The 2026 Jr B Tier 1 semifinals were nothing short of spectacular. Blowout wins, tight checking games, and a major upset headlined the semifinals.

As the Finals officially kick off tonight here on NetFront Sports, here’s my five things to watch, taking into account some major insights we saw in the semifinals:

1. The Fort Saskatchewan Rebels Continue to Dominate

A 22-4 victory in Game 1 against the Rampage was nothing to snuff at. The Rebels came into the series hungry and the Rampage were nothing but their chew toy in Game 1. So imagine the surprise in Game 2 when in the middle 20, the Rampage would throw up 7 goals and take a lead into the third. The Rebels would then go on to play probably their cleanest 20 minutes of lacrosse all season, outsourcing the Rampage 5-1 in the final 20 to walk away with the 12-10 victory and a sweep of the series. I mentioned in the Semifinal Things to Watch that the Rebels late season stumbles may have been an issue – however I now fully believe that after the acquisition of Kaelan Smith and Reese Marciniak out of Cambridge of the OJBLL, that that bolstered the Rebels enough to make a strong case for themselves into the Finals against a tough Outlaws team.

2. The Beaumont Outlaws are RED HOT

You want to talk about teams that are on fire right now? How about the Beaumont Outlaws? This club battled through the trenches against the Warriors in a hard-fought series that went the distance. Sure, one could argue the losses of elite rookies Michael Warawa and Charlie Graham after Game 1 really hurt the Warriors, however I’d argue it didn’t waver them with their 9-6 victory two days later. Fun fact: in that series, the home team didn’t win a single time. This will be important in a moment. The Outlaws would play probably their most complete 60 minutes of lacrosse since moving from Sherwood Park, taking down the Warriors 11-7 in Game 3, quarterbacked by the most outrageous performance of Reid MacLeod’s career. The Beaumont Outlaws seem to be picking up momentum right at the right time – and this is where my earlier comment comes in. The Outlaws don’t seem to be phased by not having home floor advantage. While the Outlaws have never won a game against Fort Saskatchewan since moving to Beaumont, is the 2026 North Finals going to be the time where the tides turn? Can the performances of key players like MacLeod, Mitchell, and Lewis overcome the Rebels? Or will the Rebels continue their dominance of the Beaumont Outlaws?

3. Are the Okotoks Marauders Actually Unstoppable?

What are they feeding the players in Okotoks? This team keeps finding ways to floor me. Not only do they have their most dominant offensive season, they also keep finding ways to keep the ball out of their own net, resulting in that +121 differential we’ve mentioned time and time again. So for as much credit as we have given offensive guys like Drew Dunbar and Ben Erickson (coming off an RMLL Jr B Tier 1 record 127 points in two less games played), this is the most complete, well-rounded Marauders team we’ve seen post-pandemic. On the Junior Beast podcast, I predicted the Chill (who were 2-0 in the season series against Okotoks) would find a way to push past the Marauders in 3 games. Garyn Schmermund had the Chill in two. Boy were we wrong, as a pair of 12-7 wins for Okotoks lifted them over the Chill. Now this makes this finals against the Shamrocks even more intriguing. I’ll get more into this on the next point, but it seems that even the strongest defences and the strongest teams are struggling to put together a series of wins over the Marauders, putting two titans on a collision course for the South finals. I believe the Marauders find a way past the Shamrocks, as I predicted them to take the series 3-2 on this weeks’ Junior Beast.

4. Are the Shamrocks Due for a Finals Exit?

As mentioned in the Semifinals 5 Things to Watch, the Shamrocks have appeared in every single Larry Bishop Memorial Cup since 2018. The Tier 1 realignment didn’t seem to faze them, as the ‘Rocks continued their South Division winning ways with another 1st Place finish. But now we’ve hit a crossroads – the Shamrocks only found their way into first in the late stages of the season, mainly due to the Marauders’ devastating OT loss to the Chill. This creates a new conundrum, and one that the Shamrocks haven’t really dealt with yet – a Marauders team firing on all cylinders. So much so, Okotoks swept the season series over Calgary 2-0. This ties back into the previous point – the strongest defences can’t even seem to hem in the Marauders. The Shamrocks only let 10 or more goals against in a single game twice this season – both times were to Okotoks. Don’t get me wrong, the Shamrocks know how to score steady and often, but given the tight margins of victory in the Semifinals against the fourth seeded Silvertips (13-12 and 13-11), trouble could be on the horizon for the Shamrocks if they don’t get their act together right out of the gate in Game 1 of the Marauders series.

5. The Unlikely Scores from the East Division Finals

This could be something to watch as Game 5 is staring us down the barrel. The SWAT came out firing in Game 1 of this series, taking down the Kings on home floor 10-8. Since the series went to Regina for games 2 thru 4, the Kings have won three straight by an ever-increasing margin – 5-4, 17-7, and 19-5. What’s also true here is that no team has lost on home floor yet, making Game 5 and 6 two interesting bouts. Due to the way the East is set up, home floor advantage for the Kings is Games 2, 3, 4, and 7. If the SWAT continue the trend of winning on home floor, this sets up a wild Game 7 showdown on Sunday in Regina. The SWAT have unfortunately been decimated this year to their Jr A club, which has played a part in the SWAT’s woes, but our sources in the East tell us there’s some up and coming talent that regardless of if Saskatoon wins or loses this series, the reinforcements could be coming in firing for 2027 and beyond.

The 2026 Finals kick off tonight at 8:00pm on NetFront Sports, with Game 1 between the Outlaws and Rebels on deck. The expanded Best-of-5 format is set to provide some of the best lacrosse in years on the grandest, penultimate stage of the season. For live scores, live stream links, and more, be sure to check out every part of this website for the full experience. Next week, I’ll have the Larry Bishop Memorial Cup preview for you.