The Coquitlam Jr. Adanacs will head in to the B.C. Junior 'A' Lacrosse League post season as the top team in the league, after defeating the Delta Islanders Saturday night.
Coming off a loss Friday night in a first-place showdown with the New Westminster Salmonbellies, the A's needed the win to hang on to top spot in the league. It only took the Coquitlam club 45 seconds to get on the board in the must-win match, when Matt Delmonico put the ball past Islanders net minder David Mather.
Two goals from Wesley Berg and a power play marker from Jordan Gilles was enough to chase Mather, who was replaced by Delta backup Ryley Brown 10 minutes into the opening period.
Brown did not fair much better, as the Adanacs kept up the attack, shovelling four goals into the net before the first period came to an end.
In the second period, Delta was able to close the gap, scoring three unanswered tallies, while Coquitlam's scorers struggled to find the net.
However, the offensive continued in the final period, with two goals from Reid Reinholdt, Delmonico, Vincent Ricci, Tyler Garrison and Tyler Pace, winning the match 16-11.
Adanacs goalie Peter Dubenski stopped 23 of the 34 shots he faced in the game, while Berg and Delmonico both had hat tricks in the match.
Reinholdt was the scoring leader in the game, notching two goals and seven assists for nine points.
But if the Adanacs hope to go far in the post-season, they will have to find a way to defeat BCJALL second-place finishers the New Westminster Salmonbellies.
On Friday, Coquitlam lost a back-and-forth affair against the visiting Bellies, in a tightly played game that remained close until the dying minutes of the third.
Delmonico opened the scoring for the A's, followed by two goals from Steven Neufeld and a single from Reinholdt to finish the first period 4-4.
Neufeld potted two more in the second, along with a goal from Reinholdt, but the Adanacs could not put any distance between them and the Bellies, with both teams tied 7-7 going into the third.
Chase McIntyre scored for Coquitlam in the third period along with Vincent Ricci and Wesley Berg, but four goals from New West meant the Adanacs were down by one when the final buzzer rang.
A's goalie David DiRuscio stopped 39 of the 50 shots he faced in the match.
