The result wasn’t a shock, but that didn’t make it any more palatable.
Although the sweep at the hands of the New Westminster Salmonbellies was predicted by many around the B.C. Junior A Lacrosse League circle, the resolve that the PoCo Saints demonstrated over the three games revealed a lot to their coach.
“We didn’t quit. That was a pretty talented New West team, and with all the stuff PoCo’s been through (the players) played hard and didn’t give up,” noted Dan Stroup, who was installed as a co-coach just four days before the playoffs began. “I was impressed with the guys’ perseverance.”
They did persevere, but New West looked like a team that wanted to end the best-of-five series quickly on Tuesday.
The ’Bellies scored the game’s first nine goals and applied plenty of pressure on PoCo netminder Cam Overby, who faced 51 shots.
While the score stood at 1-0 for much of the first period, Nathaniel Kozevnikov doubled it with six minutes left, and was followed by a four-goal flurry to make it 6-0 after 20 minutes.
Brodie Gillespie, Carson Rees and Daytin Vidovich counted the Saints goals.
Stroup, who shared head coaching duties with Josh Wahl after Kelly Scott was unceremoniously usurped after guiding the club to a 13-6-2 record, said the squad faced an uphill battle each game but had a great attitude.
“(New West) came out quickly, they’re pretty deep and anyone on that (offensive) end can score. These PoCo guys have been through a lot. I’ve been only there a couple of weeks but I can see they’re passionate lacrosse players and they never give up. They didn’t give up and we tried to battle through it,” said Stroup.
The players saw two of its leaders dealt at the July trading deadline when team scoring leader Dylan Foulds and standout transition player Ryland Rees, who is currently playing for Canada at the World Field Lacrosse championships in Israel, were dealt, along with Graydon Bradley, to first-place Coquitlam for the Adanacs’ first picks in the midget draft in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
General manager Ken Woollard said Tuesday that while the moves were difficult to make they were vital to securing a strong future for the Saints program going forward.
“We had to do it. Those draft picks are going to be a big part of the future,” said Woollard.
Although PoCo went out in three straight, the underdogs did have a moment in the sun, at least for 44 minutes in Game 1. They led 5-1 after the first period, and were up 6-4 entering the third before New West’s high octane offence began to mesh.
Among the ’Belles top players over the three games was former Saint Keegan Bell, dealt to New West in the offseason. He scored a goal in each game and was one of many New West players to help fill in for scoring star Tre Leclaire, who joined Rees at the world championships. Both Rees and Leclaire are expected back next week.
Having played with a majority of the players while growing up in PoCo minor lacrosse, Bell said he understood how PoCo’s players were feeling heading into the offseason.
“Last year I was on the other end of this sweep (with PoCo),” said Bell. “I know every one of them. It definitely feels a lot better being on the winning side of it, not having to have an early summer. I have lots of respect for everyone in that locker room, and I have to thank the (PoCo) management again for getting me to New West and a chance at a playoff run.”
Stroup, who regularly had to battle New West coach Rich Catton and Coquitlam coach Pat Coyle during a hall-of-fame career in the Western Lacrosse Association, said he expects the league final – should the Adanacs finish off Victoria this weekend, after taking a 2-0 lead in their semifinal – to be a tough one.
“It’ll be a good series. New West is deep but Coquitlam is quite deep,” said Stroup. “(Catton) has a good team and (Coyle) has got a good team – I know I’ll be watching to see how it ends.”
