It was a tough weekend of new lessons learned for the junior A Burnaby Lakers.
Hot off their first two wins of the B.C. Junior Lacrosse League season and a player of the week nod to goalie David Mather last week, Burnaby surrendered wins to bottom-table teams Port Coquitlam and Nanaimo.
On May 16, the Lakers lost 12-9 in overtime to the previously winless PoCo Saints. On Sunday, Burnaby failed to close out a comeback rally against Nanaimo, dropping a 10-9 decision in the final minutes.
“I think we still have to build our confidence after last year. We have to learn how to close out leads and learn to bury teams,” said first-year junior Aidan Milburn.
Milburn was named the B.C. league player of the week, scoring seven goals and tallying 12 points in his last two outings.
Milburn is third overall in league scoring and currently leads the eight-team loop with 17 goals.
The lanky righthander potted his fourth hat trick of the season against Nanaimo, helping to spark a five-goal middle frame to get the Lakers back into a game they very nearly squandered following a 7-3 first-period deficit.
But despite taking a 9-7 lead on aged-up rookie Tyler Vogrig’s second of the game six minutes into the final period, Nanaimo fought its way back, scoring three times, the final pair coming with the help of the referee’s whistle late in the game.
Nanaimo outshot Burnaby 20-9 in the third period.
In PoCo, Milburn and Randy Jones both scored four times, but the Lakers came up goalless in extra time when it counted most.
“We have to come out and ready to win,” Milburn added. “We just have to move forward, remember the losses but move on and play our game.”
Burnaby play New Westminster at Queen’s Park Arena today (Tuesday). Game time is 8 p.m.
