Mohawks compete hard at regionals

Following a 2-0 win last Sunday over the Mercier Braves, the U18B Kahnawake Mohawks are looking forward to keeping their momentum going into the second leg of the Lac St. Louis hockey regionals.

“We were all in the locker room, hyped up because now these teams are the best of the best of their region,” said U18B player Darris Jones of the team’s attitude following their shutout win against Mercier.

Tyler Sauk got the shutout win in net, while Arahkwenhawe Two Axe and Daly Lazare scored for the Mohawks.

Jones said that the team has come together during the year to play well together and that will help them immensely in regionals.

“We’re such a tightly knit group. Showing up to a game is fun. It’s competition, but it’s fun. We all laugh on the bench. No matter what happens, we’re always positive,” said Jones.

“We all meshed together really well.”

The U18B Mohawks will face the Lakeshore Leopards on April 12 at Leo Crepin Arena in Chateauguay at 8:50 p.m. Lakeshore tied the Chateauguay Knights 3-3 in their regionals opener.

If the Mohawks finish in the top four of their division following their next game, they will play on in the playoff round the following day. The full schedule can be found on Lac St. Louis hockey’s website.

The other Kahnawake team to make regionals, the U11B Mohawks, unfortunately saw their run end prior to the playoff round, missing out on the top four by a single point.

They lost their opening contest 3-1 to the Mercier Braves last Saturday, in what assistant coach and team manager Kyle Zacharie called a “winnable game.”

Kahnawake started the game off well, scoring the opening goal following an end-to-end rush by Austin Kane on the powerplay.

But, Kahnawake got into penalty trouble, taking six minor penalties in the game.

Mercier capitalized just once on the powerplay, but the momentum lost by Kahnawake was crucial in the Braves’ offensive pressure, which did not relent in the second and third periods.

“Overall, it was a good experience. There were some positives in that game for sure, but on my side, I know that the team was capable of doing better, and I think they knew it as well. It wasn’t our day,” said Zacharie.

Kahnawake still had a chance to make the top four after that loss, but they needed a lot of things to go their way on Sunday.

“Because we had the last game of the day, I kind of knew what had to happen heading into the game, and I did let the team know what had to happen. Math wasn’t really on our side,” said Zacharie.

They needed to score at least three times to tie in total goals with the lowest scoring team in front of them.

They also needed their second opponent, the Pierrefonds Marquis, to lose their fair play point. That standings point is given to teams that play a “clean” game, in this case a team that takes five minor penalties or less. Kahnawake lost theirs against Mercier by being penalized six times.

Zacharie said the Mohawks played much better against Pierrefonds, being more patient, disciplined, and staying in control the whole game, winning 3-1. Kane, Jack White, and Rashontanohstha Hemlock were the goal scorers for Kahnawake.

Pierrefonds only took five minor penalties, ensuring their fair play point and knocking Kahnawake out of the top four.

Still, while in the moment the result is disappointing, Zacharie said that in the grand scheme of things, this season was extremely positive.

“In the end, we finished 32-9-2. That is nothing to be ashamed of. That is an excellent season,” said Zacharie.

“We finished fifth, so one spot out of the semifinal. We’re one of the top five teams in the entire Lac St. Louis region.

“When the team realized that, and they really let that sink in about how well they did this season, they can still be proud of that. They can still be proud of winning the playoff championship in dramatic fashion. And they can be proud of their tournament success this season.”

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