The Burnaby Lakers made the best of a provincial championship opportunity this weekend. The A2 Lakers, a middleof-the-pack team during the regular season, snuck into the championship finals and came away with a bronze medal following a 7-6 overtime win against Kelowna at the South Delta rec centre on Sunday.
Trailing by two goals late in the game and to start the 10-minute extratime period, on both occasions Burnaby managed to find a way to come back.
"It was just a tight field.
It was pretty amazing," said Burnaby head coach Trevor Leland.
In the consolation final, Ryan Rothwell completed the third-period comeback, knottng the score in the last minute of play to send the match into extra time.
Nathan Howes then completed a second straight two-goal rally, potting the game-winner with approximately a minute left in OT.
Bantam B callup Chi Chuku held the fort in goal the rest of the way to ensure the Lakers of a medal.
"(Chi) played like an A1 player. He kept us in the game. They were pelting up pretty good there," Leland added.
Burnaby advanced to the final four despite a 1-2 record in pool play, including an 8-7 win over Port Moody in the opening game.
The A2s also lost a pair of tight one-goal games - 7-6 to Surrey and 4-3 to eventual champion Campbell River.
"They took it to a whole other level in the playoffs," Leland said of the overachieving A2 Lakers. Tyler Eckert, Joel Sinclair, Anthony Benevoli and Christian Buono all had particularly strong showings all tournament long for the Lakers. Basil Cooper was named Burnaby's fair play award winner.
Campbell River won the gold in the A2 division, beating Richmond 9-6.
