It was a great three-game run.
Unfortunately, the Burnaby Lakers needed a fourth win to extend the season.
The Victoria Shamrocks advanced to the Western Lacrosse Association final Sunday with a 14-11 victory on their home floor, ending a strong Lakers’ push in the seven game series.
Having gone from a 3-0 hole into a seventh-and-deciding game, one could say this was a success story no matter what the ending. But Burnaby’s fate was sealed when the host Shamrocks unleashed a string of consecutive blows over the first two periods, flexing the formidable offensive skills that helped steer them to the 2015 Mann Cup title.
For Lakers head coach Rory McDade, the toughest blow came early when the host squad peeled off five straight goals to erase a 2-1 Burnaby lead and grab the wheel heading into the second period.
“I felt it kind of turned on us near the end of the first period when they got a couple (goals) in a row off a few mistakes,” said McDade. “I thought the second period was closer than the score indicated.”
Josh Byrne opened the scoring with a shorthanded effort 5:29 into the game, and while Victoria tied it just 28 seconds later, Burnaby was back in front midway through the frame when Robert Church counted his first of two.
The ‘Rocks responded three minutes later, and 24 seconds after tying it took the lead on Rhys Duch’s 21st goal of the series. Corey Small upped it to 4-2 barely a minute later, followed by two more 13 seconds apart with under a minute to go. While Burnaby got one back when Eli McLaughlin converted with netminder Zak Boychuk on the bench for an extra runner, the hill was obviously a huge one.
Victoria made it harder with the first three tallies of the middle frame, including a shorthanded one off the stick of Cory Conway, and added two more after Tyler Digby sniped one for the visitors.
Trailing 11-4 entering the third period, Burnaby inched closer when Scott Jones and McLaughlin found the back of the net early in the third.
Down by six with just 10 minutes left, the Lakers rolled the dice and played with an extra attacker and the goalie on the bench – resulting in three six-on-five goals within a 1:30 span. But Victoria replied to make it a four-goal gap, and the two teams trading markers the rest of the way.
“Pulling the goalie got us closer but when you do it regularly it’s only a matter of time when one goes against you,” noted McDade.
Victoria now goes on to defend its title in the WLA final against the Maple Ridge Burrards.
McLaughlin finished with three goals while Byrne scored once and set up six others. Church counted six points on the night, while Scott Jones netted two goals.
The ‘Rocks’ Duch proved to be too much to handle, tallying 22 goals and 18 assists over the seven-game series.
While the season is done, the overall take-away isn’t so much disappointment as it is optimism, said McDade.
“Being down 3-0 (in the series) and being down a multiple of times in Game 6 and coming back, that’s what I’m really proud of. We came through a lot of adversity and pushed them to seven (games).”
The Lakers, a solid defensive team to begin the year, gained cohesion on offence and hit its stride late in the season.
