Venom Complete Incredible Playoff Run to Capture TOJLL Championship

Image Credit: Alex Beckett/Fallsway Marketing & Media

Just getting into the playoffs was an accomplishment.

Winning the championship seemed like a long shot.

But the Kamloops Venom saved their best lacrosse for when it mattered most, storming back with six unanswered third-period goals to defeat the North Okanagan Reapers 11-7 and claim the Thompson Okanagan Junior Lacrosse League Championship on Sunday at Kelowna Memorial Arena.

The title is the Venom's ninth TOJLL championship and caps an unlikely postseason run for a team that needed a victory in its final regular season game just to secure a spot in the league's four team championship tournament.

Facing the regular season champion Reapers, Kamloops found itself trailing 6-4 entering the final period. Veteran Seamus Bankier gave the Venom life early in the third, scoring just under five minutes into the frame to pull his team within one.

North Okanagan answered only 26 seconds later when Kohen Pounder buried his second goal of the game to restore a two-goal advantage, but it would be the Reapers' final goal of the afternoon.

From there, the Venom took over.

Kamloops rattled off six straight goals in just over eight minutes, with six different players finding the scoresheet. Mackenzie Adams scored the game winner unassisted at the 10:17 mark before the Venom continued to pour on the pressure, completing one of the biggest comebacks of the season.

Goaltender Corbin Flundra was outstanding between the pipes, stopping 44 shots as Kamloops weathered heavy pressure from the Reapers. Taylor Robins-Swanson made 28 saves for North Okanagan.

The championship game capped off a tightly contested playoff tournament that saw the Venom, Reapers and Kelowna Kodiaks all finish the round-robin portion with identical 2-1 records. Kamloops earned its place in the final after defeating the Kodiaks 15-11, while North Okanagan edged the Venom 7-6 in the final preliminary-round game. A league tiebreaker was needed to determine the championship matchup.

With the TOJLL championship secured, the Venom now advance to the B.C. Junior B Provincial Championship on Aug. 1 and 2, where they will face the winner of the B.C. Junior B Tier 1 Lacrosse League final between the Port Coquitlam Saints and Langley Thunder.

One more series now stands between the Venom and a provincial title.