If anyone was expecting another blowout win for the Capital Region Axemen (6-0), no one bothered to tell the Kahnawake Mohawks(2-2).
The Mohawks, under the new coaching staff of five-time Mann Cup winning coaches Jamie Batley and Jim Milligan, came out firing, capitalizing on some early sluggishness from the Axemen to go up early and continue that momentum throughout the first period, scoring 4 goals.
Luckily, goals from #17 Geoff McNulty, #24 Tim Bergin, and #14 Shane Francis, along with 2 assist from #98 Callum Crawford, kept the game close.
Crawford, coming off a very successful 2016 NLL campaign, scoring 115 points (32,83) in 18 GP, was making his 2016 Axemen home debut and ended the evening with 6 points (2,4).
Capital Region came out firing to start off the 2nd period, finally seeming to get their legs back. A good backcheck and caused turnover by Crawford allowed a fast break to go in the other direction, with Bergin notching his 2nd of the game to tie it up.
The refs were trying to keep a tight hold on this one though, and 2 back-to-back penalties for the Axemen would follow, in which the Mohawks would be able to capitalize on.
Afterwards the Axemen were able to settle down and play their usual tough, fast-paced brand of lacrosse.
Capital Region was able to then take advantage of a 4 minute penalty to Mohawk #39 Simon Winquist, scoring twice and taking a 6-5 lead halfway through the 2nd. They would be able to hold on to that lead for the remainder of the game.
Capital Region’s #25 Nevan Sullivan then helped with 2 go-ahead goals, both on the transition
The Axemen would go into the 2nd intermission up 9-7, but with the momentum all in their favour.
Axemen goaltender #1 Brett Perras commended the defense he had in front of him throughout, in particular for blocking so many shots, including #55 Dan Gawne taking a hard one off the side of his head late in the 2nd period.
A 5 goal third period from the Axemen was able to seal the win, and allowed them to stay undefeated so far in their quest for the 2016 President’s Cup.
The Axemen player of the game was #14 Shane Francis, who had a hat-trick on the evening and was instrumental in setting the tone on both sides of the floor.
“I think our team played well today, but we’re still getting used to each other and our systems” said Axemen #20 Curtis Singleton. “There’s definitely a lot of room for improvement, but it was nice to have a big win.”
The Capital Region Axemen’s next home game is Saturday, June 11th @ 7pm vs. the Vermont Voyageurs (0-2) at Howard Darwin Memorial Arena.