The Olds Mavericks are headed to the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League championship this weekend, but they won't go unchallenged as the team looks to finish a strong season on top.
The Lethbridge Cudas are hosting the provincial tournament, which will feature the final four Junior B Tier II teams.
Lethbridge beat Olds in both games they've played this year but head coach Andy Sweetman isn't intimidated by the only team to finish ahead of them in the standings.
"We know we can play them. We know we can beat them," he said.
It's actually teams in the RMLL's north division he's uncertain about, though he doesn't sound too worried about them either.
"They will be the biggest challenge just because I don't know what to expect. We're a really confident group. The boys know what they're doing. I think we'll do quite well down there. We're anticipating to kick some butt down there," he said.
Sweetman's team qualified for provincials over the weekend by sweeping the Calgary Axemen in their best-of-three playoff series.
Last year the Mavericks entered the league as a Tier III team and in their inaugural season, won the league championship. In Sweetman's mind, winning in Tier II would be a testament to how strong the game is locally.
"It says a lot. Just proves that small towns are starting to play the game better. Especially the boys around here. They've been playing since they were five, six years old and now it's really starting to come through and show. It's really quite thrilling. It's something we didn't expect at the beginning of the year," he said.
