For the second game in a row, the Coquitlam Adanacs overcame a sluggish start to defeat the Victoria Shamrocks 8-4 on Sunday at the Save-On Foods Memorial Centre and take a 2-0 stranglehold on their BC Junior A Lacrosse League playoff series.
Trailing 3-1 halfway through the first period, the Adanacs stormed back with three straight goals — two of them by recently-acquired Dylan Foulds — to take a 4-3 lead into the game’s first intermission.
Marshal King got the Shamrocks back on even terms five minutes into the second period, but a minute later a goal by Coquitlam’s Larson Sundown sparked a four-goal run by the visitors that gave them their victory.
Sundown and Foulds each had a pair of goals along with an assist to lead the Adanacs scorers, while John Hofseth counted a goal and two assists.
Coquitlam keeper Christian Del Bianco stopped 34 of the 38 shots he faced.
In Saturday afternoon’s series opener at the Poirier Sport and Leisure Centre, the Adanacs spotted the visiting Shamrocks the first three goals of the game and trailed 6-2 late in the second period before storming back with six unanswered goals and an 8-6 win.
Coquitlam’s Colin Munro launched the comeback when he beat Shamrocks’ goalie Cameron Dunkerley with 2:34 left in the second period. Will Clayton then made it 6-4 when he scored 1:18 later.
Sundown got the Adanacs back to within a goal just 42 seconds into the third period and Hofseth tied it when he converted a set up from Munro seven minutes after the break.
Just over a minute later Ethan Ticehurst scored the game winner while Gabe Procyk’s goal with 6:15 left on the clock provided some insurance.
The Adanacs outshot the Shamrocks, 50-38.
Game three of the best-of-five series will be played Saturday at 2 p.m. in Coquitlam while the fourth game — if necessary — is scheduled for next Sunday in Victoria.
Meanwhile, the Port Coquitlam Saints’ search for a new direction heading into the playoffs may take them right out of their first round series against the New Westminster Salmonbellies after they dropped the first two games, 8-6 on Friday and 6-2 on Sunday. The third game of the best-of-five matchup will be played tonight (Tuesday) at New Westminster’s Queen’s Park Arena.
The Saints, who finished the regular season in third place with 13 wins, six losses and a pair of ties, went into their semi-final series with a new coaching staff after bench boss Kelly Scott was abruptly replaced by Dan Stroup and Josh Wahl. That move came a week after PoCo traded its leading scorer, Foulds, to the Adanacs.
Saints owner Reg Thompson said the team had to “find out what direction we’re going to go in.”
After squandering a 5-1 lead in the first period to fall 8-6 to the Salmonbellies in the series opener, the Saints struggled to generate any offence in Sunday’s second game at the PoCo Rec Centre.
The hosts trailed 3-1 after the first period, 4-2 after two periods and then surrendered two unanswered goals in the final frame.
Brodie Gillespie and Carson Rees were the only Saints to beat Bellies keeper Erik Kratz, who stopped 39 of the 41 shots he faced.
Sr. Adanacs fall to Bellies
The last place Coquitlam Adanacs outscored the first place New Westminster Salmonbellies 6-4 in the third period of their Western Lacrosse Association game, Saturday at the Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex.
Unfortunately they went into the frame down 9-3 and lost their 12th game of the season, 13-9.
Despite being at opposite ends of the league standings, the Adanacs put up a game fight against their top-ranked visitors, trailing by only a goal, 3-2, after the first period.
Justin Goodwin made it 4-2 early in the second period, but Leighton Gibson kept the Adanacs within striking distance when he scored just over two minutes later.
But 24 seconds after that, the wheels fell off as New Westminster’s Jason Jones — with his second goal of the game — scored the first of five in a row by the visitors, who’ve only lost three times all season.
Gibson had a goal and four assists and Dean Fairall had five assists to lead all Coquitlam scorers, while Matt Delmonico and Brett Kujala each had four-point nights.
The Adanacs play the Maple Ridge Burrards at Cam Neely Arena in Maple Ridge tonight (Tuesday).
Minor teams bring home medals
The only thing certain about the gold medal game at the female bantam lacrosse championships, played Sunday at the North Surrey Recreation Centre, was a team from Coquitlam would win.
Coquitlam #2 defeated Coquitlam #3 4-2 to take the title while their civic rivals won silver.
Coquitlam #1 won silver in the PeeWee championship, after they lost 5-4 to Ridge Meadows #2 in their final.
In the Junior final, Port Coquitlam came home with silver medals after dropping their championship game, 7-6, to New Westminster.
At the boys’ PeeWee provincial championships held in Coquitlam last weekend, Port Coquitlam beat Nicola Valley 5-4 to take gold in the C final while Coquitlam earned a bronze in the A division with a 7-6 win over Ridge Meadows.
