The Burnaby Lakers pulled a win out of the fire at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre.
In one of the fastest-paced games played at home this season, the senior A Lakers earned a big two points in the Western Lacrosse Association following a 5-4 overtime win over the Maple Ridge Burrards on Tuesday.
The following night, Burnaby moved into a tie for second place with Victoria following a 12-11 victory over the Thunder
In Tuesday’s game, where the goaltending was king and points in the standings at a premium, Burnaby eked out its third win of the season on first star Scott Jones’ unassisted steal on the Maple Ridge goal crease that resulted in the game-winning goal at three minutes of extra time.
Dane Stevens made the comeback possible tying the contest 4-4 on a cut to the net at 18:54 of the final period.
But despite the high velocity and more than 100 shots on net by the two clubs, the game was won and lost in the trenches.
Tye Belanger picked up his second win of the season for the Lakers with arguably his best outing since been picked up from Brampton. The Wallaceburg, Ont. native made 45 saves, including a game-saver on a Coady Adamson backhander that created the transition opportunity at the other end of the floor late in the game for Stevens’ game-tying tally.
Burrards’ keeper Frankie Scigliano was also tough to beat, backstopping Maple Ridge with 53 stops.
“Tye is getting more comfortable in goal and as a defence we’re getting used to each other,” said Jesse Fehr, who was earlier picked up from New Westminster as a free agent. “The communication tonight was great and we’re beginning to play as a unit.”
On Wednesday, Burnaby jumped out to a 6-1 first-period lead, including a pair by recent pickup Jamie Lincoln and then held on in the final frame to posts its fourth win of the season.
Scott Jones earned the game’s first star with a six-point night, including a hat trick. Lincoln also wore the hat in his second game as a Laker.
Steven Neufeld made his debut in Laker green after coming to Burnaby in a recent one-for-one swap for defender Daniel Perreault with a two-goal game, including the game winner from Stevens and Lincoln at 8:26 of the third period.
“The guys like to run. It’s a style we want to play and going forward, it’s ideally how we want to play and to be known for,” Fehr added. “It was a really huge game for us. We wanted a really big effort tonight.”
Burnaby entertains Coquitlam at the Copeland centre on Tuesday, June 23. Game time is 7:45 p.m.
