One more spot to fill for Salmonbellies captain

Curtis Hodgson would like nothing better than to give the New Westminster Salmonbellies their 25^th Mann Cup before his storied lacrosse career comes to an end one day.

At 36 years of age, the Burnaby high school teacher still has one remaining space to fill on his already crowded mantelpiece.

As a runner with the vaunted Burnaby Lakers, Hodgson shared two Minto Cup titles with the junior A club in 2000 and 2002. 

He also won a Champions Cup with the Stealth franchise in the National Lacrosse League in 2010.

Only the Mann Cup, the Holy Grail of Canadian senior A lacrosse, has eluded Hodgson in his 15-year Western Lacrosse Association career in the local summer league. 

An old-school-style defender, Hodgson has played 304 regular season and playoff games in the WLA  and has garnered a total of 97 goals and 134 assists, while counting just 127 minutes in penalties from 2002 to the present.

Hodgson is also known as an iron man of note in the indoor game, having missed just one game - regular season or playoffs - in 13 pro seasons in the NLL.

The Burnaby product is the Stealth's all-time leader with 197 games played and is third in career loose balls with 684 loosies.

The third-year Stealth captain is also the longest-serving player for the Langley-based pro club and has collected 35 goals and 105 points with the franchise from 2004 to the present.

Hodgson matched the single assist he recorded in his only other Mann Cup appearance with the Salmonbellies against Peterborough in 2010 in Saturday's 13-8 Game 2 win.

Game 3 of the Mann Cup finals goes tonight (Monday, Sept. 11) at Queen's Park Arena at 7:30 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Garrett James