One game can change the direction of an entire season.
That's what the Burnaby Lakers' 9-8 upset over the defending Western Lacrosse Association champion Langley Thunder on Wednesday could mean to the summer season.
"I think we found our discipline and work ethic and it showed in the game," said first-year Lakers' head coach Rory McDade.
Burnaby got a jump on the host Thunder, building a 3-0 lead late in the opening period.
Dane Stevens had a hand in all three goals, setting up Colton Clark and Scott Jones, with his first of four markers on two first-period power plays. Stevens also scored an unassisted counter in the period.
In the middle frame, Jackson Decker made it 5-1, but Langley responded with four in a row to momentarily draw even midway through the period.
Jones, who scored his first goal of the game in the final minute of the first period, tallied again in the late stages of the second, potting his third and fourth - the first while shorthanded and the latter with 12 seconds left and the goalie on the bench for a sixth attacker.
"We had a good start and our defence was great, and Jones had a couple of momentum-swinging goals," McDade added.
The Lakers kept up the pressure in the final frame.
Casey Jackson scored his first of the season in the opening minute to give the Lakers a three-goal lead.
Shaun Dhaliwal tallied the eventual game-winner on the short man from Justin Salt at 11: 09.
Dan Lewis had his best game of the year to date, backstopping the win with 39 saves.
"The guys played really hard. It was nice to see Casey Jackson and (Tyler) Digby in the lineup. It ups our talent level for sure," said McDade.
The win drew the Lakers out of the cellar and into a tie for fifth place with both Coquitlam and Nanaimo.
Burnaby will get another stiff test tonight (Friday) with a tilt against the Victoria Shamrocks at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre. Game time is 7 p.m.
On Sunday, the Lakers travel to Nanaimo for a key encounter with the Timbermen. [email protected]
