BRAMPTON — After an unexpected host-arena change, the Six Nations Senior ‘C’ Tomahawks pushed forward to see the culmination of their hard work after a stellar 15-1 regular season in the Nobile Cup provincial championship.
The Senior Series Lacrosse (SSL) season is scheduled in a format that best suits players with commitments outside of the sport; of which there are plenty. Rather than scheduling games week-to-week, the league focuses on a round of weekend games spaced out from May to July, before a provincial round-robin in August.
To recap their season—the Brampton Memorial Arena was the first arena to host a game weekend, starting with a win for the Tomahawks over the Hunstville Hawks 9-1 on Saturday, June 6. Later, they defeated the London Timber Kings 12-0, then the Khaos Lacrosse Club 7-3, and the Lakefield Rage 2-6. On June 3, the Tomahawks travelled to the Earl Nichols Arena where they faced the Chaos Lacrosse Club and won a close game of 2-1. The following day, the Tomahawks were delivered their first and only loss by the Wellington Aces 5-6, but redeemed with a win 7-3 over the Schooners Lacrosse Club.
After a break, the Tomahawks visited the Lakefield Smith Community Centre on June 24 for matches against the London Timber Kings, winning 13-1, the Huntsville Hawks, winning 9-5, the Lakefield Rage, winning 6-5, and the Toronto Lightening, winning 8-5. Coming into their last weekend of regular season pairings, the Tomahawks concluded their season with four wins at the Wilmot Recreation Complex on July 29 and 30. They defeated the Toronto Lightening 8-3, the Huntsville Hawks 10-4, the Schooners Lacrosse Club 8-2 and the Wellington Aces with another close match 7-6.
By the end, top scorers were identified on Tuesday, August 1, according to the Tomahawks Facebook page, naming Todd Thomas Jr., the first with 34 points, Owen Martin the second with 26, Ryley Squire the third with 23, Spencer Martin the fourth with 19 and Bailey Skye tying with Tim Johnson for fifth with 16.
Finally, travelling to the Brampton Memorial Arena this past weekend, chosen over the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena due to the scheduled power outage, the Tomahawks would put up another undefeated round robin.
A three-day tournament starting on Friday, August 18 ensued, with the Tomahawks first match placing them against the Huntsville Hawks. The evening game secured them their first victory, however, the following morning led to their first defeat. A close game placed at 9:00 a.m., put them in the losing bracket 2-4 under the Lakefield Rage. Pulling themselves out of it, the Tomahawks move to defeat the Wellington Aces 6-5 later in the day. This placed the Tomahawks in the first seed.
Moving into semi-finals against the Toronto Lightening on Sunday, August 20, they pulled away with an 8-4 win, pitting them against the Wellington Aces in the final. Forcing a harsh score onto the Aces, the Tomahawks finished the game at 7-2, securing their second Nobile Cup.
In 2019, the Tomahawks put up a score of 10-0 in the final over the Lakefield Rage to win the Legends Cup. After pandemic restrictions lifted and according to the SSL website, the Tomahawks did not return in the 2022 season, where the newly renamed Nobile Cup was delivered to the Khaos Lacrosse Club.
Despite not performing last year, the Tomahawks swiftly regained their status as returning-champions and will contend to location-host the provincial tournament in 2024.
