A pair of wins over the weekend propelled the Port Coquitlam Saints into second place in the BC Junior A Lacrosse League standings.
The Saints have 24 points in 16 games, two more than the New Westminster Salmonbellies, who play the Langley Thunder tonight, and five behind the first place Coquitlam Adanacs. The Saints and Adanacs play each other Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex.
Sunday at the PoCo Rec Centre, the Saints stormed back from a 7-5 deficit with five goals in the third period to defeat the visiting Victoria Shamrocks 10-9. Clark Walter scored the winner with just 49 seconds left in regulation time.
PoCo led 5-4 at the end of the first period, but Victoria scored three unanswered goals in the second period to wrest control of the game.
Walter got the home team back to within a goal early in the third. Less than a minute later, Jacob Patterson tied it and 34 seconds after that he put the Saints in front, 8-7.
Brian Cobb got the Shamrocks back on even terms. But that lasted just over two minutes, until Connor Frost scored unassisted to put PoCo in front again.
Marshal King then tied it with just under seven minutes to play until Walter netted his third goal of the game.
Dyaln Foulds scored a goal and added five assists to lead all Saints scorers, while Walter had a pair of assists in addition to his hat trick of goals. Cam Overby stopped 29 of the 38 shots he faced while his mates fired 39 at Victoria keeper Cameron Dunkerley.
The last-minute win was a contrast to the Saints’ 16-5 home floor romp over the Delta Islanders on Friday.
PoCo scored nine unanswered goals in the first period, then added four more in the second period before the Islanders were able to put a shot past Overby.
Foulds had three goals and five assists, while Garrett Winter and Ryland Rees also scored three times to lead the Saints’ scoring attack.
The Adanacs, meanwhile, won their ninth game in a row when they defeated the Nanaimo Timbermen, 11-7, at the Nanaimo Ice Centre on Saturday afternoon.
The Adanacs, who outshot their hosts 54-22, led 4-2 after the first period and 10-4 after the second period.
Kyle Nichols, John Hofseth and Will Clayton all had four-point games for the visitors while Larson Sundowns scored three goals.
