The Burnaby Lakers took over sole possession of third place in the West Coast Junior Lacrosse League following a 7-7 tie with the Delta Islanders on Monday.
Burnaby got the jump on the first-place Delta club, opening up a 5-1 lead after 20 minutes of play.
But the Islanders, playing before a home crowd at the Ladner Leisure Centre, clawed their way back into the contest, ending the middle period trailing by just one goal 6-5.
Delta tied the score six minutes into the final frame, but Burnaby's Kevan Galte regained the lead for the Lakers after a spectacular shorthanded goal.
Playing on the shortman midway through the period, Galte controlled the ball on a solo rag, beating three Delta defenders while circling the net and finally scoring the go-ahead goal on an over the shoulder shot before he was checked to the floor.
Galte finished the night with a four-point game.
The Islanders knotted the con-on a late power play.
Rookie Colin Galte and Ryan Lasaleta both scored two goals for the Lakers.
Younger brother Jason Lasaleta, one of two intermediate A cal-lups, had two assists in the draw. Aaron Roberts also had a two-point night, including a goal.
Rookie goalie Cody Gilliam had another strong game in net, stopping 41 Delta shots.
"We were not at our best last night, and Delta is very fast. But as I said, we really felt we should have won this game, but we made some errors," said Burnaby team manager Pam Johnson.
Hopefully we will come back stronger, she added.
With the tie, the Lakers moved one point ahead of the fourth-place Port Coquitlam Saints, with 13 points.
Delta continued to lead the pack with a record of 7-1-2, while the Coquitlam Adanacs are just a point behind, with a game in hand, at 7-1-1.
The 6-1-1 Lakers will take on the last-place Langley Warriors tonight (Friday) at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre. Game time is 8 p.m.
