Akwesasne Lightning
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The Akwesasne Lightning are Junior "B" box lacrosse
Box lacrosse
Box lacrosse, also known as indoor lacrosse and sometimes shortened to boxla, LAX or simply box, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in Canada, where it is the most popular version of the game played in contrast to the traditional field lacrosse game...
team from Akwesasne
Akwesasne
The Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne is a Mohawk Nation territory that straddles the intersection of international and provincial borders on both banks of the Saint Lawrence River. Most of the land is in what is otherwise the United States...
(the borderlands between Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
). The Lightning play in the OLA Junior B Lacrosse League
OLA Junior B Lacrosse League
The Ontario Junior B Lacrosse League is a box lacrosse league sanctioned by the Ontario Lacrosse Association in Ontario, Canada.-History:The Junior "B" level of the Ontario Lacrosse Association has been around since at least 1964...
.
History
The Akwesasne Lightning joined the OLA-B in 1996. They joined around the same time that the other major IroquoisIroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
teams, Onondaga Warriors and Kahnawake Mohawks, joined the OLA. Onondaga and Kahnawake walked away after a few years in the league to join the Iroquois Lacrosse League, but Akwesasne decided to stay the course and have become a top team in the OLA-B.
After a dismal 5-17-0 first season, the Lightning never slipped below a .500 record until 2007. In 2004, the Lightning even finished first in the Eastern Conference with a 17-1-2 record. The past two seasons were dominated by the Oakville Buzz
Oakville Buzz
The Oakville Buzz are Junior "B" box lacrosse team from Oakville, Ontario, Canada. The Buzz play in the OLA Junior B Lacrosse League. The Buzz won the 2006 Founders Cup Canadian National Champions. As of the 2009 season, the Buzz will moving to the West Conference, playing in the South West...
, with both years seeing them reach the finals. The Buzz have been so dominant that the Lightning have not survived past the semi-final in the past two years.
The Lightning are from the Akwesasne
Akwesasne
The Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne is a Mohawk Nation territory that straddles the intersection of international and provincial borders on both banks of the Saint Lawrence River. Most of the land is in what is otherwise the United States...
reserve. The reserve sits on the border between Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
where Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
meet. This location is quite obviously unique as the rest of the teams in the league are based out of Canadian cities and towns.
After the 2008 Season, the Lightning folded and moved to the Iroquois Lacrosse Association due to a tough economic drop, and not enough money to finance the team.
Season-by-season results
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against| Season | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PTS | Placing | Playoffs | ||
| 1996 | 22 | 5 | 17 | 0 | 201 | 285 | 10 | 7th OLA-B East | DNQ | ||
| 1997 | 22 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 262 | 259 | 22 | 5th OLA-B East | DNQ | ||
| 1998 | 20 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 303 | 188 | 30 | 2nd OLA-B East | Lost Quarter-final | ||
| 1999 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 232 | 212 | 20 | 4th OLA-B East | Lost Quarter-final | ||
| 2000 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 235 | 241 | 20 | 5th OLA-B East | DNQ | ||
| 2001 | 20 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 252 | 171 | 28 | 2nd OLA-B East | Lost 1st Round | ||
| 2002 | 22 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 254 | 190 | 31 | 3rd OLA-B East | Lost Quarter-final | ||
| 2003 | 20 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 234 | 155 | 31 | 3rd OLA-B East | Lost Quarter-final | ||
| 2004 | 20 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 243 | 125 | 36 | 1st OLA-B East | Lost Semi-final | ||
| 2005 | 20 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 242 | 118 | 34 | 2nd OLA-B East | Lost Semi-final | ||
| 2006 | 19 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 195 | 128 | 28 | 3rd OLA-B East | Lost 1st Round | ||
| 2007 | 20 | 7 | 13 | 0 | 129 | 189 | 14 | 9th OLA-B East |
DNQ | ||
| 2008 | 20 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 148 | 168 | 18 | 8th OLA-B East |
Lost 1st Round | ||
| 2009 | Did Not Participate | ||||||||||
| 2010 | 20 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 105 | 153 | 12 | 9th OLA-B East | DNQ | ||