He and his Oakville Buzz teammates had reached the Ontario final the previous season, coming within two wins of the provincial title before falling to Elora, which went on to capture the Canadian crown. With the majority of the team eligible to return, the Buzz was primed for another run at becoming the best in the country.

"I knew it was a strong team and it was tough to leave after the way we ended the year," Gillies said.

While playing his first season for the Orangeville Northmen, Gillies watched as his former Buzz teammates went on to capture the Founders Cup.

"I was happy for them. They were all buddies of mine," he said, "but I look back now and I'm glad I made that choice."

That's because Gillies himself is now a national champion, having helped the Northmen win the Minto Cup. Orangeville built a 5-1 first-period lead in the one-game final and went on to a 9-4 victory over the Victoria Shamrocks.

Since Gillies first walked into the Northmen's dressing room three years earlier and saw a picture of Orangeville's 1996 championship team prominently displayed, it had been the team's goal to add a photo of its own to the gallery.

So when the final seconds ticked off, the club made sure to celebrate its first title in 12 years.

"It was pretty crazy," the 20-year-old Gillies said. "It was more surreal. It felt great, but it was hard to realize that it was all over."

Gillies said the Minto celebration was almost subdued compared to when the team won the Ontario title, however.

"Just because of how hard it was (to beat Six Nations) and the history between us. It's not that the Minto wasn't tough, but (a tournament) is a different feeling than a playoff series going potentially seven games."

The Northmen finished the Ontario Lacrosse Association season in first place with a 19-3 record, but right behind them were the Six Nations Arrows, the team that had ended their playoff hopes the previous two seasons -- in the semifinals two years ago and in the Ontario final last season.

Orangeville turned the tables this time by beating Six Nations in six games.

Gillies, who had 18 goals and 40 points in 21 regular-season games and added four goals and an assist in the four Minto Cup games, is now back at Rochester Institute of Technology where he's starting his second season with the Tigers' field lacrosse team. This year, he'll be joined there by former Oakville Hawks teammates Dan MacRae, who transferred from Potsdam, and Alex Crepinsek.