Dane Dobbie and Nick Rose were paramount in helping the Coquitlam Adanacs deliver a crucial 10-9 triumph Tuesday over the Shamrocks in Victoria.
It was Mark Negrin who played hero, however.
Picked up by the A's this season from the New Westminster Salmonbellies' Sr. B squad, Negrin scored with 1:34 left in the 10-minute overtime session to give the A's a 3-2 lead in the Western Lacrosse Association best-of-seven playoff semifinal.
The A's can wrap up the series tonight at 7:45 p.m. at Poirier Sports Complex and move on the play the defending-champion Langley Thunder, who swept the Burnaby Lakers four straight in the other semi.
Dobbie whipped in five goals and the goalie Rose was brilliant in stopping 55 shots to spark the A's, who were outshot by a 64-49 count, including 22-9 in the first period.
Kevin Olson and Ryan Johnson supplied two goals and two assists apiece for the A's, who trailed 3-2 and 7-5 at the intermissions, and trailed 8-5 before out-scoring pumping in four straight markers in a 12-minute span to go up 9-8.
Corey Small knotted the count 9-9 with 1:41 remaining to force OT, setting the stage for Negrin's heroics.
"Even though we were down 8-5, we all felt confident still," said A's general manager Randy Delmonico. "They've been throwing a zone defence against us and we've had a hard time breaking that, but then we started moving the ball and it worked."
Ex-PoCo Saints Jr. 'A' standout Derek Lowe led the Shamrocks with three goals and four assists.
The game was an unusually tame affair between the two teams, with only six minutes in penalties called.
