Shawn Slaght, All Lacrosse All The Time – A Division of Edge of Philly Sports Network
Both teams combined for 121 shots as the Maple Ridge Burrards downed the Burnaby Lakers 17-10 on Sunday night for their first win of the season.
The goaltenders saw a ton of rubber, but it was Brandon Humphrey who came away with the win, stopping 54 of 64 shots. Despite giving up 17 goals, Zak Boychuk faced 52 shots in the Lakers’ goal.
It was a battle of cellar-dwellers on Sunday night. The win moves the Burrards to 1-3, good enough for sixth place. The Lakers drop to 1-4 and sit in seventh place.
Burrards draw first blood
It was a low-scoring affair in the first quarter with only one goal to speak of. Mitchell Nolet got Maple Ridge on the board first at 2:59 to make it 1-0.
Burnaby would call a time-out with 12 seconds left in the period, but couldn’t find the equalizer.
Although scoring was down in the first period, it wasn’t for lack of trying from the offences. The Burrards outshot the Lakers 17-16 in the first stanza.
An offensive outburst from Maple Ridge
Toron Eccleston would tie up the game for the Lakers 1:46 into the second period, but momentum would swing in favour of the Burrards after that.
Gordie Phillips’ goal at 2:20 started a three-goal run for Maple Ridge. Garrett Winter right off the draw eight seconds later and Nolet would score his second of the game to give the Burrards a commanding 4-1 lead.
A power-play marker from Eccleston and an even-strength goal from James Rahe would get the Lakers within one, 4-3.
Dennon Armstrong would find the back of the net on the power play at 7:17 for the Burrards and Rahe would score his second of the period at 9:35 to make it 5-4 Burrards.
Winter’s goal at 10:17 started off a five-goal run of Maple Ridge that would prove to be costly for Burnaby. Ryan Jones added a pair of goals and Nolet rounded out the second-period scoring to make it 9-4 for the Burrards.
Maple Ridge pulls away in the third period
Winter scored for Maple Ridge to open the scoring in the third period at the 2:00 mark to finish off Maple Ridge’s five-goal run. Pearson Willis got the Lakers back on the board at 4:50. However, the Burrards still held a 10-5 lead.
Will Clayton cashed in on the power play 6:48 into the third period to extend Maple Ridge’s lead to 11-5. Philip Buque and Rahe combined for a two-goal run for Burnaby to narrow the Burrards’ lead 11-7.
Both teams kept exchanging goals in the latter half of the period. First, it was Nolet scoring his first of the game at 10:43 for the Burrards. Saskatchewan product Zach Gould would put one past Humphrey at 11:22.
Twenty-two seconds later Dylan Mcintosh would score his first goal as a Burrard to make it 13-8 for the Burrards.
Eccleston scored for the Lakers at 12:21, but any time Burnaby tried to regain momentum, the Burrards would snuff it out.
Brett Kujala scored on the power play at 13:18 and a transition goal by Phillips at 15:50 would extend the Maple Ridge lead to 15-9.
Brendan Szabo would try to kickstart a comeback for the Lakers at 16:33, but an empty-net goal from Rhys Blake at 17:31 would give the Burrards a 16-10 lead.
Eccelston would take a slashing call with 49 seconds left in the game, so Gabe Procyk would add one more of the Burrards with 22 seconds left to put the game away.
Three Stars
- Mitchell Nolet, Maple Ridge
- Gordie Phillips, Maple Ridge
- James Rahe, Burnaby Lakers
Top scorers
Maple Ridge Burrards
Garrett Winter, 3g 2a
Mitchell Nolet, 4g
Gordie Phillips, 2g 2a
Ryan Jones, 2g 2a
Burnaby Lakers
James Rahe, 3g 2a
Pearson Willis, 1g 4a
Toron Eccleston, 3g 1a
Shawn Slaght has been a sports reporter across the Canadian prairies for over 10 years and has experience covering everything from junior hockey to World Cup skiing to all levels of lacrosse. He is the Saskatchewan correspondent for All Lacrosse All The Time.
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