Kahnawake successful at Wendake tournament
Goaltender Jesse Lahache Jr. joined the Montagnais team at the behest of an old Team Eastern Door and the North coach, helping the team win the Senior A tournament with his play in net. Courtesy Jesse Lahache
The 33rd Wendat Adult Hockey Tournament in Wendake saw players and teams from First Nations province-wide go and play for bragging rights – and some cash – over the weekend.
In the Senior A division, it was the Pessamit Montagnais who took home the tournament, with a 5-3 win in the finals over the Kitigan Zibi Rez Dawgs.
Kahnawa’kehró:non Jesse Lahache Jr. was Pessamit’s netminder. He was asked by a coach he played under for Team Eastern Door and the North, Paul Vollant, to play for his team in the tournament.
“It was nice catching up with some old teammates and coaches that I haven’t seen for years,” said Lahache.
“There’s a lot of reservations out there with incredible talent.”
He said that the finals game against the Rez Dawgs was one to remember, with Pessamit coming back from down 2-1 after the second to win the whole thing.
Lahache said one key moment to give Pessamit momentum going into the third was a breakaway save late in the second. The Montagnais would go on to score four times in the third period to seal the deal.
“They beat us in the round robin, so it was a big relief when we got the lead late in the third,” said Lahache. That loss, a 1-0 shutout, was the only loss the team had the whole tournament.
“I think I performed well personally, but it’s a team sport, everyone needs to do their part, I did mine,” said Lahache.
For winning, the team received a $22,000 prize, provided by tournament sponsor Structure SBL.
“It always feels good winning games, the cash was a big boost for the guys, wanting to go out there and win,” said Lahache.
A Kahnawake Mohawks team won in the B division, receiving a cash prize of $8,000 for their efforts from real-estate management firm Immostar.
The Kahnawake Mohawks Senior B team shut out the Wendake Sagakwa team to win their tournament. Courtesy Kahnawake Minor Hockey Association
“It’s great to come down to Wendake, go out there and show we can compete with other nations,” said forward Dylan Stacey, who played for the Kahnawake team.
He said he did not know what to expect from playing B hockey, but found that it was a lot more competitive than he initially thought, a pleasant surprise for him.
The games were very short, with 10-minute running time periods. Stacey said it was tough to build chemistry because of that, but once they did, they were firing on all cylinders.
“Usually, it takes maybe a few shifts or periods to get used to each other again. But, some of the guys I played with, they played with me in different men’s leagues this year, so I knew there was going to be chemistry. It was good. We played good as a team,” said Stacey.
“The first two games were a little tough, but we started to click on Sunday, when it mattered.”
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Kahnawake faced off against the Wendake Sagakwa in the finals, shutting them out 4-0 to win the tournament and the cash.
“A couple of guys are getting older; we don’t know how much skating they have left in them. We were all happy afterwards to win it for them,” said Stacey.
