The long wait ended last August for the Coquitlam Jr. Adanacs.
After getting to the Minto Cup finals in five of the previous six seasons, 2016 was the year the A’s went all the way and got their name on junior lacrosse’s biggest trophy.
But the championship banner did not come easy.
After emerging victorious from the round-robin portion of the tournament, Coquitlam took on the Orangeville Northmen in a best-of-five series at the Langley Events Centre last August.
“It is unbelievable,” said Pat Coyle, the Jr. Adanacs head coach after winning Game 5 in overtime 6-5. He added that “it is more about the guys that have been here for three or four Mintos. It is so awesome that our last year guys can leave on this note.”
A’s goalie Christian Del Bianco was given MVP honours for his stellar performance in net, which saw him turn away 59 of 64 shots in the final game for a save percentage of 0.922.
Del Bianco came close to ending the game in regulation when, with 23 seconds left and the game tied 5-5, the Northmen took possession and pulled their goalie for the extra attacker.
The Coquitlam netminder managed to scoop up the rebound and send the ball the length of the floor, just missing the Orangeville net.
After the win, he told The Tri-City News that it was nice to finally get the teams name on the Minto after a six-year drought.
“It feels good,” he said after the game. “It feels a lot better than going home empty-handed.”
The club will have many returning players when the BCJALL season gets underway next summer.
@TriCityNews
