World lacrosse tourney set for May

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For those counting on a Canada/U.S. final at the inaugural world box lacrosse championships, Rusty Doxtdator has some advice: Don't bet on it.

That's because Doxtdator is confident another club, the Iroquois Nationals, will advance and possibly even win the tournament. It should be noted, there's a very good reason why Doxtdator has this thinking; he's the general manager of the Native club that will compete at the global tournament.

The six-nation event will be held in various southern Ontario locations from May 14 to 24.

Both the gold-medal and bronze-medal contests will be staged at Hamilton's Copps Coliseum.

"We're not going there just to participate," Doxtdator said. "We want to bring home the gold."

Tournament games will also be held in Oshawa, Mississauga and Kitchener.

Also participating in the event will be Scotland, Czech Republic and Australia.

Doxtdator does not believe any of those three clubs will have a legitimate shot at winning a medal.

"That's kind of arrogant," he said on the suggestion it will just be Canada, the U.S. and the Iroquois Nationals teams that will battle for the colors of medals. "But yeah, it's true."

Team officials from the Canadian and Iroquois Nationals teams announced partial lists of their participating players at a press conference in Toronto in early March.

The Native side announced 10 players it will have on its team. This list included five players from Six Nations- Kim Squire, Duane Jacobs, Cam Bomberry, Cory Bomberry and Tim Bomberry.

Also chosen were two players from Onondaga-Marshall Abrams and Gewas Schindler.

Akwesasne's Mike Benedict, Mike Stevens from Cattaraugus, N.Y., and Rich Kilgour from Tuscarora, N.Y. were also selected.

Kilgour's brother Darris, who coaches the National Lacrosse League's Buffalo Bandits, was named the head coach of the Iroquois Nationals.

The team's coaching staff will also include Dave General (Six Nations), Freeman Bucktooth (Onondaga), Barry Powless (Onondaga), Ron Henry (Tuscarora) and Randy Chrysler (Tuscarora).

The team manager will be Cap Bomberry from Six Nations while Mike Mitchell (Akwesasne) and Travis Cook (Oneida) will serve as assistant general managers.

Teams can have as many as 23 players on their rosters for the world tourney. But only 17 can dress for each game.

Doxtdator said remaining members of the Iroquois Nationals team were expected to be picked following a pair of March training camps.

While the Canadian and American teams are expected to be stocked with players who also toil professionally in the National Lacrosse League, Doxtdator said such will not necessarily be the case with the Iroquois Nationals club.

"There's about 17 or 18 players in the pros that have Native ancestry and two of them are goalies (Mike Montour and Dave General)," Doxtdator said. "Most of the rest of them are offensive players. And you can't go in this tournament with an all-offensive club."

As a result, Doxtdator hinted there could be quite a few surprises when the remainder of the Iroquois Nationals side is announced. He said it's likely some National Lacrosse League players will be left off the club in favor of some defensive-minded players, currently toiling at various colleges or universities throughout the United States.

Doxtdator explained the tournament, sanctioned by the International Lacrosse Federation, is considered an amateur event since players will not be paid for their participation. As a result, those in the college ranks can compete without jeopardizing their NCAA eligilibity and scholarship requirements.

All teams will play five round-robin matches at the tournament. The Iroquois Nationals will face Scotland in their opening game set for May 15.