By Lance Winn
The Arena Lacrosse League is pleased to announce that the St. Catharines Shockwave have been renamed the Ohsweken Bears moving forward in the ALL East Division.
“Our home arena is located in Six Nations,” noted Head Coach and General Manager Ron Henry. “We feel that it is in the best interest of our team that we represent the local community as many of our players live in the area or nearby.”
ALL President Paul St. John was very receptive to Coach Henry’s suggestion. “When Ron approached me after the 2022 season about renaming the Shockwave, everything he suggested made sense from a community perspective as well as for the league. This will give the ALL East two teams that have numerous local connections playing out of the ILA and their rivalry will continue to build as we’ve seen in the past years of the ALL.”
Last season the Six Nations Snipers defeated the Shockwave in OT to reach the final where they went on to win the ALL Cup.
The Bears name represents part of the first lacrosse game story. Team colours will be purple and black, the logo with a Bear paw with a Bear situated in the palm.
“We selected the Bear name for the Creator and the great game he gave to us and to recognize one of the clans that played in the first lacrosse game,” Henry said proudly. “We are confident the community will embrace us with a more localized team name.”
Look for the Bears schedule to be announced October 3rd when the ALL announces their 2022-23 schedule.
