EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was published prior to the team annoucing it had fired head coach Jim Milligan. For more on that story, see Lakers change coaches on brink of playoffs.
In the topsy-turvy world of the Western Lacrosse Association, there is not much separating the top-four teams as they rev their engines in preparation for the upcoming playoffs.
For the Burnaby Lakers, finishing first or second in the standings would be a feather in their cap – but one easily plucked should they not carry it through with a lengthy playoff run.
If it means racing a virtual-reality shark, the Lakers are ready to one-up Olympian Michael Phelps.
By handling the visiting Victoria Shamrocks 7-4 last Friday at the Bill Copeland Sports Complex, Burnaby demonstrated the form it will take to move up the ladder.
The victory also officially clinched a playoff berth.
“For us, the focus for everyone was on just doing the job, making each shift count every time you’re out there,” remarked veteran Dane Stevens, who tallied twice in a game Burnaby never trailed.
Most of the offence came in the first period. Goals by Jackson Decker, Stevens and Eli McLaughlin put the home team in front before the 10-minute mark. The teams traded goals midway through the frame, before Victoria made it a one-goal game with tallies by Chris Wardle and league scoring leader Corey Small just 1:09 apart.
But the Lakers replied just 29 seconds after Small scored with a pair of goals off the sticks of Matt Beers and McLaughlin.
McLaughlin completed the hat trick with a powerplay marker halfway through the game.
While the Shamrocks added another goal, they were stymied the rest of the night – including all 21 shots in the third – by netminder Eric Penney. The Laker goalie turned aside 53 shots, as Burnaby improved to 9-5-1 – three points back of first-place Maple Ridge but with two games in hand, and three games remaining in the schedule.
Victoria and New West sit tied for second overall at 21 points, but the Lakers hold games in hand on each of them.
It’s now up to Burnaby to make those count.
The wins were timely assertions, especially coming after two disappointing losses, to New West and Maple Ridge, a week earlier.
“I felt we didn’t have the focus we needed the previous couple of games, so it was great to see us come out early,” said Stevens.
For his part, the veteran forward came to the rink earlier than normal to prepare for the big game, and was eager to play as big a role as needed.
“For me, it’s about just trying to make the smart play, and sometimes that’s just to shoot,” Stevens said.
Burnaby’s next test is Friday when they return the favour and head over to Victoria, where a boisterous, large crowd of Shamrock fans will be on their case from the opening faceoff.
Having split the head-to-head series to date – Victoria beat Burnaby 11-6 in Lakers’ season opener – only adds another level of importance to Friday’s tilt. But as Stevens noted, when the squads met in last year’s semifinal the Lakers erased a 3-0 series deficit and forced a seventh game (where Victoria prevailed in the end).
“We know we can win there,” he said. “(Last week’s loss) will be motivation for them but we will try to come out the same way and silence the crowd a bit.”
On Saturday, Burnaby heads north to play in Nanaimo, before wrapping up the regular season next Tuesday when they host the last place Langley Thunder.
For this weekend, the team is expected to finally have all its best players on the floor. Josh Byrne, who has missed all but one game this season due to his commitment to Chesapeake of the Major Lacrosse League, has to dress the final three games to meet the league minimum of four games played to be eligible for the playoffs.
A similar scenario means Tyler Digby has to play two of the final three games to qualify for post-season play. Both Byrne and Digby are offensive game-breakers who would add to the Lakers’ Mann Cup credentials.
“As we get closer to having a full roster I think our confidence is growing, too,” said Stevens. “Players like (Byrne) and (Digby) are huge additions, in and out of the room. ... The key to succeeding I feel is hard work, and we’ve always had that. Guys like (Shaun Dhaliwal) are going hard every night.”
