The '
Burlington Blaze
'' are a Junior "A"

box lacrosse Box lacrosse, also known as boxla, box, or indoor lacrosse, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in the 1930s in Canada, where it is more popular than field lacrosse. Lacrosse is Canada's officia ...

team from

Burlington, Ontario Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is a city and List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipality in Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region at the west end of Lake Ontario in Ontario, Can ...

, Canada. The Blaze play in the

OLA Junior A Lacrosse League The Ontario Junior Lacrosse League (OJLL) is considered the most competitive Junior A men's box lacrosse league in the world and the number one source for talent for the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The OJLL is sanctioned by the Ontario Lacros ...

. From 1992 until 2023 the franchise was known as the Burlington Chiefs. In August 2023, the Burlington Blaze Jr A team won the Canada

Minto Cup The Minto Cup is awarded annually to the champion junior men's box lacrosse team of Canada. The 2023 competition is in Edmonton, Alberta, from August 20–27. It was donated in 1901 by the Governor General of Canada, Governor General, Gilbert Jo ...

Season-by-season results

''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against''

Team History

The team history stretches back to 1976 when they began as the Hamilton Bengals. As a Junior A team, they played formidable opponents like the Peterborough Gray-Munros, Whitby C.B.C Builders, Rexdale Warriors, Lakeshore Maple Leafs, and Bramalea Excelsiors, among others. In their initial years, Wayne Stringer emerged as one of the top ten scorers, setting the momentum for the team. That same year, while the Victoria MacDonalds claimed the Minto Cup by beating the Bramalea Excelsiors, the Hamilton side was gearing up for their shot at the Cup. Their aspirations for the Minto in 1983 were short-lived as they were overtaken by St Catharines in a series ending 4 to 1. By 1984, a transformative merge occurred. The Hamilton team joined forces with Burlington, resulting in the creation of the Bay Area Bengals. This collaboration bore fruit with a Tier 2 Championship win in 1985, just one year post the merger. The Bengals flag soared high until 1991. From 1992 to 2023, the team proudly bore the name Burlington Chiefs. However, 2023 was a monumental year for them. They not only underwent a rebranding to the Burlington Blaze but also clinched the coveted Minto Cup series. Though they are officially registered as the Bay Area Bengals Lacrosse Club today, they are known and operate as the Burlington Blaze. The team has a long legacy of NLL Entry Draft players.

References

External links

Blaze WebpageThe Bible of Lacrosse
*https://www.ontariojuniorlacrosse.com/burlington-blaze *https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/-a-dream-come-true-six-goal-run-seals-first-minto-cup-for-burlington-blaze/62012 {{Toronto Sports Ontario Lacrosse Association teams Lacrosse teams in Ontario Sports clubs and teams in Burlington, Ontario 1976 establishments in Ontario Lacrosse clubs established in 1976