The junior A Burnaby Lakers went out with a great, big bang.
The Lakers finished up their B.C. Junior Lacrosse League season with fireworks at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre, outscoring the Nanaimo Timbermen 17-12 to finish in a tie for sixth place.
Burnaby NOW’s league rookie of the year, Tyler Vogrig, scored an unofficial league-high five goals and eight assists to lead the Lakers.
Dave Mather, who gave up 12 goals on 30 shots in the first two period, buckled down in the final frame, blanking the T-Men the rest of the way.
The win, Burnaby’s fifth of the season, was a watermark in many ways for the resurgent club that was almost a dead franchise last year.
“In the last three weeks, they played some great lacrosse,” said first-year Burnaby coach Brad Parker, whose systems and demeanor helped put the club back on track. “They’re already talking about next year. Last year, they were talking about getting as far away from this place.”
But, that’s all changed.
Burnaby finished with a record of 5-15-1, but the final game proved in many ways the Lakers regard themselves as winners.
One example was the return of rookie righthander Aiden Milburn, who missed much of the second half of the season with a shoulder injury. Milburn risked further injury, returning to the lineup for the final game and scored his 34th goal of the year.
Burnaby’s knocked-up back end played Nanaimo with just two regular defenders but clamped down in the final period to help shut out the T-Men.
“You know what? They did what they were told. Our goalkeeper and our offence came through,” said Parker. “In the last three weeks, we’ve been in every game we played. And although we ran out of bodies, they have some confidence and they didn’t want to leave the floor tonight.”
That rare sight in junior lacrosse was in many ways the most telling observation of them all.
“It was a lot of fun and a good group of guys,” said Australian-born Matt Shields, who lives in Seattle and plays the field game in North Carolina. Shields scored a career-high four goal for Burnaby, including a natural hat trick in the middle period that tied the contest at 12-12.
Matthew Bailey, who stepped in for captain Peyton Lupul in the final game, said “It was good to be competitive and a lot more positive.”
“We’ve done two things,” Parker added. “We built confidence and we’ve built a system for them to play in. It took a while, … but they’ve accepted both. For a coach, it’s pretty rewarding. They’re looking at next year.”
But the final word went to Mather, who carried much of the load for the Lakers and sported a 78.18 save percentage this season.
“It’s been a long time since Burnaby’s been in the playoffs, but we’re going to get back there,” said Mather.
