Canku Ota

(Many Paths)

An Online Newsletter Celebrating Native America

May 22, 2004 - Issue 113

Atom 'A' Mohawks Win St. Remi Tournament

"Mohawk Pride" Rallies Understaffed Champions To Ice Victory

Heading into the St. Remi hockey tournament last weekend, Atom 'A' Mohawks head coach John Mayo was faced with a problem. Obviously, one of them was beating out the other 14 Atom 'A' teams to lay claim to the gold medal. Trouble is, or was, how to do that with only eight players on the bench. Especially when the Mohawks were slated to meet tournament favourite Greenfield Park in the third game of the preliminary round and that being said, could very well have been eliminated before the medal rounds.

Not to worry. Coach Mayo was well prepared to combat these hurdles.

"We used 'Mohawk Power'", said Mayo following his team's 4-3 gold medal victory over St. Jean in the championship final. "Because we were so shortstaffed our players were exhausted. They would come to the bench looking for a rest but a lot of the time I had to send them right back out there. When they'd tell me they were too tired to continue, I'd ask them who they are and they'd respond, 'I'm Mohawk'. I'd look them in the eye and say, "That's right. And Mohawks are filled with pride and they never quit, so play with your heart and be proud of who you are. We don't play for what's on our backs, we play for what's on the front of the jersey', and without any complaints they would willingly go out and do what they had to do to get the job done. And what a job they did. After we lost our first game, you'd think they'd be down but keeping in mind who they are and determined to succeed, they went out and made us all very proud."

Winning the St. Remi tournament capped an illustrious season for the Atom A's. In the regular league, the Mohawks finished in the silver medal position with a 13-2-3 record and were a mere three points out of first place. In the playoffs, Kahnawake rallied to win another silver medal, and with the victory in St. Remi, rounded out the year with gold.

In the lone loss of the tourney against HSO Sharks in game one, Kristopher Brown scored both Mohawk goals with assists going to Kohen Kane. From that point onward, it was downhill all the way. The undermanned Mohawk squad beat Iberville 2-1 in game two, and pulled the upset of the weekend by taking care of heavily-favoured Greenfield Park 4-1 in game-three.

In the team's semi-final encounter with St. Constant, the good guys came out on top 9-1. In the championship game with St. Jean, the Mohawks demonstrated by example what pride is all about. Coming back from one-goal deficits on three occasions in the contest, the Mohawks made it 3-3 before the second period ended. In the final frame, Kahnawake scored the only goal of the period to win a 4-3 nailbiter.

Against Iberville, Kane and Shawn Stacey were the Mohawks' marksmen. In the win of the tournament against Greenfield Park, So:se Regis and Stacey scored a pair each with assists going to Toko Goodleaf and Bruce Giasson.

In the semi-final blowout against St. Constant, Regis led the way with a hat-trick, Stacey and Giasson had two goals apiece, while singles went to Goodleaf and Tekatsanhoken Lazare.

The four goals in the gold-medal game were scored by Regis (2), Giasson and Goodleaf, who notched the winner and was awarded game MVP. Regis was selected MVP of the tourney.

In the five tournament games, the Mohawks scored 21 goals and allowed just nine against.

"It was well organized, the hospitality was excellent and good crowds were always on hand for the games," said Mayo, whose players were totally impressed with the pre-game introductions that included smoke and Hollywood lights. "I was particularly pleased to see so many Kahnawake fans come out to support our team. And we (coaches) have to thank call-up Iahahiio Curotte and his parents for all their help."

While these young mighty mites were learning a thing or two about winning, the team as a whole was teaching us older set that heart, desire and pride can take you a long way. For the Atom A's it paid off in gold. But more importantly, the memories they'll have of their success-by-hard-work, medal-filled season is… priceless.

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