U11A Mohawks back in tournament action

After a win and a loss to start their run at the 30th Notre-Dame-de-Grace (NDG) provincial U11 tournament, the Kahnawake Minor Hockey Association (KMHA)’s U11A Mohawks could be playing semifinals games this weekend, depending on their game Thursday night, after The Eastern Door’s publishing deadline, against the Westmount Wings.

They won their tournament opener against the host Panthers 3-2 on December 6, before falling 2-1 to the Lakeshore Jaguars the next day.

“We’ve had some really close games thus far. Win or lose, those are fun, and you learn a lot about your game,” said Kaniehtakeron Gilbert, one of the team’s assistant coaches.

With the games in A being so close most of the time, Gilbert said that even teams below them in the regular season standings, like the Wings, need to be taken seriously in tournament play.

“I try to reiterate to them how important it is to not take any team lightly. Anything can happen in a game, and this is a win or go home situation. So being present and focused is key to success,” said Gilbert.

Head coach Mackenzie Kirby echoed that sentiment.

“Familiarity definitely helps, but teams generally get better as the season goes along, so we’re expecting them to be a better team than the last time we played them,” said Kirby.

That’s been true for the Mohawks, too.

“Every game, tournament or not, our team gets a little better, so we’re looking forward to our next matchup and regular season games after this tournament,” said Kirby.

The Mohawks beat the Wings 5-1 on November 2. The Mohawks are 3-3-1 in regular season play, while the Wings are still winless in eight games.

Having played another tournament recently, making it to the semifinals of the Cumberland Dukes House League Showdown in late November, means they have already experienced the different environment compared to regular season play.

The difference between the NDG tournament and the Cumberland Dukes tournament is the time between games, with the tournament in November being played within a few days, while the NDG tournament has a five-day break between the first and last games.

That gives the time to look back on what went well and what went less well, said Gilbert.

“I think it’s important to address weaknesses that we saw in those first games but also remind them of the things they did correctly and give those some attention,” said Gilbert.

That includes drills focusing on fundamentals. Half of practice is just skating, then situation with the puck based on what happened in past games, before finishing off with something light to keep things fun - something like a scrimmage, or a shootout.

If the Mohawks continue in the tournament past Thursday’s game, they will face off against the St. Laurent Warriors, currently the second-best team in the Mohawks’ Eastern Hockey League (EHL) regular season division, on Saturday.

The Mohawks and Warriors have played twice so far this year, with St. Laurent winning each meeting, 1-0 and 6-1.

“Any team can be beaten on any given day,” said Gilbert.

Playing against a familiar opponent in an elimination game can be less stressful than a completely unknown opponent, explained Gilbert.

“Familiarity helps prepare you and teaches you how to deal with pressure and stresses of important games,” said Gilbert.

If the Mohawks’ preparation pays off and they win Saturday, they’ll be in the finals on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at Bill Durnan Arena.

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