Rematch for Hunters in final

For the Kahnawake Hunters, this moment is what this season has always been about: avenging last year’s loss in the Ontario Junior B Lacrosse League (OJBLL) finals to get another chance at the Founder’s Cup.

To get a chance to do it in a rematch against the now-Elora Hawks (formerly the Mohawks), who were the ones who swept them in the finals last year, just makes it all the more significant.

“It’s been a great journey getting to this point of the season,” said Hunters’ defender Crayton Cree.

For him, getting to actively participate in the finals is a big deal, after missing most of last year’s run due to an injury in the first round of the playoffs.

“It’s all I’ve ever wanted, to get back to the finals with them this season, and being able to be with these boys as a participant this time around is great,” said Cree.

He is not the only player on the team that is trying to make the most out of this run after coming back from injury.

Forward Tehaianerahkhwa Norton missed all but two games last year with a torn meniscus. His grandmother Lynne Norton has been a very vocal fan of the Hunters and has not been surprised about their success this year.

“These boys have improved even from last year,” said Norton.

They have indeed, going from squeaking into the playoffs last year and going on an unexpected run, to this year finishing as the second seed and beating every lower seed opponent they have faced so far.

Now, they’ll be facing another team that finished as a high seed in Elora, the number two overall regular-season team in the West.

To get to the finals, the Hawks swept their first two rounds, against the London Blue Devils and the Six Nations Rebels, before going the distance in a five-game series against the top-seed Orangeville Northmen.

Two of their three wins came in dominant fashion, an 8-0 shutout in game three and a 17-1 drubbing to send them to the finals - both times on the road, no less.

The first two games of the series, Saturday, August 2, at 7 p.m. , and Sunday, August 3, at 2 p.m. , will take place in Elora, before the series breaks until the next weekend, with both games in Kahnawake at the Sports Complex. Game three will be August 9 at 7 p.m. and game four, if necessary, will be August 10 at 2 p.m. The location and time of game five has yet to be determined as of this writing.

By the numbers

Playing in different conferences, the Hunters and Hawks did not face each other during the regular season, but their overall numbers in the regular season and the playoffs as a team are very similar, with a slight edge to Elora in most cases - to note, the Hawks played one more game (31) than the Hunters so far.

The Hawks have a better goal differential (+150 to +122), more power play goals (76 to 44), and have taken fewer penalty minutes (563 to 591). The Hunters, meanwhile, have been a much more successful team offensively while killing penalties, scoring more than twice as many shorthanded goals (31 to 15).

Kahnawake and Elora players make up the top four in points, with the Hawks boasting the highest point scorer in the league, Evan McDougall (77 goals, 98 assists, 175 points).

Second is Kaymen Diabo of the Hunters (58-84-142), third is Elora’s Levi Wilson (49-90-139), and fourth is Owen Rice from Kahnawake (51-84-135).

Both teams will be able to count on strong performances in net, with the Hunters’ Kasey Lahache having similar stats to his counterpart Andrew Wilson.

In 23 starts, Lahache is 18-5 with a .817 save percentage and a 7.72 goals against average. Wilson, in the same number of starts, is also 18-5, with a .726 save percentage and a 7.03 goals against average - while facing almost half as many shots as Lahache this season, 960 to 581.

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