Thursday's rescheduled Game 2 at Max Bell Arena, with the Ontario and B.C. lacrosse associations flying out new referees for the rest of the final.
"It's with the full support of the Canadian lacrosse officials' group," said McQuarrie. "The referee in chief here has reached out to insure that the referees know that there will be no repercussions within their provinces.
"They haven't been let go, they haven't been terminated, they haven't been fired. It's their decision and they're the ones that approached us to make the change."
Dennon Armstrong struck twice and added three assists on Thursday as Coquitlam took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series for Canada's national junior-A lacrosse championship. Dylan Foulds, Ethan Ticehurst and Chase Scanlan also scored.
Teat, a day after his suspension was lifted, led Brampton with three goals and an assist. He leads the tournament with 20 goals and 37 points. Jake Boudreau had a pair of goals and a pair of assists. Clarke Petterson scored and added four assists.
Game 3 has been rescheduled for Friday night, with Games 4 and 5, if necessary, being held on Saturday and Sunday.
A joint official statement is planned for Friday morning from McQuarrie and Hart. Tweets from the official Minto Cup account indicate that the Alberta Lacrosse Association will provide free credits to fans who paid to watch the games online.
"There's many people I feel sorry for through all of this," said McQuarrie. "The players because all they want to do is play lacrosse, the hosts, Alberta Lacrosse Association, the Calgary Mountaineers and the Okotoks Raiders, they've done such an awesome job as hosts.
"I do feel sorry with the issues over the last 24, 36 hours."
___
Follow @jchidleyhill on Twitter
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press