As the calendar flips to May, no decision has yet to be made regarding the Ontario Senior ‘B’ lacrosse season.
Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, which has wiped out many sporting events including as of now the Junior ‘C’ lacrosse season; players, management and fans alike are forced to play the waiting game when it comes to senior ‘B’ lacrosse.
“Going out and playing lacrosse is my getaway from everyday life,” Six Nations Rivermen veteran Ashton Jacobs said. “I’ve been missing running around competing and playing with my friends. This would be my fourth year with the Rivermen and my favorite part is the bond within the team. We are all close and like a family. Many teams aren’t quite like that and I feel very lucky to be a part of such a good team/family.”
Heading into the senior ‘B’ season, a huge storyline revolves around the dominant Rivermen and whether they could meet the challenge of successfully repeating as Presidents Cup champs. “It would be extra disappointing not being able to defend it because it would be more of a challenge this year being the defending champs because we would have an even bigger target on our backs even more so than usual,” Jacobs said.
In what was a dominating 2019 season to remember, the Rivermen capped things off by writing some franchise history in Kahnawake QC, by celebrating what was their second Presidents Cup win with a 9-5 championship decision against the Akwesasne Bucks.
Playing a significant role in the Rivermen’s success was power forward and former Six Nations Rebels star Gates Abrams who had an impressive rookie campaign with 25 goals and 48 points along with 14 penalty minutes in 12 games.
After helping lead Six Nations to a 12-3 regular season, he proved clutch in playoff action where he produced 18 points (8 goals, 10 assists) during what was a best of five playoff series wins against the Owen Sound North Stars and Oakville Titans, qualifying them to compete for the Presidents Cup.
Reflecting on that magical playoff run, which saw Six Nations win both playoff series in four games, before eventually becoming Presidents Cup champions, Abrams called it, “The best feeling in the world.” He went on to say, “That was my first ever (Presidents Cup) championship, it’s the best feeling in the world. We were going to try and keep the same (team) so we could go (win) back to back champs.”
In terms of his favorites highlight of playing at home in front of enthusiastic fans at the G.P.A., Abrams was quick to respond, “The GPA is my favorite arena, the fans are right there. It’s an older floor that I always wanted to play on.”
Originally, the Rivermen were scheduled to start their Presidents Cup defense on Saturday, May 2nd in a road game against Owen Sound. Now, all anyone can do is just wait and see what’s going to happen with the season.
“If it did not start back up, I would be very disappointed,” Jacobs said. “I have truly hated not being able to play. I love playing and all this time off has really upset me.”
Only time will tell what will happen with the season.
