Kahnawake plays summer hockey at Ayabeh
Goaltender Pryor Stacey and the Waswanipi Junior Firehawks made the finals fo the U21 Men’s division of the Ayabeh Summer Challenge, ultimately falling 4-0 to the Chisasibi Hunters. Courtesy Mike Stacey
A handful of players from Kahnawake cooled off from the summer heat at the Ayabeh Summer Challenge, the yearly Indigenous hockey tournament in Ottawa.
Three teams with Kahnawake players made their respective finals: Wahienhawe Jacobs and the KZ Junior Wheels won the U13 girls’ championship, while the U11 EDN CreeHawks - with Dane McComber, Camden Lahache, Masen McGregor Brown on the ice, and Jye McComber behind the bench - and the U21 Waswanipi Junior Firehawks - with Pryor Stacey in nets, Camden Jackson on the ice, and Mike Stacey behind the bench - lost their finals games.
Jacobs posted a 5-0 record with the Wheels, not allowing a single goal all tournament on route to a perfect record, a championship win, and the title of best goaltender and most valuable player.
Stacey was happy to reach the finals, even if it did not go the FireHawks’ way.
“I think reaching the finals in U21 was great, because we got to get more experience as a team for next time,” said Stacey, who backstopped all five of the U21 FireHawks’ games, posting two shutouts.
It was, however, the FireHawks who were shutout in the finals, losing 4-0 to the Chisasibi Hunters. “I thought I played pretty well, but it just didn’t go our way.”
In addition to the U21 team, Stacey also competed with the U18 Competitive FireHawks. Making it to the quarterfinals, they lost 5-4 in a shootout against Membertou, the tournament winners.
“There’s nothing you can really do, that game didn’t really go our way from penalties to bad luck. It wasn’t our game,” said Stacey.
He has been invited by the FireHawks on multiple occasions to play tournaments with them, and he never hesitates to say yes.
“It’s always such a pleasure to play with the FireHawks, it’s such a good group of guys,” said Stacey.
“Playing in these tournaments is super fun, because I get to meet new people and make friendships that last a lifetime.”
That is also a highlight for Jye McComber, who gets to see his sons Dane and Jaxton compete in the tournament on a yearly basis.
“The best part of the tournament is watching my kids play competitive hockey with their native friends from the north and keeping their friendships strong,” said Jye.
“Overall it was another great experience, it’s all about reconnecting with friends from the north and playing the game they love together.”
Jye said that he was not disappointed with the fact that the CreeHawks lost in the finals to the Big Thunder in the U11 Competitive division.
“They played their best hockey. It was fun to watch,” said Jye.
For his efforts, Dane was named the U11 Competitive tournament’s best forward, netting three goals and three assists in four games.
Jaxton, for his part, pulled double duty like Pryor, playing for the U18 Competitive Chisasibi Nomads and the U21 Atikamekw Junior Nation.
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The Nomads lost 5-2 in the quarterfinaals to the Moose Cree Scrappers, while the Nations did not make it out of pool play with two losses and a tie.
“Jaxton is an exciting player to watch,” said Jye. “I was a little skeptical about him playing contact in the U21 division with the men, but he didn’t hesitate to say yes so I supported him and he did very well, so I’m proud of him for that.”
The full results for the 2026 Ayabeh Summer Challenge can be found at ayabehsummerhockey.ca.
