New Westminster Jr. Salmonbellies are putting up the fight of their lives and it's still not enough to take the punch out of the Coquitlam Jr. Adanacs.
The defending Minto Cup-champion Jr. A's scored five goals on just nine shots in the second period to fend off the Jr. 'Bellies 10-7 Monday at the Poirier Sports and Leisure Complex to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven B.C. Jr. 'A' lacrosse league playoff final series.
Game 4 goes tonight (Wednesday) at Queen's Park Arena, with Game 5 slated for Saturday, 8 p.m., back in Coquitlam. The series winner will represent B.C. at this year's Minto Cup tournament in Okotoks, Alta.
The Jr. A's snapped a 1-1 deadlock after the first period by out-scoring New West 9-6 the rest of the way, keyed by four goals from Ben McIntosh. Other Coquitlam marksmen were Ryan Johnson, Travis Cornwall, Patrick Omeara, Kevin Neufeld, Chancy Johnson and Jackson Decker, who added four assists. Brandon Bertoia supplied three helpers for the winners.
"Lacrosse is a momentum game and it can swing at any time," said Jr. A's veteran Michael Krgovich, who assisted on Johnson's second-period goal as Coquitlam erupted for five goals in a 3:22 span to take a 6-1 margin before the Jr. 'Bellies started to claw back. "The other team is going to score goals, it's just a matter of how you handle it and I thought we did that well. I'm proud of the way we played."
New West actually out-shot the Jr. A's 43-30, with Coquitlam goalie Steve Fryer turning in a stellar 36-save performance.
Keegan Bal and Reagan Harding each tallied twice for the Jr. 'Bellies, who got singles from Mark Negrin, Brandon Goodwin and Justin Salt.
The Jr. A's finished the regular season a perfect 21-0, while New West was next at 16-5. That matters little now, Krgovich said.
"It's a whole different mindset playing to get into the Minto Cup," said Krgovich, whose dad, John, is a former Sr. Salmonbellie standout. "Things that happen in the regular season don't always happen in playoffs. Things are tighter now and one play can turn things around fast.
"Any time you can steal home-court advantage back is great. But we're going into a hostile environment Wednesday and it's not going to be an easy game. It's been a tough series so far and I expect it to continue. We can't sit back and expect to succeed. We have to earn it."
On Saturday, the Jr. A's evened the series 1-1 with a 6-4 triumph in New West.
Coquitlam led 3-2 after the first period and the teams were knotted 4-4 after two before Omeara bagged what proved the winner at 4:52 of the third. Bertoia netted his second goal of the game with an insurance marker at the 10:22 mark. Matthew Dinsdale also struck net twice for the winners, while Decker also scored. Cornwall and Casey Jackson dished out three assists apiece. The Jr. A's outshot the Jr. 'Bellies 45-37, with Fryer blocking 33 shots.
New West stole Game 1 of the series 7-6 last Wednesday in Coquitlam.
