The Burnaby Lakers’ midget A-1 team came a goal-shy of making the provincial final, finishing the season with a 5-3 victory over Coquitlam to place third overall in Langley.
Burnaby took a quick lead on their archrival, with Ryan Nagy and Joshua Gabriele, with his first of two, striking for a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes. Coquitlam pounced in the second with two of their own to knot the game 2-2. The two teams traded goals before the middle frame was done, putting the spotlight on the third period.
Six minutes into the third Lexx Edwards propelled the Lakers back into a lead, and netminder Marc Russell-Rippberger closed the door to clinch the win.
Most of the squad had been part of a provincial championship, as 2017 bantam A victors. So expectations were high entering the tourney.
“Confidence was never an issue with this group, just finding motivation to compete for a bronze was tough,” head coach Jordan Gabriele said. “However, the second-year players and leaders of the team understood that if they could not win the gold, finishing off their minor lacrosse careers with a bronze medal, and a win over Coquitlam, was the second best option.”
Burnaby had pushed eventual champion Juan de Fuca hard in the semifinal, falling 3-2 in a tightly played contest. Trailing 1-0 in the first period, the Lakers pulled even on Joshua Gabriele’s goal six minutes into the middle frame. The Island team broke the stalemate with specialty team tallies in the third, before Gabriele made it close with five minutes remaining.
It was a reversal of their encounter in pool play, when Burnaby emerged with a 3-1 win, led by Russell-Rippberger stellar work. Marin notched two goals.
It was a rollercoaster ride in the round robin, as Burnaby posted a 2-3 record, dropping close games to Kamloops (8-7), Ridge Meadows (4-2) and Richmond (4-3) before stopping Coquitlam 5-1 to lock up a spot in the semifinal.
Defensively, the likes of Marcus Jantzen, Jacob Spartano, Taylor Nellis, Matteo De Angelis, and Giancarlo Garcea played huge roles on the back end.
Matteo De Angelis was named the team’s Warriors Fair Play Award recipient, while Gabriele carted off the Midget A-1 tourney MVP award. Earning all-star honours as well as the Zone 5 scholarship award was Russell-Rippberger.
The A-1 Lakers are: Xander Cabeca, Luca Cocco, Matteo De Angelis, Lexx Edwards, Sean Fox, Joshua Gabriele, Giancarlo Garcea, Ian Gee, Marcus Jantzen, Phillip Marin, Logan Mellish, Ryan Nagy, Dylan Negrich, Taylor Nellis, Nolan Rigazzi, Marc Russell-Rippberger, David Smith, Jacob Spartano, Corin Tan and Anthony Vargas. The coaches are Jordan Gabriele, Randy Jones, Cam Tucker and Lucas Greene.
