Iroquois second in the world

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Members of the Iroquois Nationals had mixed feelings following the conclusion of the inaugural world indoor (box) lacrosse championships.

The Native club was pleased it was able to garner the silver medal at the six-squad tournament, which concluded on May 24 at Hamilton's Copps Coliseum. But team members were not thrilled with how things transpired in the gold-medal match, in which the host Canadian squad registered a lopsided 21-4 victory.

A much closer final had been anticipated, especially since Canada had eked out just a two-goal victory, 15-13, over the Iroquois Nationals in a round-robin match just eight days earlier in Oshawa.

Tournament games were also held in two other southern Ontario locations, Mississauga and Kitchener.

Iroquois Nationals' general manager Rusty Doxtdator said there was a simple reason why his side did not play up to par in the final.

"It was championship day," he said. "The guys were tight. They just locked up."

In fact, Canada managed to score 10 goals before the Iroquois Nationals netted their first goal.

Doxtdator said those on the Canadian roster had played in many more championships games than those in the Iroquois Nationals' lineup.

"They were an older team," Doxtdator said of the Canadians. "We calculated the average age of the players on their team was about four years older than our average age."

About half of the players on the Iroquois Nationals' roster were from Six Nations, near Brantford, Ont., and the majority of the others in the lineup were various First Nations in from the state of New York.

"The players we had were definitely the ones that needed to be there," Doxtdator said.

Doxtdator also defended the team's rather large coaching/managerial staff. Besides Doxtdator, there were also two assistant general managers for the Iroquois Nationals, as well as six coaches.

"Over-all, the team management, the team coaching and the team environment we had was great," Doxtdator said. "It was just the one bad day we had."

Iroquois Nationals' captain Cory Bomberry believes there is another reason why his side fared so poorly in the gold-medal game.

"Our last two games (before the final) were not really a good tune-up for us," Bomberry said. "We picked up some bad habits."

The Iroquois Nationals crushed the Czech Republic 23-4 in their last round-robin tilt. And the Native club, which had posted a 4-1 round-robin record, then thumped Scotland 22-8 in a semi-final match.

Canada, which had a perfect 5-0 round-robin record, defeated the United States 17-9 in their semi-final.

Many people had predicted a Canada/U.S. final, but the Americans were unable to send their best lineup to the world event. That's because several top U.S. players were playing professional field lacrosse in the Major League Lacrosse.

"Winning gold would have been nice," said Iroquois Nationals' goaltender Derek General. "But we have to keep our heads high. We have nothing to be ashamed of, especially since we were picked by most media to win the bronze."

Bomberry, who also plays professionally indoors with the National Lacrosse League's Rochester Knighthawks, said it was a huge thrill to compete in this historic event.

"Coming out of this tournament with any kind of medal, I think any guy would be happy," said the 26-year-old, who has spent the past seven years with the Knighthawks.

The United States captured the bronze medal, downing Scotland 15-9 in the battle for third place.

General, who also plays in the NLL with the New Jersey Storm, said his side just was unable to display the same intensity in the final that it did in its previous meeting with the Canadians. And he also noticed another huge difference in the two games.

"I think we were more spread open on defence (in the final)," he said. "But you have to give credit to the Canadians. They led us into playing wider on defence. We were much more packed in during the first game against them."

Australia also competed at this year's wold event.

The next world championship is scheduled to be held in the Czech Republic in 2007. It is believed that eight to 10 teams will participate in that tournament.

Bomberry said he had not played with about half of those on the Iroquois Nationals' roster. And a limited preparation schedule hindered the team as well.

"Now we'll know what to expect at other events," Bomberry added. "I think we'll be silver or gold contenders from here on in."