The New Westminster Salmonbellies will meet a battle-tested Peterborough Lakers club when they take to the floor for Game 1 of the 2010 Mann Cup championship series on Friday.

The senior A Salmonbellies left for Peterborough today after two weeks of practice following the Lakers' 11-9 victory over the defending Mann Cup champion Brampton Excelsiors on Monday.

In the back of their minds is the memory of a four-game sweep back East by the Excelsiors in 2008.

An even more painful recollection is the final moments of last year's Game 7 that cost New West the title to Brampton in the 100th anniversary of the Mann Cup.

But Salmonbellies team captain Nenad Gajic says that is all in the past.

"We got beaten by a better team," Gajic said. "We'll take that and move forward. If we think much about what we had, we'll forget what we have in front of us. That's the way we're going to deal with it."

Gajic admitted there is a part of him that wanted to take on Brampton one more time to square old wounds, but when push comes to shove, he says, the 'Bellies want to meet the best team out there.

"We want to see the best there is so we can beat the best. At the end of the day, the best team will win, and that's what we want to call ourselves."

When scrolling down the lineup of the eastern champions, familiar names like Sanderson, Grant, Evans, Tavares and Kelusky jump out at the reader.

Few questioned believe the East perceives the New Westminster lineup in a similar way.

Gajic dismisses the question out of hand.

"In our locker room, I look around and see our super stars, and that's all I worry about," he said. "I don't want to wait until everyone accepts us as a top team."

One man who already believes is New Westminster head coach Bob Salt.

"I'm not a God person, but there is a sports god, and that night, he was not on our side," Salt said of last year's final game at Queen's Park. "It's no excuse, you can blame us, we played the game. But how many times does Ilija (Gajic) make that play? And (Jordan) Hallsy hit the post twice just before that, and (Cliff) Smitty also hit a post. We just weren't going to beat (Brampton). We beat them, but they won the Mann Cup."

Salt too, defends his lineup.

Believing that Ontario teams have all the talent is like buying into all the hype of the continental pro league, he said. "It's B.S."

"We have a terrific offence. It's going to be hard to check our team," Salt said.

But a Canadian title won't be won on the skill up front alone, said transition defender Curtis Hodgson, who came to the Salmonbellies in a trade from Victoria at the beginning of the season.

"I think it starts with our goaltending, and one thing about our defence is depth," Hodgson said. "We have a lot of big, strong, intelligent and athletic defenders. We showcased that in the Victoria series. It's the deepest team I've played on. It's an exciting challenge."

Despite an average age of slightly more than 25 years, the New Westminster club cannot be accurately labelled as inexperienced, said the 29-year-old Hodgson. "It's an attitude and an expectation. If you come in with that attitude and work ethic, success is more likely to come."

But nothing is guaranteed in sport, he added. "It's why we play, to have a chance to prove we are the best."

One of the best players in the Salmonbellies lineup is Hall. At just 26 years of age, the Surrey lefthander is the consumate pro, playing in both the box and the field game at an elite level, including with Canada's silver-medal-winning field team at the world championships in England this summer.

He is fourth among team playoff scorers, in a lineup that boasts six players with 30 or more points in the post season, all of whom are within six points of each other.

Hall is currently second overall with 19 goals in eight playoff games, one behind linemate Smith. He leads all first-line shooters with a sizzling .463 scoring average in the playoffs.

But the sting of last year's loss still hurts, he says.

"I think it's one of those ones that is going to live with you," Hall said, while adding that winning the Mann is the only ointment that can take away some of that pain. "That's exactly it. It makes the memory a little easier to live with."

He says, the regular season was a preparation for the playoffs. And the vast improvement in the team's play this post season was all about getting ready for the Mann Cup.

"I think our team is better than what we've shown," Hall said.

Another one who thinks so is Salt.

"We're going to go there. I think we can play better, and if we can, and I don't know, but if we do, we'll bring Mann Cup home," Salt said.

Last season was a lesson learned, Salt said, adding this year's final is not about exorcising the demons from the 2009 Mann Cup but rather preparing themselves for another great series against Ontario's best.

And that is what it comes down to for the three-time Mann Cup winner, who his last Mann Cup ring with the Salmonbellies as a callup in 1972.

"I just like them," Salt said of the Salmonbellies. "They are so neat to coach, this is not tough at all. What a group. They know how to get along, ... and you don't see that very often. We just have a bunch of guys that like each other."

The Mann Cup starts on Friday and, if necessary, runs through Sept. 18.