The Burnaby Lakers cut through some knots in the timber to post their first win of the B.C. Junior Lacrosse League season.
The junior A Lakers allowed five shorthanded markers, including the fifth, which sent the game into overtime, before scoring a 13-10 victory over the visiting Nanaimo Timbermen at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre on Mothers' Day.
The T-Men's fifth shorthanded goal came on a delayed penalty with less than a minute to play that tied the contest 9-9.
But Burnaby came out in the extra time and executed well, taking the lead 28 seconds into OT on a goal from off-season acquisition Trenton Matsuzaki.
Three minutes later, Captain Jaeden Gastaldo potted the eventual game-winner on an inside pick.
"We didn't play a full 60 minutes, but we got the win," said Gastaldo, who leads the club with nine points after a five-point outing Sunday. "We were lucky. We worked hard when we needed it."
The match had plenty of ups and downs for the Lakers, who have struggled in the goal-scoring department in their first two games.
Off-season acquisition Kris Liset scored the first of a career-high five goals to give Burnaby a 4-1 lead in the opening minutes of the middle frame.
But Nanaimo took advantage of some sloppy Laker defending and special teams to score six times on 14 shots to knot the contest at 7-7 heading into the final period.
Dale Mushinski scored a shorthanded tally for Burnaby and Liset bagged his fourth of the game, both unassisted, to put the Lakers up a pair with seven minutes left to play. But even that was not enough.
Xander McDonald had a tough outing in goal for Burnaby, particularly in the second period, but buckled down in OT to register the win.
"It definitely helped getting our offence back," said Gastaldo. "We got swept by Nanaimo last season. We're going in as big underdogs this season."
But that lowly moniker is welcomed by Gastaldo and the club.
"I love hearing people say, 'Burnaby isn't going to win any games. But we're going to surprise a lot of teams."
With Simon Fraser University field lacrosse player Colton Dow contributing a goal and five assists to the offence, and first-year Tyler Buchan adding a pair of goals in his first game with the juniors Burnaby's offence is on more solid ground.
"Hard work beats talent, big time. If we can work on the hard work, we could surprise teams," Gastaldo said.
Burnaby has a busy week ahead of them, visiting unbeaten Coquitlam tonight (Wednesday) before taking on Delta on Saturday and hosting the Adanacs in a rematch on Sunday.
