TRURO, N.S. – Austin Hepworth likes what he sees from his players heading into the new East Coast Junior Lacrosse League season.
“We’re really excited this year; we have a very strong defense … and our offense, they’re coming along and starting to become very strong,” said Hepworth, first-year head coach of the Mi’kmaq Warriors.
Hepworth will lead his team into battle on Friday for its ECJLL season opener against the Sackville Wolves at the Colchester Legion Stadium. Opening ceremonies begin at 7:40 p.m. Game time is 8 p.m.
The Warriors have taken their lumps in recent years. Last season, they posted a dismal 2-12 record, while in 2017 they went winless in 15 games. Hepworth said the team’s goal is to make the playoffs this season, which he feels is attainable.
“We most certainly believe we can contend for a playoff spot this year – that’s our number one goal,” he said. “We just think with (draft) picks and the core that we’ve built, we believe we’re in that spot where we’re not like, ‘we’re the new team, we’re the young team.’ We’re at the point where we’re like, ‘no, we can do this now.’
Hepworth and his coaching staff had an opportunity evaluate players in game action last weekend during the pre-season spring jam in Truro. The Warriors split games, winning 7-5 over the New Brunswick Mavericks and falling 14-4 to the Halifax Hurricanes.
“The chemistry has come along and I think they’re going to mesh very quickly and very well together,” Hepworth said.
“It’s the first time they’ve been in game situations. At practices you can have scrimmages but there’s not a full-fledged, full speed game situation. So seeing them in that, we loved it … and to see the new guys mesh in with the old guys, it was nice.”
Jordan Whitford, who led the Warriors in scoring last season as a rookie with 21 goals and 21 assists, scored five times during the spring jam, while Connor Dennis added three goals. Those players, along with Kyle Langlois, will be expected carry much of the offensive load this season. Bryson Knockwood, who was second in team scoring to Whitford last year with 19 goals and 40 points, returns this season, but is expected to miss some games due to work commitments.
League rosters do not have to be finalized until May 7.
Friday’s opening ceremonies will include First Nations dancers and drummers. Local dignitaries will also attend, while Kevin Sandy, the chief executive officer for the 2020 North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) host society, will be a guest speaker. The 2020 NAIG Games will be held in Halifax.
Also on Friday, the St. Margaret’s Bay Rebels visit the reigning champion Dartmouth Bandits, while the Mavericks and Hurricanes hook up on Sunday at the Spryfield Arena for their first games of the new season.
