The Burnaby Lakers scored an all-important Western Lacrosse Association win by the skin of their teeth.
The senior A Lakers got the goalkeeping they needed from Tyler Richards and a goal they wanted from Casey Jackson in overtime to defeat the Coquitlam Adanacs 7-6 at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre on Friday.
In a game many in attendance believed Burnaby had no business winning, the Lakers came on in the final 20 minutes to take its first lead of the game on Jason Jones’ second goal of the game at 17:40 of the third period.
That lead was erased by Matt Delmonico a minute later, but Richards was perfect after that, stopping all eight Coquitlam shots in the 10-minute extra time.
Jackson beat first-star Adam Shute with a high shot to the far corner on a power play at 2:33.
“It was rough out there,” admitted Jackson after the game. “Some guys thrive on it, but eventually by the third period the ball started to drop for us.”
The win was an important one for the Lakers. It put off the outcome of the season series with the A’s until the team’s final home game on Aug. 1.
It also left Burnaby needing just one more win in its final three regular season games to ensure the Lakers finish ahead of Langley in playoff positioning.
But with just two weeks left in the campaign, and the way the Burnaby offence continues to flounder, nothing is certain at this point.
In fact, New Westminster, also with three games left to play and four points back of the Lakers, holds the season-series trump card over Burnaby.
Burnaby stumbled through the first period trailing 2-1, but did manage to momentarily tie the score 3-3 on Jones’ first of the night on a transition tally midway through the middle frame.
Most of the praise had to go to the Burnaby back end for keeping Coquitlam at bay and Richards, who turned away 39 shots for his fifth win of the year.
Jackson said it’s a source of pride for the Lakers to win in their own arena and this season has been a struggle. Friday’s victory was just the third W in eight starts at home this year.
“Maybe it got to us after a few losses and we’re holding out sticks too tight,” he admitted. “But when it’s this close, losing any game is heartbreaking. … I think every game is a must-win. We know it has playoff implications. We want to show we can come out and dominate.”
The Lakers are 5-1 on the road this season and travel to Vancouver Island this weekend for a two-game set against Victoria on Friday and Nanaimo on Saturday.
