The Coquitlam Adanacs will play for the Minto Cup.
But to win it, they’ll have to defeat the only team that beat them in the tournament’s elimination round.
The Adanacs defeated the Okotoks Raiders 11-5 in Sunday’s semi final showdown between the second and third place teams. Coquitlam had to play that game after they lost to the Ontario champion Brampton Excelsiors 12-9 on Saturday. Brampton finished the tournament undefeated and earned a bye into the best-of-five final.
The Adanacs thumped the Raiders 12-7 earlier in the tournament, largely on the strength of a nine-goal first period. But Sunday, the Alberta champions hung tough through the first period as a late goal by Okotoks’ Brett McIntyre sent the teams to the dressing room for the first intermission deadlocked at four goals each.
Less than three minutes into the second period, the Adanacs had a two goal advantage after Dennon Armstrong scored his second of the game followed 1:07 later with another from Larson Sundown.
Carter Brand got the Raiders back to within a goal but Colin Munro restored Coquitlam’s margin with 40 seconds to play in the frame.
The third period belonged to BC Junior A Lacrosse League’s most valuable player Christian Del Bianco, who stopped all 17 shots he faced while his teammates put four goals past Raiders’ keeper Elijah Uema-Martin to send the Adanacs to the final that begins on Tuesday in Calgary.
Dylan Foulds had six points, including a pair of goals, to lead Coquitlam’s attack. Sundown, Armstrong, Chase Scanlan and Ethan Ticehurst each had three-point nights.
The Brampton Excelsiors will be making their first appearance in a Minto Cup final since 2009, when they were defeated by the Orangeville Northmen in a three-game series. The Adanacs won the Minto Cup in 2016, but were defeated last year in a best-of-five final by the Six Nations Arrows in three straight games.
