First published by Brian McNair on DurhamRegion.com

PICKERING — The West Durham Ironheads have made history by winning a playoff round for the first time since the franchise began playing in the Jr. B lacrosse loop 17 years ago.

And they did it against their Durham rivals, no less, a team they’ve hardly ever beaten previously.

The Ironheads went into the Ontario Lacrosse Association playoffs with a franchise-best 13-7 regular season record, but were tasked with trying to upset a Green Gaels team that was 19-1 and which had a string of 30 straight wins in head-to-head play dating back to May 20, 2011.

The stars aligned for the Ironheads, however, beginning with a 12-9 win in Bowmanville June 20 and concluding with victories of 9-4 and 7-6 after a 13-9 Game 2 loss.

“It’s been a long time coming, attributed to our coaching staff and obviously some tremendous heart and determination by these players,” said general manager Ron Reed. “We felt it was possible, but we had to get the kids to believe that it was. We felt we matched up well against them, and then when we won the first game, I think that gave our kids a boost of confidence.”

Reed, 63, joined the team as head coach in 2003 when it was based in Markham, and has been GM for the past eight or so years.

A retired police officer, he still occasionally stands behind the bench, but has handed the coaching duties over to Pat Gregoire, Brock Levick, James Malloy and Mike Lum-Walker — the former three all being one-time captains with the team.

“It’s tremendous to see these guys give back,” Reed said. “All four of them are phenomenal young men and they all contribute. The team has bought into what they’re teaching and have stayed focused and determined.”

The series upset was made possible by contributions from all over the floor, and came despite losing Cameron McGinnis — the team’s main faceoff man and second leading scorer — after he rolled his ankle warming up for Game 3.

Led by goalie Tyler Newman, the Ironheads managed to hold the potent Green Gaels offence to just four goals on their home floor in that game, on June 26.

“Holding the Gaels to four goals was just a tremendous effort all the way around … because they’re an awesome squad,” Reed pointed out. “Newman played some of the best goalkeeping I’ve ever seen him play. We knew he was capable of it, we knew he had it in him, and he just happened to hit his stride at the right time here.”

Mark Wilson led the Ironheads offensively with 12 goals and 14 points in the series, while Aidan Conlon chipped in with seven goals and 12 points. McGinnis had been leading the way with 10 points through the first two games.

Brock Haley and Adam Kitchen combined for a whopping 33 points for the Green Gaels, who nevertheless saw their offence dip from averaging 13.65 goals per game during the regular season to just eight in the playoffs.

“They’re a talented group over there and a tremendous organization,” Reed said. “To beat them was just an absolute thrill for us and we’re hoping we can keep this thing going.”

It doesn’t get any easier for the Ironheads, who now move on to face an Akwesasne Indians team that swept Brampton after a 20-0 regular season.

The best-of-five East Conference semifinal will begin with two games this weekend at the Pickering Recreation Complex, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. The remaining three games, as needed, will be played in Akwesasne the following weekend.