(August 16, 2012)… The weather might be cooling down, but the indoor lacrosse season is heating up. This weekend, members of the Rochester Knighthawks will embark on two prestigious lacrosse events.

On Friday, Rochester Knighthawks Owner and General Manager Curt Styres will lead his Six Nations bantam team into the OLA Final Six “A” Provincials in Guelph, Ontario. Styres works alongside Rochester Assistant Coach Jason Johnson and Strength and Conditioning Coach Matt Green. The trio won the NLL Champion’s Cup in May.

Six Nations advanced to the OLA Final Six “A” Provincials after finishing third with an 8-3-2 record at the OLA Qualifiers last weekend. The team has won two tournaments heading into the Canadian Provincials. In June, Six Nations won the 20th Annual John “Gus” McCauley Tournament in Brampton. The following month, the team captured the Bantam “A” Division gold at the 35th Annual Super Series.

The Provincials are slated from Friday, August 17th to Sunday, August 19th. Six Nations kicks off its schedule at 11:20 a.m. against Whitby. The game is the first of three contests on Friday for Six Nations. Although a daunting task, Six Nations will be well prepared for the demands of the day, and the weekend.

“We are doing a lot of repetition and doing it five times more than any group their age,” said Green. “We are practicing three to five times more than any other team.”

Meanwhile, 30 miles away, eight players from the Rochester Knighthawks will open the Major Series Lacrosse Finals Friday night. The Six Nations Chiefs will take on the Peterborough Lakers in the best-of-seven series, beginning at 8:00 p.m. at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena.

Six Nations advanced to its first MSL Finals since 1996 after knocking out the defending Mann Cup Brampton Excelsiors four games to one. In the series-clinching game on Monday, the Chiefs were led by three Knighthawks in the 12-6 victory over Brampton. Knighthawks Cody Jamieson (2+3), Craig Point (2+2) and Stephen Keogh (1+2) combined for 12 points in the Game Five win at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena. Six Nations also features Knighthawks Alex “Kedoh” Hill, Sid Smith and Travis Hill.

“I have been dreaming about this since I was a young guy,” said Knighthawk and 22-year-old MSL Rookie of the Year Candidate Alex “Kedoh” Hill. “It was a great game to play in.”

The Chiefs will have a chance to reach the Mann Cup Finals for the first time since 1996. That was the last time Six Nations won the Cup, defeating Victoria four games to none. Six Nations will have home-floor advantage as it battles the rival The Peterborough Lakers.

Peterborough defeated the Brooklin Redmen 17-10 to sweep its semifinal series. The Lakers roster includes Knighthawks Brad Self and Cory Vitarelli. Vitarelli, who was the Knighthawks Unsung Hero, ranks third in the MSL Playoffs with 29 points (14+15) in seven games. Self is tied for ninth with 16 points on nine goals and seven assists. He was recently named the MSL IL Indoor Transition Player of the Year.