The Coquitlam Jr. Adanacs 25-game win streak has come to an end at an inopportune moment in the season.
While the club is guaranteed a berth in the Minto Cup tournament, the A’s will need to win two straight in the best-of-three finals against the Delta Islanders if they hope to secure their eighth B.C. Jr. ‘A’ Lacrosse League championship.
The Game 1 loss stunned the crowd at the Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex, which has grown accustomed to seeing their team run-up a lead in the early part of the game. However, on Wednesday it was the A’s that were down 4-0 after 20 minutes, as Delta seemed to score by committee, with an opening marker from Jon Phillips, followed by goals from Evan Messenger, Javier Tudela and Nate Wade.
Coquitlam finally got on the board with a power play goal from Thomas Semple, which spurred a four-goal run with Brett Kujala scoring two and John Hosfseth picking up a single to tie the game at 4-4. Both teams exchanged goals in the final minutes of the middle frame — one coming off the stick of A’s forward Tyler Pace — and the game was knotted at 5-5 going into the third period.
But the Jr. Adanacs could not find a way to take the lead.
After Delta’s Cam Milligan scored two minutes into the final frame, Coquitlam Jean-Luc Chetner scored his third of the post-season to keep things even. The tide turned in the second half of the period, when the Islanders scored three unanswered goals off the sticks of Phillips, Liam Macdonald and the final marker by Messenger.
Messenger finished the game with five points (two goals, three assists), while Milligan ended with a goal and two assists.
Dereck Downs had two assists for the Adanacs, while Brett Kujala had two goals and Thomas Semple had a goal an assist.
Coquitlam netminder Christian Del Bianco was strong in net, stopping 41 of the 50 shots he faced for a .820 save percentage, while at the other end of the rink Kevin Orleman stopped 52 of the 58 shots thrown at him for a save percentage of .897.
The loss is the first time since Coquitlam has lost a game since Aug. 29 when they fell to the Six Nations Arrows in Game 6 of the Minto Cup tournament.
But the Islanders and the Jr. Adanacs have had some tough battles during the regular season.
In June, Coquitlam narrowly defeated the Delta club 11-10 in a game that saw Del Bianco turn away 50 shots.
The Jr. A’s are not challenged with the task of winning Game 2 of the finals on the road this Sunday, when they will the Islanders at the Sungod Arena at 5 p.m. Game 3 is scheduled to take place at the Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex on Tuesday, Aug. 9, at 7:30 p.m.
For more information and up-to-date scores go to www.bcjall.com.
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