Field Burgoyne can certainly attest to that, having helped his Caledon Bandits lay claim to the inaugural Jim Meredith Cup, as winners of Ontario Lacrosse Association's pilot Jr. C league.

The 21-year-old and his fellow Bandits clinched the title with last Tuesday's 9-7 comeback squeaker over the host Centre Wellington Warlords.

This gave them a four-games-to-two triumph after dropping the series opener. All but one of the contests were decided by two goals or less, with the previous five all won by the home team.

"That's the way to go out -- with a championship," said the local defensive specialist. "It feels great to retire like this."

The lone Miltonian on the Bandits, Burgoyne certainly made an impact in his own end of the floor.

That included a solid showing in the series clincher, during which Caledon trailed 5-2 at the midway mark before neutralizing the Warlords and battling back.

"He was one of our best defensive players," said Bandits head coach Sonny Sampson, whose team won the regular season as well with a 12-3 record, and sported the second-best goals against next to Centre Wellington. "He killed penalties, was great on loose balls and showed a lot of hustle all year. Yeah, he was a big part of this championship."

Also contributing two goals and two assists to a 7-3 playoff run -- which included a first-round sweep of Shelburne -- Burgoyne has won two provincial titles with Caledon in the past four years. He helped the intermediate team secure the Ontario 'B' title in 2005.

West Durham and Innisfil made up the rest of the five-team Jr. C league, which was resurrected after a 25-year absence and is poised for a significant expansion next summer, with about a dozen centres having applied for a franchise.