The Burnaby Lakers took the high road in their 13-5 first-round playoff win over the Port Coquitlam Saints at home on Monday.
The junior B Lakers jumped out to an early 6-0 lead and led 7-2 after the opening period en route to victory in the first game of the West Coast Junior Lacrosse League best-ofthree series.
Burnaby could wrap up the series with a victory in PoCo on Thursday (after NOW deadlines).
Cody Gilliam, who ranked among the top goalies in the league this season, was stellar again, backstopping the win with 66 saves in the game.
Gilliam, who played every minute for the Lakers this season, led the league in shots on goal with 903 this year. His 0.848 save percentage was the best in the league among starting goalies.
Kevan Galte, who posted a league-high 5.07 points per game, led Burnaby with two goals and two assists.
Goal-scoring champion Aaron Roberts chipped in with three points, including a pair of goals. Roberts led all league shooters with 47 markers this season.
Scott Petursson, who finished fifth in overall scoring and third in total assists this season, added five more helpers in a sixpoint night against the Saints.
Petursson engineered the prettiest goal of the evening, headmanning the ball, while lying prone on the floor to Franco Coporale, who made a quick passs to Roberts for a spectacular finish.
Colin Galte also added a pair of tallies. Newcomer Matt Shields got a shorthanded goal and an assist in his junior Laker debut. Callup Aidan Milburn also had one of each.
Matt Lee and Brenden Brauer garnered a rare point each for the Lakers.
Burnaby outscored PoCo 3-2 in the middle frame to lead 10-4 heading into the final 20 minutes.
The B's also put up three goals to PoCo's two in the final stanza, despite spending 22 minutes to the Saints' eight in the penalty box.
"For the first time this season we had a full bench. It felt great," said Burnaby team manager Pam Johnson.
If necessary, a Game 3 will be played at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre on Saturday at 8 p.m. In another first-round series, North Shore upset league champion Delta 8-5 on Tuesday to knot that series at 1-1.
