This past weekend was a hot one. I don’t think I’ve ever played a game in such a warm temperature in my whole lacrosse career. Somebody told me it was around 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) Saturday when we started the game and it pretty much stayed as hot for the entire weekend. With a win on Saturday or Sunday we would have clinched first place in the QSLL.
Unfortunately we lost by one goal against the Redmen on Saturday and were gassed and simply couldn’t keep up with the Braves on Sunday. This means we will have to wait next weekend to see if we get first place as the second and third teams will face twice.
I won’t go too much into details on our last two games. I think we played well overall and ended loosing because sometimes teams lose games; it’s as simple as that. Since we’re heading into the playoffs soon I wanted to give you guys a quick recap our season. I was talking to a fan in Akwesasne two days ago and he told me he was impressed by our team and how much we’ve improved over the years. He said that a couple years back we would look at the refs after a crosscheck or a push, we wouldn’t fight through loose balls, but that it wasn’t the case anymore. I agreed and told him that our efforts are starting to pay off and that our guys were honored to play on native reserves.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of my teammates make the big league next fall/winter. I think our core group of players is really strong and, most importantly, dedicated to the sport. Brandon Dube, Ethan Ferrel, Trevor Wagar, Greg Rogowski are among the best players in the league now and have certainly earned the respect of many.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Trevor Wagar, our team captain, take a shift off or not go 110% in is 4 years with the team.  The same can be said of our entire defensive squad. Those guys have been put to the challenge facing against top scorers from the NLL and they responded in the big way.
Pat Poirier, my goalie teammate, also helped us getting where we are now. Pat is over 40 years old and he’s still one the best goalies coming out of Québec. One of my junior coaches once told me that if the two goalies in a team get along, the team will certainly be better. Pat and I are great friends and we put the team first.
Finally our coaching staff and our management has been tremendous. Chad Fairfoull taught us many things that made us better and has made sure we are ready to battle in the playoffs. Jeff Culkin and Mike Dee are the heart and soul of the Voyageurs and without them this great group of guys wouldn’t meet to play box lacrosse and grow the game in the U.S.
I’ll be back in two weeks once the playoffs start. The Voyageurs are ready to battle.
Vince
