Purple and gold, and silver.
It's one colour better than the last nationals appearance for the Coquitlam Adanacs, who claimed second place at the Canadian junior 'B' lacrosse championships this past weekend — known as the Founders Cup.
The A's came close to claiming B.C.'s first tournament title in more than 50 years, but fell to the Nepean Knights (Ontario) in a tight-knit 7-6 gold-medal match on Sunday (Aug. 21).
Coquitlam won the bronze in the 2019 national championship — the two that followed were cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The promotion capped off an incredible run for the Adanacs, who won the Tier 1 regional title in an upset final series' win over first-place Victoria after finishing third in the 2022 season standings with a record of 14-4.
They went on to defeat the Kamloops Venom to win the provincial championship and earn the right to represent B.C. in Brampton, Ont.
Coquitlam went on to finish with a 4-2 record at at Founders Cup, tallying 50 goals over the six games at Century Gardens Arena.
Brendan Murray combined for 16 points, including nine goals and seven assists, in five matches to lead the A's on the stats sheet.
Jaxon Dillon scored a tournament-high 10 goals for the Adanacs at the tournament, while Marcello Mannarino recorded the most helpers (10).
On the other side of the box, Jacob Wheatley was named the best defensive player, while Jack Kask was named the all-star goaltender at nationals.
The Adanacs' game-by-game results are as follows:
- 7-6 loss to Nepean Knights (final)
- 8-6 win over Onondaga RedHawks
- 13-5 win over Saskatoon SWAT
- 13-10 win over Edmonton Warriors
- 7-5 win over Brampton Excelsiors
- 8-3 loss to Nepean Knights
Next year, the Founders Cup is coming to Port Coquitlam after the city won its bid to host the 2023 tournament in June.
The Saints will get an automatic invite to the national junior 'B' championship, which is set to take place at the Port Coquitlam Community Centre (PCCC) from Aug. 14 to 20, 2023.
