Two losses in the final week of league play spelled the end of an otherwise promising season for the Burnaby Lakers.
The senior A Lakers needed just a win or a tie in their final two Western Lacrosse Association regular season matchups to ensure themselves of a spot in the playoffs – and they go neither.
Burnaby held a season series edge over the Maple Ridge to start the week but opened the door for the Burrards to sneak into the post season following a 9-6 second-half collapse at home.
On Thursday, with nothing short of a win needed to hold onto a playoff berth, Burnaby again fell short, losing 9-8 to the New Westminster Salmonbellies, who had already wrapped up the runner-up sport in league play.
“It’s frustrating to go from second place to waiting to find out,” said Lakers captain Bryan Safarik following Thursday’s disappointing loss at Queen’s Park.
The Lakers did not have to wait long to learn their fate.
A day later, the Langley Thunder earned themselves and the Burrards a spot in the playoffs following an unendearing 14-5 loss to the league champion Victoria Shamrocks.
Langley and Maple Ridge both earned a playoff spot ahead of Burnaby based on the league’s tiebreak formula of goals for and against each other during regular season play.
“We didn’t put it out there when we had to,” added Safarik.
Burnaby trailed New West 3-1 after the opening period despite outshooting their hosts 24-14 in the frame.
The Lakers outshot the Fishmen 61-39 overall, but New West’s outstanding rookie of the year candidate, Eric Penney, made Burnaby’s overwhelming dominance of shots on goal look almost pedestrian.
Burnaby trailed 6-2 midway through the contest but only managed to claw back into it on the play of its extra man.
Dane Stevens and second-star Robert Church got the deficit down to 7-5 on back-to-back power plays late in the middle period.
Shaun Dhaliwal tied the game 7-7 on a power play from Church and Ilija Gajic just minutes after the latter set up Church for his hat-trick goal.
But Logan Schuss quickly answered with a power-play goal of his own and later Jordan McBride tallied the game winner from the top of the circle to put New West up for good.
Burnaby’s fifth-place finish was perhaps a predictable end to a season that never quite got off the ground.
The Lakers started off the season with a 2-4 record and looked well-positioned for a strong run to the playoffs at 8-6, before finishing off the schedule with just one win in their final four games.
The Lakers needed to look no further than its cumulative 136 goals for – a league low – as the main reason for its ultimate outcome.
“It’s a hard thing to get through,” Safarik said of the regular season in which Burnaby outscored a team by double digits in just four outings, while averaging a scant 7.5 goals per game.
“We wanted it, I want it more than anybody in this league.”
Burnaby got it done at the back end for the most part.
Wallaceburg, Ont. import Tye Belanger finished the regular season with a league-high eight wins and a fourth-best 0.804 save percentage.
“We played well, but not enough to win,” admitted Safarik. “I’m passionate (about the game). … These guys want to win. It’s frustrating. … I can see it in their eyes.”
