The Burnaby Lakers worked their way out of the B.C. Junior Lacrosse League forest basement with a 7-6 felling of the Nanaimo Timbermen.
The junior A Lakers trailed for just one minute and 19 seconds of the opening period en route to their one-goal win and a one-point lead over their Nanaimo hosts on Saturday.
Josh Simons led the Lakers with a pair of goals, the first coming in the final minute of the middle period on a short-man situation that put the visitors up 5-4 heading into the final frame.
His second, and team-high 14th goal of the season, proved the game-winner.
Ryan Watson also tallied a pair for the Lakers, including the Lakers' opening goal that tied the contest 1-1 in the second minute of play.
Bryan Gillis counted a shorthanded marker less than midway through the first period that gave the visitors a 3-1 lead.
Xander McDonald had his best outing in the Burnaby cage this season, stopping 29 Nanaimo shots for his first win this year.
Burnaby carried some of that momentum into Sunday's matchup with the Port Coquitlam Saints.
But bad luck and not a lack of effort led to a 10-6 loss at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre.
Burnaby trailed 6-5 early in the final frame on back-to-back goals by Brendan Shea between the second and third periods, but two PoCo goals following a fourminute back checking minutes later proved a back-breaker for the Lakers.
"It was a hard hole to get out of," said Burnaby assistant captain Kris Liset.
"The defence played well. PoCo has been putting in a lot of goals lately, and we held them to 10, but honestly, four we gave to them," said Burnaby head coach John Wilson.
Burnaby played New West on Tuesday (after NOW deadlines) and is back in PoCo on Thursday.
