B.C.’s bantam boys’ representative lacrosse team gave Ontario all it could handle at the Commissioners national championships.
Team B.C., including New West’s Cole Catton, Johnny Edin, captain Jordy Mahal and Finn Start, led from the opening goal but could not quite hold on before surrendering a 5-4 loss to Ontario late in the game in the gold-medal final at Queen’s Park Arena on Saturday.
Carter McKenzie scored the game-winning goal for the Ontario all-stars unassisted off a rebound on goal at 12:18 of the third period.
Earlier in the period, Brett Handsor knotted the game at 4-4 for the eventual champs.
Edin was B.C.’s game star, stopping 31 shots in the B.C. goal. Brett Underwood faced just 18 shots in the Ontario cage.
“I just did my best,” said Edin, who posted a .856 save percentage in the championship tournament coming into the final game. “It was amazing. It was one of the best things I’ve ever been to. I’d just do it again in a heartbeat.”
Hearts were certainly in the throats of the sizable crowd that took in the gold-medal game.
Jake Cantlon of Delta opened the scoring with his first of two goals. Connor Wilson of Juan de Fuca gave B.C. a 2-0 lead on a nice passing play from Mahal and Stark.
Stark closed out the period with his seventh goal and 11th point at the nationals.
Burnaby’s Sajjun Shokar set up Cantlon for a shorthanded breakaway goal midway through the second frame to help give B.C. a 4-2 advantage.
But Ontario kept up the attack, winning a lot of loose-ball battles in the later periods.
“We didn’t get enough quality shots,” said B.C. head coach Rich Catton.
Earlier in the week, Ontario beat B.C. 5-3 in the round-robin. B.C. edged Alberta 6-5 to advance to the gold-medal match. Edin stopped 20 shots in goal to get the win.
The unbeaten B.C. midget boys were runaway winners in their age group, defeating Alberta 14-2 to win the gold.
B.C. went a perfect 7-0 and compiled 105 goals for with just seven goals against.
Burnaby’s Mackenzie Burns recorded four goals and two assists for B.C. in the tournament.
The B.C. peewee team, including Kai George of New West and Burnaby’s Thomas Vela, was beaten 8-2 by Ontario in the final.
B.C. got by Alberta 5-2 to make it into the gold-medal game. Vela had a big game in B.C.’s opening 18-1 win over Nova Scotia, scoring two goals and adding two assists. George had two goals and two assists in B.C. wins over Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
