By Sam Laskaris
Writer
The Six Nations Tomahawks have pretty much guaranteed themselves a first-place finish in their league standings.
The Tomahawks, a Senior C men’s lacrosse squad, won all four of its contests this past weekend at a tournament in Lakefield.
The Six Nations club is now sporting a record of 11-1-0, good for top spot in its eight-team Senior Series Lacrosse (SSL).
The Tomahawks are seven points ahead of the second-place Toronto Lightning, who have compiled a 7-4-1 mark thus far.
The SSL features a regular season schedule of four tournaments. There is just one event remaining, July 22-23 in Wilmot.
League entrants will play four matches each at the Wilmot event.
“At 11-1, I don’t think anybody is going to catch up,” said Tomahawks’ head coach Jay Smith. “We would have to lose all four of our games at the next tournament and the Lightning would have to win all four of their games for them to pass us.”
Considering the Six Nations squad has lost just one match in its first three tournaments this season, the chances of it failing to win a contest in Wilmot and having the Lightning win all of its games would be fairly miniscule.
Regardless of what transpires at the Wilmot tourney, all SSL entrants will be eligible to participate at the league’s playoff championship weekend.
The Tomahawks will host the Ontario finals tournament this season. That event is scheduled for Aug. 18-20 at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena (ILA).
Six Nations had won the SSL crown in 2019, the first year of operations for the SSL. The Tomahawks had served as hosts for that playoff tourney as well.
Meanwhile, the Six Nations side was able to enjoy success in Lakefield this weekend even though it only had 18 players available (two under the maximum allowed) for each game.
Tomahawks’ captain Craig Attwood praised his teammates, who played shorthanded throughout the Lakefield event.
“They were resilient,” Attwood said. “We had a bunch of guys out of the lineup this weekend.”
The Six Nations squad, however, certainly sent a message in its opening match on Saturday as it registered a lopsided 13-1 triumph over the London Timber Kings.
Then, in their second game on Saturday, the Tomahawks prevailed 9-5 over the Huntsville Hawks.
Moving onto Sunday, the Tomahawks had a nail-biter in the morning, edging the host Lakefield Rage 6-5. Six Nations was also able to conclude its weekend on a winning note, beating the Lightning 8-5 in the afternoon.
“We were a little short over the course of the weekend,” Smith said. “But this weekend they showed their grit and their heart.”
SSL teams must compete in a minimum of three of the four regular season tournaments in order to be eligible to take part in the playoff championship.
Two clubs from the league – the Wellington Aces and the Schooners Lacrosse Club from St. Catharines – opted not to participate at the Lakefield tourney.
Even though his side was a bit shortstaffed, Attwood was glad the Tomahawks took part.
“It’s lacrosse,” he said. “We all love the game. It’s what we love to do.”
Tomahawks collect four more victories at Senior Series Lacrosse tournament in Lakefield
