Taking the lessons learned in a round-robin loss, the Burnaby bantam A1 Lakers turned the tables on Ridge Meadows in the provincial final, resulting in a 6-5 win for the underdogs.
Needless to say, the Lakers’ victory on the final day was extremely sweet.
“Up to (the final) we were 0-3 against them,” recalled co-coach Rusty Wills. “They are the better team, but we told the boys anything can happen. In the final we got the win.”
Any concerns that the earlier 6-2 loss, which came in their fourth round-robin game of the tournament, would foreshadow the final were quickly erased as Burnaby built up a 4-1 lead after the first period, and 6-1 midway through the second.
Captain Joshua Gabriele and Phillip Marin tallied twice each, with singles by Xander Cabeca and Taylor Nellis.
The netminding of Marc Rippberger, who was chosen the final game MVP after turning aside 34 shots, and stellar team defence – led by Marcus Jantzen, Jacob Spartano and Gabriele -- held Ridge Meadows in check.
“(Rippberger) was on top of his game, and our defence was on top of their game,” said Wills, who shared coaching duties with Randy Jones and Art Vargas.
The foundation of this squad had won the bantam A2 provincials a year ago and earned promotion to the top division after posting an 8-0 record during this season’s tiering round. This year's roster had 10 returnees and finished the regular season second overall, behind Ridge Meadows, at 16-7.
A dramatic 9-4 decision over arch-rival Coquitlam in the final round-robin contest paved the way for the provincial banner.
Trailing the Adanacs 4-1 after one period, Burnaby countered with the next eight goals to advance to the final.
“The other teams’ coaches told us we were the hardest working team they’d seen (at the tournament),” remarked Wills. “We have a lot of good athletes and big hearts.”
Gabriele was named the tourney’s MVP, while Sean Fox picked up the Warrior Fair Play award.
The Lakers’ championship roster includes: Michael Beecroft, Xander Cabeca, Luka Cocco, Matteo De Angelis, Lexx Edwards, Sean Fox, Joshua Gabriele, Giancarlo Garcea, Ian Gee, Marcus Jantzen, Phillip Marin, Ryan Nagy, Dylan Negrich, Taylor Nellis, Kevin Oliver, Marc Rippberger, Jacob Spartano, Corin Tan and Anthony Vargas.
