Losing ‘sucks’, so Demons plan to win Creator’s Cup Friday

Despite the fact the Ohsweken Demons had a regular season record below .500, they are now just one win away from winning a league championship.

The Demons are one of five franchises that competed in the 2016 season of the Canadian Lacrosse League, which is better known simply as CLax.

The Ohsweken club is the only professional sports team in North America to be comprised entirely of Native athletes.

The Demons had their share of struggles during regular season action this year. The club posted a 4-6 record and placed fourth in the league standings.

Ohsweken then squared off against the top-ranked Niagara Lock Monsters, who had a 7-3 regular season mark, in a playoff semi-final contest on March 13.

Though the Lock Monsters had defeated the Demons in all three of their regular season meetings, Ohsweken managed to pull off a playoff shocker. The Demons downed Niagara 13-9 to advance to the championship final.

That match is scheduled for March 18 against the host Durham TurfDogs in Oshawa, Ont.

The second-seeded TurfDogs qualified for the final by edging the third-seeded Barrie Blizzard 13-12 in their semi-final battle on March 10.

Demons’ coach Roger Chrysler said his club is not content simply making it to the final. The club has plenty of players on its roster who have come up just one step shy of winning a CLax championship in recent times.

“We’ve probably got eight or nine guys on the team who made it to the finals the last two years,” he said. “But we lost both of those games in overtime. It hurts. It hurts deep.”

Though the TurfDogs had a better regular season record (6-4) and will be playing on their home turf, the Demons are encouraged by the fact they split their two previous games with the Durham side this year.
Plus, the Demons will have Chase Martin playing goal for them in the final. Despite some mediocre regular season performances, Martin shone in the semi-final outing.

“He stood on his head for us,” Chrysler said.

Martin made 45 saves in the match, backstopping Ohsweken to the upset over the Lock Monsters.

“He had two good practices since then and he’ll get the start on Friday,” Chrysler said of Martin, two days before the CLax final.
Demons’ general manager Ron Henry concedes the fact his side, which will be playing on the road, will be the underdog in the final. But he’s also confident his side is capable of earning the victory.

“I believe in our team,” said Henry, who is also an assistant coach with the club. “Roger and I have prepared them as best as we can. Now it’s all up to the players and what they do out on the floor that will determine who wins this game.”

Henry added his squad is more talented than its regular season record reflects. He blames the club’s mark on the fact the Demons did not have their full lineup in place until the final game of the regular season.

Nagging injuries, as well as work and family commitments, prevented the Ohsweken side from having all of its regulars available throughout the year.

The Demons will be seeking their second CLax championship. Ohsweken won the title during the league’s inaugural year in 2012.
Though the Demons did not capture the league crown in each of the past two years, Henry believes those players who did participate in those finals earned some valuable lessons.

“They’ve learned how to deal with the ups and downs of the league,” he said. “They know the feeling of losing. It sucks. And it hurts watching them hoist the cup and do a victory lap while you’re waiting there to congratulate them. That will be in the back of their minds.”

Besides aiming to win the league title, which is called the Creator’s Cup, a pair of Demons’ players are also hoping to win some individual hardware.

Three finalists have been named for different awards that will be handed out during Friday’s final.

Ohsweken’s Vaughn Harris is in the running for the league’s top rookie award. Harris finished in a tie for seventh place in the CLax scoring race with 36 points, including 19 goals, in 10 matches.

Ohsweken’s Tom Montour is also gunning to capture the league’s Top Transition Player Award once again. Montour won this award in each of the previous two seasons.

Winners for all of the award categories are selected by a panel consisting of the league’s general managers, CLax personnel and media members.