Despite Loss Mafia Ends Inaugural Season On A High Note

The final game of the 2026 season didn’t result in a victory for the Moose Jaw Mafia but it was a win for a team going through its inaugural year.

Despite what naysayers may think Mafia had managed to grow and develop in a tough year. The stage is set for bigger and better things in 2027 the team says.

Despite losing 17 - 7 to the Winnipeg Blizzard to end their inaugural season the Mafia is still on cloud nine.

“It was unreal. We pressured them on their offensive side. We pressured them on their defensive side. We held them to less goals when we played them before and the energy we had on the bench was unmatched,” player/coach Laine Denoncourt said.

Denoncourt said losing all but one game this season did not personally bring him down. He saw an upside and optimism in the season.

“We know it wasn’t a winning season. This was all about setting it up for the next generation. As you can see we have generations playing on our team. This is all about building up the next level of lacrosse to give these junior players somewhere to go,” he said.

He described the response from the community as “unreal.”

There has been a huge response from the city towards the team.

“We have three levels of house leagues and it’s unreal when they come out. They are always here for us and we’re always here for them. We wouldn’t exist without them,” he said.

The toughest thing was the level of competition they had to face.

“The hardest thing was the level of competition we were going into. We were going into it with green guys and we knew we were going to play national level players.”

As a semi-pro league Mafia found themselves in the situation where they faced players who were paid to play while they paid to play.

Despite the losses Denoncourt said it never got him down. He saw it as his job to help motivate the players.

With their season now over he is optimistic that the 2027 edition will be better as good seeds were planted this year.