Hunters’ title defense starts today
The Junior B Kahnawake Hunters will be looking to defend not just their Founder’s Cup victory, but also their status as the best team of the Ontario Junior B Lacrosse League. File photo
One of the best times of the year as a local sports fan is finally here: welcome back to Hunters’ season, Kahnawake.
Tonight (Friday, April 24), the Kahnawake Junior B Hunters will find out if all their work in the offseason and their three preseason tournament games will have paid off as they take on the Gloucester Griffins at 8 p.m. at the Navan Memorial Centre & Arena.
“I am very excited for the season and our first game,” said Jackson Norton, who was the Junior C squad’s leading scorer last season with 19 goals and 42 assists.
He had one assist in the preseason tournament, playing all three games.
He should see plenty of playing time for the Junior B Hunters this year, as many of their top scorers have graduated out of Junior - Kaymen Diabo, Deeland Martin, Connor Gorman, and Hawi Francis aren’t back this year.
“Joining a defending Founder’s Cup team is definitely nerve-racking sometimes, because we definitely have a target on our back from last year,” said Norton.
Last year’s second leading scorer Owen Rice, from Kanesatake, is back this year, and he’s already contributed four points in the two preseason tournament games he took part in: two goals and two assists.
In that three-game tournament, the Hunters were undefeated, winning 7-3 against the Griffins and 6-2 against the Nepean Knights. They also had a 3-3 tie with the Akwesasne Thunder.
Reese Nugent from Tyendinaga led the Hunters in goals during the tournament with four, adding two assists in three games. Arahkwenhawe Two-Axe had the same number of points, with two goals and four assists in three games.
Nugent was acquired from the Clarington Green Gaels via trade during the offseason in exchange for cash considerations. He had 25 goals and 27 assists in 16 regular season games last year for Clarington while adding six more points in the playoffs.
Three different goaltenders shared the crease during the tournament: Kasey Lahache, last year’s standout performer, got the tie with the Thunder; Leland Lahache was in nets against the Griffins; and Trennance Benedict helped take care of the Knights.
Even though it is just the preseason, it’s still a good sign that the Hunters seem to be starting off the year on the right foot.
“I think the team is looking solid and strong so far,” said Norton.
Tonight’s game against Gloucester is not just the regular season opener. It’s also the start of a campaign to defend two crowns: first, their title as the Ontario Junior B Lacrosse League (OJBLL)’s best team, which they fought hard to get with a great regular season followed by an even better playoff run that saw them tear through the Eastern Conference before reverse sweeping the now-Junior A Elora Hawks.
If they can repeat that feat, perhaps they can repeat their undefeated run at the Founder’s Cup, which will be held this year in Saint John, New Brunswick, in mid-August.
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But first, it’s Gloucester, and even though the Griffins were winless in the preseason, there are no free lunches in the OJBLL, and anyone can beat anyone - if anything, the Hunters have been the proof of that the last few years.
