Team BC put up a strong fight but couldn't fend off host Ontario in the final of the Canadian Peewee national box lacrosse championships last week in Whitby.
The B.C. boys, including 10 Tri-City players, struggled to find their legs and the net, falling 5-1 in the final.
"In the end, our boys ran out of gas," said Team BC head coach and PoCo resident Josh Wahl. "Team Ontario put constant pressure on us... [with] speed, [forced] turnovers and mistakes that we could not overcome."
Team BC went 6-2 in round-robin play, including posting a pair of shutouts -- 20-0 over Quebec and 23-0 over Newfoundland. Other Team BC victories came over Saskatchewan 10-1, Manitoba 12-1, Iroquois 5-3 and Nova Scotia 7-2, while succumbing to Alberta 6-3 and Ontario 5-2.
The squad of 12-year-olds then advanced to the semifinals and faced Alberta again. This time, Team BC came out firing, building a 6-0 lead and cruising to a 7-3 triumph.
"We knew we would see them again, watched video and came up with a new game plan," Wahl said. "The boys really stepped it up for this game and executed the game plan to a T. Hard work and perseverance paid off."
PoCo's Austin Wahl finished fourth in tournament scoring with 21 points, including 10 goals, in 10 games. He was right behind Surrey's Ty Ewen, who racked up 27 points and was named the first all-star team.
Other PoCo players on Team BC included Cameron Way, Nico Pace, Evan Wray, Brett Ginac, Mitch Bye and Pierce Ormiston, while those from Coquitlam were Gabe Procyk, Lucas Infanti and Daniel Chand.
Joining Josh Wahl on the bench were assistant coaches Dave Kidd of PoCo and New Westminster's Rich Catton.
"Our team defence and goaltending was outstanding all week, finishing with the second-best goals against," Josh Wahl said. "The boys deserve credit for being very disciplined as well, as we were the least penalized team in the tournament."
B.C.'s Midget and Bantam squads took home silver as well, with both having also lost in the final to Ontario.
