Hunters, Bombers to meet in playoff opener
The Hunters will face the Barrie Bombers in the first round of the Ontario Junior B Lacrosse League playoffs. Courtesy Kahnawake Hunters
Saturday is the day Kahnawa’kehró:non lax fans have been waiting for all year: the start of the Ontario Junior B Lacrosse League playoffs - and with it, the start of the Hunters’ quest for a second straight league championship.
Finishing third in the East with a 12-8 record, the Hunters will have home-field advantage in their first-round series against the Barrie Bombers. The Bombers finished sixth with an 11-9 record.
That being said, the Hunters will have to contend with having to start their opening best-of-five series on the road, as the first two games will be played in Barrie. The third and, if necessary, fourth and fifth games, will be played at the Kahnawake Sports Complex.
Game one will begin on Saturday at 7 p.m. and game two will be Sunday at 1 p.m.
Game three is Friday, June 26, at 8 p.m. Game four is scheduled for June 27 at 7 p.m. and game five at 1 p.m. the next day.
All games will be broadcast on the Baby Blue Memories YouTube channel for those unable to attend in-person.
The other first round matches in the East are the undefeated Akwesasne Hunters (20-0) facing the West Durham Ironheads (7-13); the Halton Hills Bulldogs (17-3) taking on the Mimico Mountaineers (10-10); and the Orillia Kings (12-8) taking on the Nepean Knights (11-9).
June 20 will also be the last day to bid on special “Stronger than Cancer” Hunters’ jerseys, with the money raised going towards Tetewatatia’takehnhahs. At the time of writing, the silent auctions have raised $11,630.
By the numbers
The Hunters and the Bombers met just once during the regular season, with Barrie getting the win by a score of 9-7.
The Hunters have the edge over the Bombers in many major team statistics: power play percentage (38.7 to 29.4), penalty kill percentage (82.5 to 53.2 - the worst in the East), goal differential (+49 to -46 - the worst of any playoff team), and team save percentage (.777 to .710).
Even in the penalty minutes department, historically a weakness for Kahnawake, they find themselves in the middle of the pack with 437 total minutes. Barrie has the fourth-most, with 465.
The Hunters’ team leader in goals, assists, and points is Owen Rice. He scored 45 goals and added 50 assists for 95 points in 19 games.
For the Bombers, it’s Christian MacKinnon who leads all three categories: 38 goals, 27 assists, and 65 points.
Behind them, though, the Hunters have much more offensive firepower: Shakononhkwahtsheronniennis Rice has 78 points (34 goals, 44 assists), Tehahente Albany has 53 (11 goals, 42 assists), and Rakawineh Elijah has 46 (19 goals, 27 assists).
No Bomber has more than 40 points; Cameron MacKinnon reached that mark (22 goals, 18 assists) and only one player, Ryan Craftchick, even passed the 30-point mark (10 goals and 21 assists).
Junior C Hunters finishing on the right foot
The Kahnawake Junior C Hunters snapped their five-game losing streak on June 14 with a 9-7 win against the Nepean Knights.
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They then started another streak, this time a winning one, after beating the Cornwall Celtics 12-8 on Wednesday night in their last home game of the regular season.
They will have played their last game of the regular season on Thursday night, after The Eastern Door’s publishing deadline, against the North Shore Kodiaks.
