Junior C Hunters move on to face Knights
Having swept the Akwesasne Lightning in the first round of the Ontario Junior C Lacrosse League (OJCLL) playoffs, the Kahnawake Junior C Hunters are now officially on the longest playoff run of their short history.
“We’re not really focused on making history. Our focus is on taking it one game at a time, playing for each other, and continuing to build on what we’ve done all season. If we keep doing that, we’ll put ourselves in a good position to succeed,” said Hunters’ defender Stone McGregor.
“We know we have an opportunity to do something special for this program, and that’s something we’re proud of.”
To get to the East semifinal, Kahnawake beat Akwesasne in two games, winning the first on the road 14-5 and the second at home 13-3.
“I think the biggest key was sticking to our game plan. We played as a team, kept things simple, and didn’t try to do too much individually. We worked hard in all three zones, got to the loose balls, and took advantage of our opportunities when they came,” said McGregor, who registered two assists in the series.
Leland Lahache won both games in net for the Hunters, while 12 players scored at least a goal for Kahnawake in the series.
Arahkwenhawe Two-Axe leads Kahnawake with 10 points in two playoff games (three goals and seven assists), placing him in a tie for fourth in points among all East playoff teams and a tie for 10th among all OJCLL players.
Tehorahkwaneken Albany (5-3) and Sebastien Laughing (5-3) are tied for second on the team with eight points each.
Although Kahnawake was the heavy favourite on paper based on their regular-season record - the Hunters were 7-9 and the Lightning 3-13 - McGregor said they did not take that into consideration during the series.
“We knew records don’t mean much once playoffs start. Every team is fighting to keep their season alive, so we respected our opponent and treated every game like it was going to be a battle. I think our focus and preparation helped us avoid overlooking them,” said McGregor.
Next up is the Nepean Knights, who received a first-round bye thanks to the OJCLL’s new playoff structure - they and the Cornwall Celtics received the byes to the semifinal by virtue of finishing in the OJCLL East division’s top two spots during the regular season.
The Hunters and Knights met three times during the regular season, with Nepean winning the season series 2-1.
That being said, one of those losses was an 8-7 overtime game, and the Hunters won their most recent meeting by a score of 9-7 a little more than two weeks ago.
“Our mindset is to stay confident, but not get ahead of ourselves. Every team left is here for a reason, so we know Nepean is going to be a tough opponent. We need to keep playing our game, stay disciplined, win the loose ball battles, and play a full 60 minutes every night. If we stay connected as a team and execute the way we know we can, we’ll give ourselves the best chance to come out on top,” said McGregor.
Game one of the best-of-five series was played Thursday night, after The Eastern Door’s publishing deadline.
Sign up for email updates from The Eastern Door
Game two is tonight (Friday) at 8 p.m. at the Kahnawake Sports Complex, while game three will be July 6 at 8 p.m. on the road.
If needed, game four will be on July 7 at 8 p.m. at the Sports Complex and game five will be July 9 at 8 p.m. at Howard Darwin Arena in Nepean.
In the other East semifinal, the North Shore Kodiaks are up 1-0 on the Cornwall Celtics at time of writing, taking the first game 9-8 in overtime on June 30. Game two was played on Thursday night, after The Eastern Door’s publishing deadline.
