Thunder Beat Kings, Griffins

AKWESASNE – The Akwesasne Thunder Junior B laxmen won recent games against the Orillia Kings and Gloucester Griffins.

They downed the Kings by a one-goal margin in a close game played Sunday, June 9 at Rotary Place in Orillia.

The hosts started out by dominating the first period, scoring five times within the first 10:30, which went unanswered for just over two minutes when Hawi Francis was assisted by Landen Sinfield and Thanaokatha Elijah.

After a goal from Orillia's Colsen Maracle pushed the Kings out to a 6-1 lead early in the middle stanza, Thunder attackers managed to narrow their disadvantage to just a single goal by the intermission buzzer. Francis (Sinfield, Warren Cook) and Cree (Xaivier Delormier) reeled off two goals in just 35 seconds during the fourth minute of play. Tanner Thayer (Maracle) and Kaleb Parkhurst (Sam Neely) fired back with two more for the Kings.

In the last four minutes of play, Akwesasne connected for four markers that went unanswered when the buzzer sounded. Elijah netted two more goals by the time there was just 2:31 left in the second period. Trysen Sunday, Francis, and Warren Cook all garnered helpers on the plays. Kaleb Maylon came through just 21 seconds later, assisted by Carey Terrance and Vance Adams. Warren Oakes scored with eight seconds left in the second on a power play after getting the ball from Sinfield, leaving the scoreboard at 8-7 Kings going into the final frame.

Myles Shorey connected for two goals for the hosts in the third period, sandwiched around four for the Thunder, with the game-winning goal coming off the stick of Sunday from Adams with 3:17 left in regulation.

Francis and Sunday each scored twice and assisted twice for Akwesasne. Elijah had two goals and a helper. Terrance had one goal with a pair of assists. Sinfield and Adams each respectively assisted on three scoring plays. Maylon and Cree scored a goal with one assist each. Warren Cook made two assists. Oakes and Carter King scored one goal apiece. Rorontakehte Thompson tallied a solo helper. Delormier made 37 saves out of the 47 he faced.

For the Kings, Devun Colebrook and Colsen Maracle both recorded two goals with an assist. Ben King notched four helpers. Shorey netted a hat trick. Their goalie, Quinton Greenfield, turned aside 41 out of 52 shots.

A day earlier, the Green Gaels beat the Thunder 7-6 in a near miss for Akwesasne at Garnett B. Rickard Complex in Bowmanville.

The game was played at a competitive even pace, with the Thunder leading 2-1 after the first period. The Gaels' Cole Tucker opened scoring at 4:02, assisted by Robbie McGrayne and Carsyn Kent. Elijah tied the game for the Thunder with 4:29 left in the frame, assisted by Sinfield and Maylon. Sunday earned the one-goal advantage by the buzzer, punching in a marker with 1:47 left in the first and assisted by Lukas Rozon and Terrance.

The host Gaels tied the game 5-all by the end of the second period. Ty Taylor and Owen Taylor netted two for the green in the first 5:02, each taking advantage of a power play. Takaronhiotakie Thompson fashioned the next Thunder goal at 7:19 on a power play, with assists coming from Francis and Sunday. Hawi Francis scored again for Akwesasne with just over four minutes left in the second, with help from Terrance and Sinfield. In between those two plays, Kent and Tucker scored two more for the Gaels, with assists credited to John McKinney, Tucker, McGrayne, and Kent.

In the closing stanza, Sunday scored for Akwesasne to put them out at a 6-5 lead. Thompson and Elijah assisted. With just over three minutes left in regulation, the Gaels' Ty Taylor (McGrayne, Xander Johnson) tied the game and Owne Taylor connected for the game-winning shot with 2:37 left, assisted by Johnson and Kent.

Delormier, in the Thunder net, made 28 saves out of 35 shots on goal. For the Green, Craig Johannson saved 22 out of 28 shots.

For Akwesasne, Sunday scored two goals and one assist. Sinfield scored once with a pair of helpers. Terrance made three assists. Francis and Elijah each scored one goal and helped set up another. Maylon, Rozon, and King all had solo assists.

For the Gaels, Cole Tucker scored two goals with a trio of assists. Kent scored once and assisted three times. Ty Taylor scored two goals and an assist. Owen Taylor scored twice. McGrayne recorded three helpers.

On Thursday, June 6, at Anowarakowa Arena, the Thunder breezed past the Gloucester Griffins by a final score of 11-5.

Akwesasne quickly took the reins in the first period, with three straight goals coming from Rozon (Jensen White, Sinfield), Sinfield (Maylon, Francis, shorthanded) and Sunday (Francis, shorthanded) in the first nine minutes.

Landon Brownlee put the Griffins on the board at 9:12, assisted by Zak McLean and Elliot Malcolm. Elijah answered 17 seconds later, assisted by Rozon, with the final goal of the period going to Glouceter's McLean on a power play with 6:10 left and assisted by Dylan Steinwald.

Julien Belair, assisted by McLean, managed the first and only goal for the visitors in the second period. The Thunder added five goals to their side of the board from Sinfield (Elijah, Francis), Maylon (unassisted), Sinfield (Sunday, Francis), Francis (Sinfield), and again from Francis (Sunday, Takaronhiotakie Thompson).

The third period saw Elijah produce two more insurance goals for the Thunder, in between two Griffins markers by McLean and Malcolm.

In the nets, Delormier stood tall for Akwesasne, turning aside 37 of 42 shots. Gloucester's Tommy St. Louis and Nathan Morrison split goalkeeper duties, with a combined 35 saves from 46 shots they faced.

Offensively for the Thunder, Francis scored two goals with five assists, a game-high. Sinfield scored three goals with three helpers. Elijah scored a hat trick with one assist. Sunday scored once and assisted three times. Rozon tallied a goal and two assists. Maylon scored once and assisted once. White and Thompson contributed an assist each.

On the Gloucester attack, McLean scored two goals and two assists. Malcolm and Belair each scored a goal with a helper.