The Burnaby Lakers scored their biggest win of the B.C. Junior Lacrosse League season to date, upsetting the Victoria Shamrocks at Bear Mountain Arena on Saturday.
Bryan Gillis tallied the eventual game winning goal with his second marker of the game midway through the third period to give the club just its second win in seven starts.
Burnaby got the better of the junior Shamrocks in the middle period despite being outshot 15-9 in the stanza.
Lakers keeper Patrick Bayliss made 12 of his 30 saves in the second period, while Burnaby took its first lead of the game on a goal by Brendan Attwell, who scored his first as a Laker after being picked up in May 2 trade with the Delta Islanders.
Colton Dow, who scored in the opening seconds of the second period with his first of the game, regained the lead for Burnaby at 5-4 midway through the frame from Gillis and captain Jaeden Gastaldo.
Minutes later, fourth-year Laker Josh Simons gave Burnaby a two-goal bulge, but the home team rallied for two late goals, including a power-play effort in the final minute of the period on Jordan Cunningham's second of the game.
Simons tallied his eighth goal of the year and second of the game to start the third period, while Gastaldo potted his sixth this season that gave Burnaby a lead it would not relinquish.
Kris Liset helped out on four Burnaby scores, bringing his team-high points total to 21.
With the loss, Victoria slipped into a tie for fourth place with Port Coquitlam in the junior A standings, both with 4-4 records. The Lakers improved to 2-5-0.
Burnaby head coach John Wilson called the win "a complete team effort from the beginning."
"This was a huge trial for us as coaches, to see how the kids would respond," Wilson said. "It's a start and was a good time to go over to Victoria."
Burnaby played in Langley on Tuesday (after NOW deadlines).
