The Coquitlam Sr. Adanacs picked the right time to get on a roll.
The Adanacs are riding a five-game win streak as they head into a Western Lacrosse Association playoff matchup with the Langley Thunder.
"I think the guys have all bought into playing as a team and they're moving the ball really well. Our D has always been good but I think we've just kind of shored up that area," said Adanacs head coach Bob Salt.
Coquitlam's change in fortunes comes following a major shakeup in which goalie and reigning league MVP Nick Rose was dealt to Langley along with Dane Dobbie and Damon Edwards.
"We're basically a new team here from a couple weeks ago. I think I was the only guy who thought we had a decent team," said Salt. "Everybody seems to think I was rebuilding, I wasn't rebuilding. Guys wanted to leave so they left. I'm not going to coax anybody to come play for us."
Salt said the team bought into his message that the playoffs were not out of reach. And as the Adanacs began to reel off victories, the confidence became contagious. The Adanacs take that confidence to Langley Thursday night where they square off against the first-place Thunder.
"I think Langley is a terrific lacrosse team, obviously. We've got to play our best game and they've got to be off a little bit for us to beat them," said Salt, who wants to see a physical game from his defence.
"I think we're going to be very aggressive and hopefully it's the hardest they've been checked all year because our defence is like that right now. I think they're going to be in for a bit of a war and we welcome it."
The best-of-seven series continues with Game 2 in Coquitlam Tuesday at 7:45 p.m.
The Adanacs punched their ticket to the playoffs with a 7-6 win over the New Westminster Salmonbellies Thursday night at Queen's Park.
"I thought the Bellies outplayed us for most of the game but our guys hung in there. They had us 4-2 and I thought if they get 5-2 we're in trouble but we kept to our game plan and then we got some big goals from a few guys," said Salt.
Daryl Veltman notched a pair for Coquitlam, who also got scoring from Matt MacGrotty, Ryan Keith, Brandon Goodwin, Matt Wilson and Marty Dinsdale. Adam Shute turned aside 41 shots for the win.
Coquitlam wrapped up the season with a 13-12 win over the Burnaby Lakers.
"We started really bad. I think we were still thinking about Thursday," said Salt. "But we had a terrific second period (outscoring the Lakers 10-2). We showed we have a lot of spunk and don't seem to ever throw the towel in."
Travis Cornwall led the Adanacs' attack with four goals, while Ryan Johnson supplied a hat trick and Mark Negrin and Brett Hickey each chipped in a pair. Mike Berekoff and Travis Irving also scored for Coquitlam, with Shute making 36 saves.
