For most of Wednesday night’s game, the Coquitlam Jr. Adanacs appeared to have things under control.
But for a few minutes in the third period, it looked like things could have gone either way in the Game 1 B.C. Jr. ‘A’ Lacrosse League playoff finals against the Delta Islanders.
After holding significant leads for most of the game — at one point the A’s were up 4-0 on the visitors — Delta managed to bring the score to within one before the second intermission, when Tre Leclaire scored on the power play to make it 7-6.
Islanders forward Chase Fraser managed to score two even-strength markers in the third — both tying goals — but the team could not find a way to take the lead.
Eventually, Coquitlam’s Cole Shafer potted the final goal of the game, to give the team a 9-8 lead, which they would take to the buzzer.
Shafer had a good night.
The first star of the game opened the scoring three-minutes into the first period, burying a feed from linemate Chris Cloutier.
Cloutier also got in on the scorign action, finding the back of the net three minutes later after taking a pass from Evan Wortley.
A third goal from Chase McIntyre and a fourth from Jordan Magnuson gave the team a strong early lead, which they would need when the Islanders began to rally in the second period.
Three goals in a row from Delta’s Tre Leclaire, Brad Hofmann and Jordan Gilles put the Islanders back in striking distance.
Only a goal from Coqutilam’s Jean-Luc Chetner interrupted the visitor’s barage, before the end of the second period.
But the Adanacs were not rattled.
As they have done in many games this season, the club calmly stuck to their game plan, notching their fourth win of the post-season and taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven final series.
The two teams will meet again on Saturday, July 25, at the Ladner Leisure Centre. The face off is at 7:30 p.m.
For more information go to www.bcjall.com.
@gmckennaTC
