One could tell from the first shot on goal that the Burnaby Lakers had turned a page on their worst-ever junior A lacrosse season.
After finishing 2013 with an abysmal 1-20-0 record and a club in disarry, the new-look Lakers surprised everyone in attendance, including the defending league champion Coquitlam Adanacs, before succumbing 14-11 in their B.C. Junior Lacrosse League home opener at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre on Sunday.
Team captain Peyton Lupul set up first-year righty Aidan Milburn for the first of his four goals to open the scoring. Lupul also drew a helper on first overall midget draft pick Tyler Vogrig’s 2-0 tally on a power play.
The Lakers won the opening period 4-3 despite being outshot 22-11, thanks in part to the play of goalie David Mather, who was picked up in an off-season trade from Delta.
Randy Jones, who was also part of the deal with Delta, picked up two goals and added four assists to tie Milburn as the top Burnaby pointgetters.
But there were more positives on the floor, including how Burnaby responded in the latter half of the middle frame after Coquitlam opened the period on a 5-0 run.
Vogrig, Milburn and Scott Petursson, with his first of two goals, replied to bring the deficit down to a single score.
In the final frame, Burnaby continued to chip away at the A’s lead, tying the contest 11-11 on Jones’ second of the game.
“For these guys, (the way they responded), it’s huge,” said head coach and former Burnaby Cablevision star Brad Parker. “To hold Coquitlam to 11 with eight minutes left to go (was like) we’re off to the Minto.”
For Parker, who earlier helped consolidate the New Westminster franchise as a coach at the intermediate and junior A levels, it had to feel like a moral victory.
“We had ’em. … But we have a long way to go. It’s a real change in culture – confidence is fragile … but tonight was a really good start.”
Last season, a performance like Sunday’s would have been impossible, and it even had some in attendance ready to give Parker coach of the year for what he and his coaching staff have accomplished in so short a time.
But Parker was not ready to accept any charity.
“I don’t like to lose and I want to be competitive with the other teams. We made a big step tonight, but we have lots of work ahead of us,” he said.
