You just never know.
That could be the Western Lacrosse Association’s new slogan, applying to how assumptions and trends are turned on their head in a heart’s beat in the senior A boxla circuit.
The Burnaby Lakers did just that on Wednesday, waltzing into the lion’s den that is Victoria’s Q Centre and emerging with a decisive victory.
By trumping the defending national champion Shamrocks 11-6, the Lakers forced a Game 6 in their best-of-seven semifinal, with a 6 p.m. face-off Friday at the Bill Copeland Arena.
Wednesday’s showdown was a goal-for-goal exchange until the third, when the visiting Lakers used its speed and sniping skills to break it open.
The Shamrocks’ Corey Small tied it up at 3:22 into the third, but Dane Stevens’ marker just a minute later kickstarted a trend – one that didn’t end until the final buzzer.
“For the whole series I’ve been doing what I need to, which is looking for open spots,” Stevens told the NOW. “(Scott) Jones and I work together to feed the other, and he passed me the ball and I just went to the net.”
It was followed five minutes later by a tally from Tyler Digby, and 90 seconds later on Josh Byrne’s second of the night.
The run, which would see Jones and Robert Church complete the scoring with goals a minute apart, effectively silenced the 2,000-plus crowd who came eager to cheer on their Shamrocks.
“The crowd was in it, as they always are, and we knew how important it was to answer back,” said Stevens of the electric atmosphere to start the third. “Later in the period we kind of took the air out and silenced the crowd.”
The game’s first star, Burnaby netminder Zak Boychuk, made 48 saves on the night, with his busiest period the middle frame.
That’s when the two teams tallied four goals each, but Boychuk kicked out 24 shots. The Lakers defence did a stellar job of muffling any third period rally, as Victoria was held to just eight shots.
“After the game we named (Boychuk) our player of the game. I’m sure he’d say the defence did a great job and kept it easy, but no doubt he played outstanding,” said Stevens.
Justin Salt, meanwhile, continued his red-hot playoffs with three goals, including two shorthanded. Scott Jones accounted for two goals and three assists, while Eli McLaughlin tallied the other marker.
Victoria, which was playing without offensive powers Corey Conway and Jesse King and backup netminder Cody Hagedorn, remain in control with a 3-2 series lead. But Stevens believes the momentum has shifted in the Lakers’ favour.
“We feel like we’ve got their defence chasing us a little more, and we are imposing our game on them, which is what we want to do,” he said.
Game 6 goes tonight, 6 p.m. at the Bill Copeland Arena. A seventh and deciding game, if necessary, would take place Sunday in Victoria.
