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| Breaking the Crown |
| August 19, 2008 |
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For over a decade, the Burnaby Lakers have pounded out one BCJALL championship after another. It's been a long time in the making, and 2008 would be the year a new champion is crowned, and headed to Calgary to represent BC at the Minto Cup Championships.
The final series of the BCJALL rarely had a dull moment. Game one was a tight 5-4 win at home for the Shamrocks, game two saw Burnaby punish Victoria in overtime- scoring three goals to take a 7-4 win, game three was a critical 8-7 overtime road win for the Lakers, game four saw Victoria run away on Burnaby winning 11-4 in Bill Copeland, and the coveted game five decision maker would break down to another solid team performance for Victoria, to take the final game by a score of 9-2.
After a goal a piece in the first frame (Bill Laidler for Burnaby and Kory Kowalyk for Victoria) the Shamrocks would explode in the second with five unanswered goals. Just like game four, Victoria would get scoring power from many different players- eight to be exact, showing just how much they gel as a team. Altogether, thirteen players with the big green Shamrock on their chest registered points, proving too much for a Burnaby- team struggling to hold onto that BCJALL championship.
Let's get back to Burnaby- a performance I'm guessing they would like to take back. Only two goals in their final game from Shaun Dhaliwal and Laidler, Alex Gajic held to only one assist, and many players not even registering a shot on goal. In retrospect, I'm not one to forget the Lakers journey to the top.
After losing sixteen, count 'em sixteen- graduating players coming into the 2008 season the Lakers were fingered to crash and burn in their own wake of destruction. Burnaby was touted a 'one trick pony' in Alex Gajic, and the whole organization and community took a huge emotional blow when they lost their President ('Mr. Lacrosse') Jack Crosby in January.
The Lakers finished fourth in the regular season, a far cry from their top spot of years past; but the post season was their time to shine, letting the Saints take only one game in the quarter finals, and dropping jaws with their 3-0 series sweep of the first place Coquitlam Adanacs for the semi's.
As-is the case with teams that finish just behind the winners, it's hard to focus on what's been accomplished on the way when you don't have that top prize, but the Lakers should be very happy with their post season performance.
Victoria started, and ended, this season with a bang- going 5-0 to start, and ending with the coveted championship. Solid net minding from Matt Flindell all year has made Victoria's dreams a reality, and consistent play game-after-game from members such as team captain Cayle Ratcliff, Cory Conway, Mike Pires, Matt Yager, and Joel Henry, goes to show you how much of a team performance this season really was.
Hats off to the new BCJALL Champions- the Victoria Shamrocks! Congratulations on your 2008 season, and best of luck in the Minto Cup Championships.
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Current News33 ARTICLES
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Friday July 30, 2010
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