The prospect, on paper, may seem daunting, but in actual fact the Burnaby Lakers are going to relish the opportunity of walking into Victoria’s packed rink Aug. 9 to start the Western Lacrosse Association semifinals.
If it isn’t the electric atmosphere, where a playoff game can see more than 2,000 people jammed into the Q Centre, or the challenge of mixing it up with the defending Mann Cup champions, the adrenaline is pumping.
For Lakers captain Brian Safarik, the opportunity to launch the playoffs under those conditions is near picture-perfect.
“I think everyone enjoys playing there, in that atmosphere,” said Safarik in preparation for the opener next Tuesday. “They always seem to have a playoff atmosphere, with the fans and the excitement. It’s something that makes it easy to get in the game.”
Okay – let’s step back for a brief second. The Shamrocks, who still have two games to secure the league regular season title, have put up impressive numbers while losing just four times this season.
Burnaby, whose position at No. 4 was settled Wednesday when Maple Ridge leapfrogged them with a win over Langley, finished up the WLA season at 10-7-1, with a 1-2 record against Victoria.
The Shamrocks’ offence, having generated 192 goals in just 16 games, is easily the best in the seven-team circuit.
Safarik said the team fully understands the challenge ahead yet feels comfortable entering the best-of-seven series as underdogs.
“I think that’s a good place for us, it keeps our heads down and focused,” he noted. “I like the fact that defensively we’ve played well and shown we can play against anyone, and they have the strongest offence. It’s a good matchup.”
Last week’s loss in Victoria could be one reason why. Despite missing the team’s top scorer, Robert Church, the Lakers gave the Island squad a rough ride until they pulled out all the stakes with a four-goal run beginning late in the second period. Last month, they also knocked off the Shamrocks 12-10 in an entertaining battle at Bill Copeland Arena.
Burnaby posted the best goals-against average, limiting the opposition to 133. Victoria, meanwhile, has surrendered 138 goals and still has two more games to play.
With the off-season addition of Zak Boychuk, and recent pick-up of veteran Tyler Richards, the Lakers’ crease is in top shape. Boychuk sits atop of both the goals-against average and save percentage leaderboard.
The other side of the game has also made crucial strides over the past six weeks.
Burnaby’s offence has been the other side of the picture; during the first half of the season it only managed to crack double digits once. Since late June, the team has scored 10 or more goals five times, with Robert Church’s 29 goals in 13 games, Dane Stevens’ 25 goals, and Scott Jones’ 50 points leading the way in a fairly balanced attack.
Safarik points to the fact that the club has rotated some veterans into the lineup due to availability, and expect to have all its starters together for Game 1 for the first time this year.
“We’ve been shuffling the lineup, players coming in, players missing due to injury... I think we have the strongest defence in the league and we can run out nine, 10 guys who can handle anyone.”
As a Burnaby native, playoff time for the senior A program has not produced much memorable fruit. Last year’s disappointing miss – where the club tied for fourth place but missed the post-season due to a tiebreaker – fired everyone up, said Safarik.
“It was pretty disappointing, we all believe we had a good team. Now we’re even stronger for it, and I think it gives us something more to focus on,” he noted.
The series, which starts in Victoria on Aug. 9, continues Aug. 11 in Burnaby, Aug. 12 in Victoria and Aug. 14 back in Burnaby. Games 5, 6 and 7 are slated for Aug. 17, 19 and 21, if necessary. The start times for each game is tenatively set for 6 p.m. For up-to-date information on game time, visit www.theboxrocks.com.
