Shawn Slaght, All Lacrosse All The Time – A Division of the Edge of Philly Sports Network
A six-goal run late in the second period was the difference as the New Westminster Salmonbellies picked up a big 14-12 win over the Maple Ridge Burrards on Thursday night.
This was a battle to get in a first-place tie with the Langley Thunder at 3-1 in the standings as both teams held a 2-1 record heading into this match-up.
Credit to the Burrards as this isn’t the game team that went 1-17 last year. Despite the six-goal run, Maple Ridge continued to keep themselves in the game, but couldn’t make up the deficit.
Brandon Humphrey is continuing his strong season between the pipes for the Burrards despite the loss. He was bombarded with 56 shots and made 42 saves.
On the other end of the floor, Cam MacLeod stopped 15 of 23 shots in 31:48 of work. He was replaced by Neil Tyacke who stopped 18 of 22 shots to seal the win.
Back-and-forth battle
Neither team gave an inch to open the first period. Dylan McIntosh set the tone for the Burrards with a shorthanded marker only 3:51 into the game.
New Westminster tied up the game 45 seconds later with a power play goal from Jordan McBride to even up the score. The Salmonbellies took over the lead at 6:13 off a Noah Armitage goal.
Not to be outdone, McIntosh would tie it up 2-2 as the teams combined for four goals in a matter of 7:49.
McBride regained the lead for New Westminster, but Nash Moog found the back of the net for the Burrards with 4:55 left in the first period as the game remained tied 3-3 at the first break.
Two teams combined for 13 goals in the second
The offenses dominated the second quarter as both teams combined for a total of 13 goals.
Moog picked up where he had left off in the first period. He scored 1:48 into the second to give Maple Ridge a 4-3 advantage.
Garret Winter struck 18 seconds when he took a feed from Jackson Suboch to cap off a three-goal run for the Burrards and gave them a one-goal cushion.
McBride replied on the power play for the ‘Bellies six minutes into the second period. Armitage followed that up 1:53 later and, once again, the game was tied, this time at 5-5.
The Burrards went on another three-goal run midway through the second period with two markers from Ryan Jones and one goal from Will Clayton to make the score 8-5 for Maple Ridge.
New Westminster finished off the second period by rattling off a six-goal run in a matter of 2:58.
McBride started it off with a shorthanded marker followed by Haiden Dickson 30 seconds later. Dickson would strike again 27 seconds later to make it 8-8.
Ryan Martel gave New Westminster the lead with 3:27 left to play in the second period. Fourteen seconds after that, Justin Salt would take a feed from Colton Clark to give the ‘Bellies a two-goal advantage.
Armitage rounded out the scoring with his hat trick goal with 2:48 left in the second as New Westminster led 11-8 heading into the third period.
Burrards can’t overcome the deficit
The Burrards would take advantage of a five-minute elbowing call and a game misconduct by Brandon Goodwin to open the third quarter. Dennon Armstrong scored the power-play goal 2:24 into the period, but Maple Ridge still trailed by two.
The game would go scoreless for the next 8:58 before Martel got the Salmonbellies back on the board to put New Westminster up 12-9.
McIntosh scored his hat-trick goal with 6:46 left in the game to keep the Burrards within scoring distance. However, Maple Ridge could not sustain the momentum.
With Martel in the box for tripping, Dickson put in a shorthanded marker with 5:24 left in regulation time as the Salmonbellies led 13-10.
Maple Ridge did capitalize on the Martel penalty with 4:41 left in the game. Jones scored his hat trick goal on the power play and the Burrards were within two goals.
However, Armitage scored his fourth of the game 58 seconds later. Will Clayton scored for the Burrards with 43 seconds left in the game, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the six-goal run in the second quarter as they fell 14-12 to the Salmonbellies.
Top Scorers
New Westminster Salmonbellies
Jordan McBride, 4g 3a
Mitch Jones, 5a
Will Malcom, 5a
Noah Armitage, 4g
Colton Clark, 3a
Haiden Dickson, 3g
Maple Ridge Burrards
Dylan McIntosh, 3g 2a
Will Clayton, 2g 3a
Ryan Jones, 3g 1a
Three Stars
- Jordan McBride, New Westminster Salmonbellies
- Dylan McIntosh, Maple Ridge Burrards
- Noah Armitage, New Westminster Salmonbellies
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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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