As road trips go, the Burnaby junior Lakers’ tour of Vancouver Island hit its share of snags.
But while they returned empty-handed, just like a wistful fisher, the Lakers are eyeing better results come the next day.
Burnaby fell victim to the Victoria Shamrocks 18-11 on Saturday and 10-7 a day later in overtime to Nanaimo, leaving them still hunting for their second win of the B.C.
Junior A Lacrosse League season.
Neither loss was of the ‘moral victory’ variety, as the visitors held leads at different points in both games only to get caught flatfooted as the home teams unveiled their come-from-behind skills.
In Victoria, Burnaby held leads of 2-1 and 3-2 before a five-goal run for the home team set the tone for the rest of the game.
Markers from Jordan Gabriele Mason Pomeroy and Ryan Johan-nson had the visitors in the driver’s seat, at least briefly. But the Shamrocks replied with five goals over 5:45 minutes to grab a commanding lead with still two periods to play.
“I thought we were very engaged and focused to start. We were up for the challenge (against Victoria),” remarked Lakers coach Jason Dallavalle. “We got the early lead, but unfortunately, they got a couple of breaks. We had a couple of breakdowns and they ran with it.”
While Burnaby would close the gap to 9-6 early in the third, Victoria replied – and then some. They rattled off a pair of four-goal runs sandwiched around two Laker markers to go ahead by nine, before things settled down.
Pomeroy finished with three goals and two assists, while Josh Dumont, Tyler Smith and Gabriele tallied two apiece.
A day later in Nanaimo, the Lakers held shortlived leads of 3-1 and 4-3 and showed resilience after the T-men counted three goals in the third to take a 6-4 advantage. Markers by Dumont and Pomeroy put the game to extra time.
In overtime, Burnaby jumped ahead on Dumont’s fourth of the day, a powerplay tally just 35 seconds into the extra 10-minute frame. Barely a minute later, Nanaimo’s Jake Mikelson tied it, and 16 seconds later Tyson Black put the home team in front for good.
"We came out a little flat (against Nanaimo) and not the way we wanted," remarked the coach. "It was a strange game, to be honest. Even though we were leading there were things that just weren't right."
It was the club's third straight loss, after launching the season with a strong win over Victoria in Burnaby.
“I’m hoping this is rock bottom and it’s all up from here,” Dallavalle said. “We’re missing eight players and four of them are expected back this week. … What I liked was, even when times got tough, the guys never gave up. They battled.”
Burnaby visits Langley on Thursday, and plays Delta next Monday at the Copeland Sports Complex.
