The Burlington Blaze are a Junior "A" box lacrosse team from Burlington, Ontario, Canada. The Blaze play in the OLA Junior A Lacrosse League. 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.
Season-by-season results Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against Season GP W L T GF GA PTS Placing Playoffs1976 26 10 16 0 375 400 20 3rd OLA-A West Lost quarter-final1977 22 9 12 1 282 298 19 8th OLA-A Lost quarter-final1978 24 12 12 0 298 299 24 3rd OLA-A West Lost semi-final1979 24 14 9 1 338 303 29 1st OLA-A WestLost semi-final1980 20 11 9 0 312 287 22 5th OLA-A Lost semi-final1981 20 9 11 0 281 259 18 6th OLA-A Lost quarter-final1982 20 3 16 1 188 336 7 8th OLA-A Lost quarter-final1983 24 11 12 1 295 286 23 6th OLA-A Won Tier II Title1984 24 6 18 0 245 398 12 6th OLA-A Lost quarter-final, lost Tier II Final1985 24 6 18 0 263 365 12 6th OLA-A Won Tier II Title1986 20 3 16 1 203 340 7 6th OLA-A Did not qualify1987 25 5 20 0 182 356 10 5th OLA-A Did not qualify1988 24 10 14 0 289 292 20 4th OLA-A Lost semi-final1989 24 6 18 0 251 337 12 7th OLA-A Did not qualify1990 20 2 18 0 169 314 4 8th OLA-A Did not qualify1991 20 9 11 0 212 239 18 8th OLA-A Lost quarter-final1992 20 2 18 0 139 289 4 11th OLA-A Did not qualify1993 22 9 12 1 257 277 19 9th OLA-A Did not qualify1994 26 9 17 0 286 365 18 5th OLA-A West Did not qualify1995 20 3 17 0 151 280 6 11th OLA-A Did not qualify1996 20 9 10 1 170 212 19 7th OLA-A Lost quarter-final1997 18 8 9 1 181 212 17 6th OLA-A Lost quarter-final1998 22 15 6 1 243 193 31 4th OLA-A Lost quarter-final1999 20 6 14 0 202 248 12 8th OLA-A Lost quarter-final2000 20 8 12 0 205 225 16 7th OLA-A Lost quarter-final2001 20 8 12 0 190 214 16 8th OLA-A Lost quarter-final2002 20 4 16 0 157 208 8 10th OLA-A Did not qualify2003 20 3 17 0 146 235 6 11th OLA-A Did not qualify2004 20 6 14 0 159 182 12 9th OLA-A Did not qualify2005 22 2 20 0 139 284 4 12th OLA-A Did not qualify2006 22 0 22 0 144 297 0 12th OLA-A Did not qualify2007 18 8 8 2 145 147 18 8th OLA-A Lost quarter-final2008 22 13 9 0 192 145 26 5th OLA-A Lost quarter-final2009 22 17 5 0 284 200 34 3rd OLA-A Lost semi-final2010 22 12 10 0 253 211 24 5th OLA-A Lost semi-final2011 22 11 11 0 205 208 22 7th OLA-A Lost quarter-final*2012 20 10 9 1 209 217 21 6th OLA-A Lost quarter-final2013 20 14 5 1 225 176 29 3rd OLA-A Lost quarter-final2014 20 9 11 0 202 192 18 7th OLA-A Lost quarter-final2015 20 9 11 0 177 183 18 8th OLA-A Lost quarter-final2016 20 11 8 1 186 186 25 5th OLA-A Lost quarter-final2017 20 10 9 1 196 187 21 5th OLA-A Lost quarter-final2018 20 15 5 0 217 160 30 1st OLA-A Lost quarter-final2019 20 16 4 0 192 131 32 2nd OLA-A Lost final2020 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic2021 8 5 3 0 79 62 10 3rd of in 6 West5th of 11 in OJLL Did not qualify20222010100206169203rd OJLLLost semi-final2023201460206174282nd OJLLWon Championship2023 Minto Cup55005137101st MintoWon 1st - Minto Cup Canada20242010100183180204th OJLLLost quarter-final2025206140197232129th OJLLDid not qualify2026186120168185125th of 6 in West 8th of 12 in OJLLLost quarter-final
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.
The team was known as the Burlington Chiefs from 1992 to 2023. In 2023, it was renamed the Burlington Blaze and won the Minto Cup.
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 Webpage The Bible of Lacrosse Unofficial OLA Page 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