Local laxers in Vermont for friendly

When lacrosse coach Al Jones received the invitation from longtime friend Jeffrey Culkin to have a Kahnawake team play an exhibition game as part of the revival of Junior lacrosse in Vermont, he didn’t hesitate to accept the offer.

“I jumped at the opportunity to get some of our boys here in town another opportunity to play lacrosse,” said Jones.

The June 19 game between the Vermont Junior Voyageurs and the Kahnawake Jr. Sturgeon Bellies was a good test for both teams, even as the score ended 16-6 for Vermont.

For the Sturgeon Bellies, a team made up mostly of players from minor lacrosse’s U22 team or who had not played organized lacrosse in a while –-as well as a small handful of available Junior C Hunters - it was an opportunity to see how different the calibre could be at higher levels of competition.

In particular, the speed and skill of the Voyageurs was a little hard to handle for the Sturgeon Bellies. Most of the Voyageurs are either playing NCAA Division 1 lacrosse, or in high school, aspiring to do so.

The Voyageurs also played longer shifts, running all over the floor instead of the frequent changes that are more common in box lacrosse.

Jones said they tried to counteract the speed by letting Vermont come to them defensively as well as establishing pick plays on offense.

“It was definitely a challenge, but any challenge is good with lacrosse. It helped our guys,” said Jones.

“This is what you have to get ready for. There are different levels of teams out there, and you’re getting a taste of another one with this.”

The goal scorers for Kahnawake were Joren Norton (three goals), Tharahkwisere Stacey (one), Max Goodleaf (one), and Cade Stacey (one).

For Vermont, it was a chance to see how the players who had almost exclusively played field lacrosse previously would react to the box environment prior to the official start of their North American Box Lacrosse League season after a 10-year hiatus.

“I knew we’d have good speed. I knew we’d be athletic and in shape because our kids are coming off their high school and college seasons. But, you never really know what you’re going to get until you step on the floor in a competition,” said Culkin.

“It’s so much more physical in box than what they’re used to in field. But the players responded well.”

Culkin’s relationship to Kahnawake lacrosse dates back to the 1990s, when he met Allen “Arbour” Diabo and put together Masters teams that competed in the community; later he met Jones when the latter played against the original incarnation of the Voyageurs from 2008 to 2016, and they stayed in touch ever since.

Culkin said that NCAA players competing in box lacrosse during the field lacrosse offseason is not new, but it has stayed popular as top programs continue to see the value in playing both to round out one’s skillset.

In particular, it develops accuracy when shooting - field lacrosse nets are much bigger in size than box nets: six feet wide and six feet tall for field, four feet nine inches wide and four feet tall for box. tall for box.

Field lacrosse goaltenders also have very minimal padding when compared to a box lacrosse goaltender.

Transitioning from field to box is much more challenging than the other way around, Culkin said, because of the physicality and the much smaller openings to score.

He said that he wanted to provide the Voyageurs players with real box lacrosse experience - and Kahnawake certainly delivered.

Jones was proud of the Kahnawake players for not getting carried away emotionally, considering Vermont’s lead and their players being bigger and older than the Sturgeon Bellies.

“It was a very nice, calm game. It can be a little heated with that kind of lead, but our boys from Kahnawake, they kept their head,” said Jones.

“All in all, it was a clean game, exactly what we wanted for a friendship game.”

Talks are already underway for a return game in Kahnawake - although it might have to wait until next summer with Vermont’s busy summer schedule.

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