The Burnaby Lakers moved out of the basement of the B.C. Junior Lacrosse League with an 8-6 win over Langley on Sunday.
The junior A Lakers started quickly, jumping out to a 4-0 lead after the first period and upped that advantage to 5-0 on a goal by Justin Appels to start the second stanza.
But a natural hat trick by Langley’s Duston Doudelet made it a more interesting contest the rest of the way.
“It’s been a bunch of ups and downs for our team, so this was really crucial for us,” said transition runner Corey Wong, who tallied a pair of goals, including the game-winner at 57 seconds of the final period.
Rookie under-age junior Tyler Vogrig also potted a pair of goals, while older brother Ryan led the Lakers with a four-point outing, including his third counter of the season.
Appels and captain Peyton Lupul also collected three points in the win for Burnaby.
David Mather was solid in goal with 33 stops for Burnaby.
The victory improved Burnaby’s record to date to 3-9-1, sixth best in the eight-team loop.
After coming off a streak of just one tie in its last eight games, the Lakers badly needed to get back into the win column.
“Honestly, I feel our coach stresses we have a positive mindset and it’s helped us going forward,” said Wong. “We’re coming together. It’s a big part of why we could pull off a win tonight.”
Burnaby will need every ounce of that positivity heading into a weekend of back-to-back games against the 6-5-1 Victoria Shamrocks.
It doesn’t get any easier for the Lakers, looking past this week and to the next three weeks of the schedule.
Three of Burnaby’s final six games of the season are against either Coquitlam or New Westminster.
“We’re moulding as a team, so we’re doing a lot better in general, Wong added.
Burnaby takes on Victoria at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre on Sunday at 5 p.m.
