n only the Axemen’s 3rd year, the team found itself in a battle for the coveted National Championship President’s Cup, falling short in the last few minutes to the Six Nations Rivermen. Though devastated by the heart-breaking loss, the Axemen came together in a post-game team huddle, reassured each other, left St Catherine’s with heads held high, their silver medals around their necks and another character-building experience under their belts.
The Axemen congratulate the Six Nations Rivermen on a well-deserved win and thank them for the exciting game.
The tournament itself was filled with highs and lows for all teams, the two-pool format saw upsets and featured some surprise talent. Some of the surprise highlights of the tournament were; St. Catherine’s 3-0 round-robin finish, the Muskies’s talented junior pickups from the Seneca Warchiefs and the competitiveness of the Nova Scotia program (under the guidance of Orangeville’s Lindsay Sanderson). Muskies and Nova Scotia handed out some significant upsets to the OLA champ and BCLA champs.
As for the Axemen games, it started off with a tough challenge from last year’s champs, Onandoga came from a 4 goal deficit in the third period to pull ahead to hand the Axemen their first loss. A healthy learning lesson for the Axemen on the need to play three competitive periods. The second game against Nova Scotia delivered the second important learning of the tournament – never underestimate an opponent. The Axemen found themselves in a tougher than expected game heading into the third where the Axemen eventually pulled away. The last of the round-robin games provided the toughest match up of the tournament, a battle with the host Saints who were capable of converting more offensive chances and shutting down the Axemen big guns to hand the Axemen their second loss. The Axemen’s first cross-over found them facing a familiar team, the Muskie’s. Though the Muskie-lineup was enhanced with some young Seneca stars, the Axemen prevailed only to face a rested Saints team for a semifinal rematch. The epic back and forth game ended with the go-ahead goal from the Axemen’s Alex Kedoh Hill with 1.7 seconds remaining on the clock. The Axemen advanced to the final the next day in yet another back and forth grudge match against the Rivermen until the last 5 minutes of the game when the Rivermen pulled away to win the championship.
The 2015 QSLL Champs, and Canadian National Finalists had a milestone year for the Axemen organization. It was and remains the vision of the team to provide players and fans the highest caliber lacrosse possible. The National Capital Region is full of healthy lacrosse programs and talent just waiting to be showcased. The Axemen intend to do just that with the full pipeline of players graduating to the senior level. As the organization reflects on the 2015 season, it recognizes success but even more so, it sees all the lessons learned. Each year the club takes every experience and builds from it, this past President’s Cup, like its 2013 first appearance provided ample lessons on what it will take to compete and succeed going forward.
While the team takes a few weeks to recover and reflect, rest assured, the Axemen drive to compete has already begun to spark as texts and e-mails have started in anticipation of the 2016 season.
The Axemen congratulate and thank their extended lacrosse family which include; teammates, sponsors, fans, volunteers, the management team, the bench staff and the league for its support on the national finalist showing.
The Axemen future looks bright, see you in 2016.