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Home Floor Advantage

August 11, 2009

So far in the BCJALL finals it's been quite clear the two teams participating have deserved their spots. Coquitlam has proved their regular season record was no fluke, and New West has demonstrated it doesn't matter where you finished in the regular season; its how you perform in the post season that really counts. Neither team has had much wiggle room as far as comfort is concerned, with both squads breathing down each others neck with one common goal in mind- making for some awesome lacrosse!

Both teams have taken some serious blows to their lineups these days; tonight Coquitlam was playing without one of their solid offensive guns Corbyn Tao, who took the warm up tonight but didn't end up taking the floor. I'm assuming Tao is sitting out to nurse his eye that was split wide open on Sunday night in game three after fighting Rob Danikiewicz. Hardest hit in the lineup tonight was New West, who in game four was out the following players: Curtis Dickson, TJ Cowx, Kyle Robinson, and Eric Lewthwaite. One would assume a detriment to their roster such as this would impair the 'Bellies and jeopardize their chances of evening up the series again, but New West would step up and fight through it- resulting in a sweet reward for their hard work.

Adanac defender Jim Clifford gives Leif Mydske of New West a hard hit after Mydske takes a shot on net.

New West's Kevin Crowley adds another point to his three point total on the night by scoring on Adanac tender Chris Seidel on this shot.

For the first time in the series the visiting team would score first, as Trevor Moore scored from unfamiliar territory as he was streaking in on Neil Tyacke's left side. Usually Moore likes to snipe the ball around his defender from the shooting circle but with a pass like he got from Robert Church it was hard not to convert it. It wasn't long before the 'Bellies evened it up as Daniel McQuade showed great determination on a drive to the A's net to get his eleventh goal of the post season, and sixth of the series versus Coquitlam. Following a holding penalty against Brett Mydske the lethal Adanac power play went to work and made no mistake as Jordan Weir used his six foot two frame to shoot up and over his defender and catch Tyacke down for the PP goal. After the first twenty minutes it was a slim one goal lead for the A's, in a game dominated so far by the play of both goalies.

The 'Bellies would return the favor and make the Adanacs pay for a penalty to start the second, as McQuade potted his second of the evening to tie the game at two. Travis Cornwall would give the A's back the lead shortly after, but a quick goal from Matt MacGrotty would tie it up again. McQuade's assist on that goal meant he had a hand in each of New West's goals so far in the game. Adanac goalie Chris Seidel made an enormous save on Leif Mydske almost halfway through the second period, but just minutes later Mydske would have another opportunity and this time would make it count to get the lead for the 'Bellies. The back and forth would continue as Ben McIntosh quick-sticked the ball past Tyacke to tie the game up yet again, and send these two teams into the final period right where they started the game, all even.

The way this game went comes down to some painful points for the Lakers who almost had their 'Cinderella Story' ending to the season. 1) A's goalie Chris Seidel was on fire tonight, thirty shots and four goals against bumped his save percentage and more importantly gave his team the confidence they needed, after losing two consecutive games and were fighting for their playoff lives after such an impressive regular season performance. 2) Thirty shots on goal for Burnaby in a game five situation was just not enough. An average of ten shots a period will not put a team like Coquitlam in any kind of necessary pressure to win, let alone be enough for a come-from-behind win. 3) The worst point of all is the mental game that will go along with this loss for Burnaby; for the players to fight this hard only to have game five end like it did, will most certainly send some guys home with a heavy head tonight.

Jordan Weir of Coquitlam makes a last ditch attempt at shooting on Salmonbellie tender Neil Tyack while laying on the wood floor.

Adanac captain Matt Beers knocks Bellie's forward Kevin Crowley's stick out of his hand producing a loose ball.

Adanac player Kevin Neufeld takes a double high hit from Salmonbellie players Brett Mydske and Ben Davis (near side).

For the second time tonight it was Leif Mydske who would give the Salmonbellies the go-ahead-goal in the game, but this time it would be nicely cushioned instead of kyboshed. Coquitlam would get called for a high sticking penalty shortly after and who else but McQuade would put in his second power play goal of the evening to extend the lead to two. Showing obvious frustration, the Adanacs would make the mistake of leaving Kevin Crowley all alone in front of Seidel, who made no mistake in scoring the 'Bellies seventh goal of the night. After that, Seidel took a seat on the bench and was relieved by Dan Lewis who was welcomed to the game by Brett Mydske running in straight from the faceoff win by Jordan Catton to score just seconds after the goalie switch. After that the game had a completely different feel to it as Crowley scored another one, and Mydske scored his second of the period on an empty net. With just a minute left in the game and the 'Bellies assuming all control, the fight that everyone has wanted to see so far in the series happened as Matt Beers from Coquitlam dropped the gloves with Travis Irving. As expected, they gave the crowd a show; each trading large blows back and forth, oddly enough three punches at a time by both guys.

By the end of it no one was really worse for wear even though there were some heavy lands, just goes to show they are used to the rough stuff. As much as I would love to declare a winner, the fight was just too evenly matched so a called draw will have to suffice. After both players made their way to the dressing room, Coquitlam's Brandon Turner challenged Leif Mydske who was only too happy to start taking off his equipment, but unfortunately the fight was broken up by the refs much to the chagrin of fans who stuck around to watch the last few minutes. Following the fights both teams would throw their tough lines on the floor, and Coquitlam would prove how destructive their power play is even without their regular participants as Garrett McIntosh would score his second goal in as many games out on the power play with Scott Rouse and Jeremy Serraglio.

In the end the six goals scored by New West in the third period would be enough for the 10-6 final win to even up the series yet again. Game five will be a quick turn around as they play Wednesday night in Coquitlam, as the Adanacs hope their home floor provides them with the luck Queens Park did tonight. Most of the missing players will most likely be game time decisions, but these two teams have proven they can scrap it out just the same with or without their key players on the floor. With guys like New West's McQuade having a hand in five of his team's ten goals tonight to bring his point total to twenty points in four games, and on the other end Trevor Moore, who with his one goal and four helpers had points in five of the A's six scoring plays. Up until the third period this was a goalie showcase for both teams, as both Tyacke and Seidel were playing and stopping the ball with complete confidence.

"Seidel unfortunately let the final couple of goals get to him and even with a quick goalie swich buying some time to take a breather halfway through the period, it wasn't enough. Tyacke remained focused and on his game for the full sixty minutes and looked like his old self from the Victoria and New West series’, something that will surely get him the starting position for game five.

Submitted by Jen Mutas
League Reporter
jenmutas@hotmail.com

Photos supplied by Paul Sparrow
Birds Eye Photography