A Voice from the Eastern Door
A Voice from the Eastern Door
Akwesasne players are getting ready to return to the rink and court as Massena Central basketball and hockey seasons approach their season openers.
The girls varsity hockey team’s roster includes KC Herne, a returning MVP, Tori Gray and Abigail Johnson from Akwesasne.
Coach Greg Paquin will spend his first year leading the team as head coach after former coach Jenn Gray left the district to take an administrative post at Potsdam. Last year, they went 17-4 and were defeated in sectional finals.
This year’s team includes 11 players from grades 8 through sophomore and 11 juniors and seniors. Paquin says they will “play a very competitive schedule which should help develop our younger players quickly.”
“We have some very strong returning players in Co-MVP KC Herne, a strong defensive corps, and our starting goalie returns,” Paquin said. “If we can develop depth behind this group with our second and third lines, we will be very competitive.”
He says their league games will be their big matchups of the season.
“The section 10 teams are all evenly matched this year as Salmon River and St. Lawrence Central will be greatly improved,” Paquin said. “Salmon has the potential to challenge for the league if not this year, they may be a bit young, then definitely next.”
Paquin said his players-to-watch this year include Herne, Maddie Mailhot, who along with Mikenna Merry has been a top league defenseman the last two years, and goalie Kyrsten Stone.
“Kyrsten Stone returns in nets for her third year and has the potential to single-handedly win games,” Paquin said.
The team won their first game of the season, 3-1 against Alexandria Bay on Nov. 23 at Massena Arena. Herne scored what held up as the game-winning goal just over 8 minutes into the second period, assisted by Maddie Mailhot and Katy Underwood. Meg Wilmshurst scored the opening goal, assisted by Claire Tyo, at 11:33. Abby Johnston scored Massena’s third goal with 2:09 remaining in the second period, assisted by Wilmshurst and Brittany Streeter.
The boy’s hockey team is looking at a fairly young team with what Coach Mike Trimboli describes as “a lot of potential.” Jack Loran of Akwesasne will be among those skating up with the squadron this season.
This year, they have added 10 skaters and a goalie for a total of 22 skaters and three netminders. There are four seniors, 13 juniors, three sophomores and five freshmen.
“I feel as a group we have a lot of potential. It is a diverse group of players with varying skill sets,” Trimboli said. “As we progress through the season many will need to adjust to the speed of the game and the concepts that we teach. Fortunately we have a core group of veterans who understand what it takes to prepare for game day execution.”
The coach says he doesn’t see them as having bigger or less important games.
“The season is a process and we need to continually build off the challenges we face each day and try to be better tomorrow than we were today both individually and as a team,” he said. “With such a diverse schedule we cannot afford to take a game off.”
Girl’s basketball Coach Justin Shope says he hopes the varsity basketball team, which includes Lexis Jacobs of Akwesasne, can take advantage of an older player mix to improve on last year’s record.
Shope returns for his fourth year leading the team, coming off a 9-12 overall record last year, 8-6 in league play.
“I am excited about this season. We return seven players from last year’s team,” the coach said. “It’s the first time since I’ve been coaching that we have more upper classmen than under classmen. We should be a much-improved team this year and I’m expecting a lot from them.”
He said he expects their big games to be against Malone, Canton, Ogdensburg and St. Lawrence.
“We have a lot of returning players who have been on varsity for a year or two already. Individually we have some talented players. We have size and some quick guards,” Shope said. “We need to do a better job of bringing intensity to the court every practice and game. We don’t always play to our potential.”
He says Jacobs is among his players-to-watch of the season. She is a point guard and was second team All-Northern last year. “She is an excellent ball handler and shooter,” Shope said. “She is the player that makes us go offensively, one of the top guards in the league.”
He also pointed to:
• Sydnee Carroll, junior, captain, who the coach describes as an athletic wing player. “Being counted on for leadership, she should provide rebounding and wing scoring. She showed tremendous improvement at the end of last season,” Shope said.
• Paige Perry, junior, captain, who coach calls a “terrific outside shooter and smart player. Looking to provide us outside shooting and scoring.”
• Nova LeGrow, freshman, was on the team as an eighth grader last year. “Very quick and excellent defensive player. She provides our team with a lot of energy and toughness and should be able to handle a larger offensive role this year,” Shope said.
Varsity boy’s basketball Coach Tim Currier did not return requests for comment.
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