Could a changing of the guard be nigh in the BC Junior A Lacrosse League?
The Port Coquitlam Saints scored the last four goals of the game to erase a 4-1 deficit and defeat the Coquitlam Adanacs 5-4 Wednesday at the Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex.
It’s the second loss of the season for the defending league champions — double the single setback they suffered last season — and drops them to fourth place in the league standings, a point behind the Saints and Victoria Shamrocks, and five points back of the leading New Westminster Salmonbellies.
The Adanacs opened the scoring less than three minutes into the game when Kyle Nichols converted a pass from Ty Yanko and beat Port Coquitlam keeper Cam Overby.
Dylan Kellough got the visitors on even terms before the first period was half over. But the Adanacs scored the next three —two of them by Chase Scanlan — to take a 4-1 lead early in the second period.
That’s when a determined Saints’ team wrested control of the game.
Clark Walters made it 4-2 with a power play goal midway through the second period, then Garrett Winter got the Saints to within a goal when he scored less than three minutes later.
PoCo tied it with 2:39 left in the second period as Ryland Rees scored on the power play with the Adanacs’ Josh Goble cooling his heals in the box for a holding penalty.
The Saints fired 20 shots at Coquitlam keeper Christian Del Bianco in the second period while Overby faced only eight.
PoCo continued to press in the third period, again outshooting their hosts 15-11. They finally broke through with a minute-and-a-half left in regulation time as Walters scored his second goal of the game to put the Saints in front.
Overby stopped 34 of the 38 shots he faced in the Saints’ net, while his teammates fired 46 shots at Del Bianco.
The Adanacs play the Langley Thunder, in Langley, on Thursday and they’ll face the Victoria Shamrocks at the Q Centre on Saturday afternoon.
The Saints will host the Delta Islanders Friday, at 8 p.m. at the PoCo rec centre.
