It's hard for Coquitlam Adanacs' president Ed Ponsart to pinpoint one highlight from a club steeped in 50 years' worth of history, which will be honored during this Saturday's Home Coming Night.
Local lacrosse enthusiasts might agree it was in 2001, when the Adanacs won their first Mann Cup title, Canada's highest honour in senior men's box lacrosse.
By the final frame of an edge-of-your-seat game seven, the A's had clawed their way back from a four-goal deficit. Coquitlam's Dan Stroup tied the score with just under a minute to go, while teammate Colin Doyle scored the game winner with 35 seconds to go.
Another great moment in Adanacs history was in 1980, when the team captured the Nations '80 - the first world box lacrosse championship - and the Western Lacrosse Association league title.
Ponsart recalled a relatively more recent Adanacs Mann Cup run in 2007, when Coquitlam hosted the Peterborough Lakers for the national championship.
"I guess some of the Lakers had played for Coquitlam, so there was some of that built-in rivalry," said Ponsart.
The "palace on Poirier" was jam packed during the best-of-seven series, which Ponsart said could have gone either way. The Lakers wound up taking the cup in six games.
Merely hosting the tournament in Coquitlam had a collateral effect for up-and-coming lacrosse players in the community.
"Some of our current players talk about being kids watching [that series]," said Ponsart.
And today, while a couple of other Lower Mainland communities struggle to attract and retain minor lacrosse players, Ponsart said there are stable numbers for the sport in Coquitlam.
Coquitlam's lacrosse culture was established in 1965, but the Adanac name dates back to the 1920s, when the Adanac Basketball Club in New Westminster picked up Canada's national pastime to stay in shape during the summers.
By 1933, the senior Adanac Lacrosse Club was formed. The team would face many high and lows over the next few decades, including a couple of Mann Cup wins and a brief disbandment during the Second World War.
According to Adanac aficionado and statistician Stan Shillington: "Lacrosse hit a low point in 1951, forcing an amalgamation of the Adanacs and [New Westminster] Salmonbellies; the Adanac name once again was placed in mothballs."
That was until 1965, when a group of old Adanac players and executives, led by Ralph Douglas, resurrected the name and set up shop in Coquitlam.
The Coquitlam Adanacs inaugural coach Gordie Gimple oversaw a reenergized group of young men including Bill Bradley, who would later become a Canadian lacrosse legend.
Some members of that original Adanac squad will be on hand on Saturday, July 5, when the club hosts its annual Adanac Home Coming Night.
"We have commitments from eight players from the original '65 team," said Ponsart.
All Adanac players, team management, executive and staff from the past five decades have been invited to attend a special reception in the upstairs lounge at the Coquitlam Sport and Leisure Centre, starting at 5:30 p.m.
Afterwards, members of the original Adanacs will be introduced at the start of Coquitlam's matchup against the league-leading Victoria Shamrocks, who were undefeated this season until last Saturday when Coquitlam beat them 11-8 at home.
Now in the hunt for a playoff berth, the Adanacs, who currently sit in fifth place in the WLA standings, are looking for a repeat performance on Saturday night.
