Chad Norton’s five goals led the Kahnawake Mohawks to an 11-4 win over the Sherbrooke Extreme in QSLL exhibition play in Sherbrooke, Friday. Kahnawake broke out for a five-goal run in the second period and stifled the Extreme offence as they cruised to victory in the first preseason game for both teams.
“It was good to get out here, get the legs going, get the stick going, get back here with our teammates,” said Mohawks captain Louis Alfred. “It was a good game. They have a great young team, from what I see. They’ll be able to run with the rest of the teams.”
The game marked a return to Senior “B” after a five-year absence for the Sherbrooke Extreme, and a near-capacity crowd of 480 fans turned up to see the team take on the defending QSLL champions.
“We’ve got to start someplace, so we needed a benchmark against a team–the strongest team in the league the last five years,” said Sherbrooke head coach Paul Lehmann. “The guys are coming from ‘C’ to ‘B’ and there’s a transition.”
Early on, it appeared that an upset might be in the making, as the Extreme ran out to a 2-0 lead in the first 2:46, on goals by Francis Côté and Vincent Morin.
However, Ian Crawford scored on a breakaway for the Mohawks a minute later to cut the lead to 2-1, and Karahkwanoron Two Axe and Mark Kirby put the visitors up by one late in the first.
“The quick start was based on eight solid practices leading into the game,” said Lehmann. “They got into some good habits.”
While the Extreme have been practicing since early April, Kahnawake’s arena still has ice on the floor.
In the second, goals by Connor Stacey and Crawford sandwiched a trio from Norton as the Mohawks put the game out of reach. Mathieu Lavoie and Sylvain Perreault replied for Sherbrooke, both on the power play.
Norton added two in the third, with Kyle Alfred rounding out the scoring for Kahnawake.
Nick Albany played the first period in goal for the Mohawks, allowing two goals on six shots, while Mike Thompson made 15 saves in 40 minutes. Pascal Nolet (22 saves) and Sacha Lowry Gagnon (10 saves) each played 30 minutes for Sherbrooke.
The Extreme start their season next week in Nepean, Ontario, against the Capital Region Axemen, while the Mohawks are off until May 16.
