Hunters triumph, head to division finals 

When the buzzer rang at the Howard Darwin arena in Nepean last Sunday, it was hard to tell who was more excited – the players on the floor, or the fans in the stands who had travelled from Kahnawake, releasing confetti cannons and blasting air horns as they cheered.

Hunters players pumped their fists in the air and hugged one another, celebrating what their home base knew would happen all along: they had made the Ontario Junior B Lacrosse League Eastern Division finals.

“It feels great to be moving on in the playoffs and to be able to come together not just a team but as a family, to knock off the number-one team in the east,” said the Hunters’ Wishe Benedict, referring to the Nepean Knights’ status throughout the season as the best team in the league’s Eastern Division.

Though Kahnawake initially led against Nepean in the second round of playoffs with back-to-back wins earlier this month, Nepean kept the team on their toes, pulling back with two wins.

That meant there was everything to play for last Sunday, with both teams at two wins in the best-of-five series. Despite the game being in Nepean, the Hunters stayed strong and knocked Nepean out with an 8-7 victory – one made all the more sweet by its location, said Hunters player Colby Dobbins.

“It felt awesome to go into their barn and win it. Their crowd was loud, and it definitely helped Nepean,” said Dobbins, who is in his last season of junior lacrosse. “But we as a team stuck together and fought, and it felt really good to go there and silence that crowd.”

The team will now face the Orangeville Northmen in the Eastern Division finals – if they win that series, they’ll win the Eastern Division overall and face the Western Division winners in the OJBLL finals.

Head coach Garrett Cree said he’s feeling confident that the Hunters will have what it takes to go all the way, because they have the community behind them cheering them on.

“At the end of the day, we’re not able to do this without the support of our community. Community is awesome. Their support is the way it should be, and I’m proud to see the smile and enjoyment through the community,” he said. “The medicine is flowing, everybody’s got good vibes going. It’s all there; this is what happens when we get the support of our community.”

Hunters’ player Benedict said the team was propelled forward by that support last Sunday.

“It felt great to beat them at their home,” he said. “Beating them at their home and when they had the momentum just showed how much we wanted this win, not for just us but for everyone that has supported us.”

Sunday’s game came after a heartbreaking loss in Kahnawake on Saturday, the first game in Hunters’ history played at home on powwow weekend. Despite the energy, Kahnawake fell short, losing their lead on Nepean after the visitors put back six goals in the last period.

“It was looking great, but Nepean came out on fire and turned it around. It was tough to watch,” said Al Jones, whose son Darris Jones played in that game as a call-up.

Despite the 7-5 loss, the game was still exciting, particularly with the energy from the powwow, Al said.

“It wasn’t just fans from Kahnawake, it was people from out of town who came to check out lacrosse, and it was right here in our backyard,” he said. “Every time Kasey (Lahache) made a save or something, there was cheering. The fans are always the sixth player on the field, and when you hear them, you push forward.”

Assistant coach Mike Benedict said that on Sunday, Kahnawake was motivated by the previous night’s defeat.

“After the home game you could see it on their faces. The game was meant to be ours,” he said. “But they were relentless, they didn’t quit, everyone was upbeat, and the confidence was up. From the goaltending out, everybody played amazing.”

Kahnawake will be starting their playoff series against the Northmen at home, an advantage against Orangeville, who have an identical 6-3 record to Kahnawake in the playoffs.

“We need to jump on them right away, we need to control our emotions and not take penalties, we can’t let them go on the power play,” Mike said. “We need to play with our heads and play with our hearts, and just keep hustling.”

Cree said there’s no way Orangeville will boot out Kahnawake, with the team having come so far.

“You’d have to kill us, so good luck to Orangeville. We’ll be here, we’re waiting,” he said. “We have a goal, and that goal happens to be to win the gold medal at the Founders Cup, so we’ll be waiting for the Orangeville Northmen at the door.”

The first game will be played tomorrow, Saturday, at 7 p.m. at the Kahnawake Sports Complex, with Sunday’s game scheduled for 2 p.m. Subsequent games will take place in Orangeville, starting next Friday.

[email protected]