If the New Westminster Salmonbellies could start every game like they did Sunday, they'd be in the driver's seat of the Western Lacrosse Association playoff race.
The 'Bellies unloaded on the WLA defending champion Maple Ridge Burrards with four goals in the first seven minutes, then kept pouring it on, en route to a 15-5 victory at the Cam Neely Arena in Maple Ridge.
Logan Schuss led all shooters with four goals and twin assists, but from 'Bellies coach Steve Goodwin's vantage point, the overall offensive performance was worth celebrating.
“I thought we came out hard, we scored a couple of transition goals in the first five minutes that brought up the energy on our bench. If you watched the guys they were excited the full game and that’s what we want to see," said Goodwin, who was glad to see the team continue to trend upwardly with the playoffs on the horizon. “The last two games we’ve actually played really well. Seems we’ve bought into what we’re trying to do offensively. Defensively we were strong and finally scored some fast-break transition goals, which has always been part of our game plan."
Anthony Malcom and Brandon Goodwin got the ball rolling with quick unassisted tallies before the five minute mark, followed by goals from Zach Herreweyers and Schuss. Although the Burrards replied with a pair of markers, New West regained the momentum on Brandon Goodwin's second of the night late in the period. The margin grew to 9-5 after 40 minutes, with New West adding an exclamation with six unanswered goals in the third period -- three via the powerplay, after Maple Ridge showed its frustration.
"Any time you play Maple Ridge there’s a lot of frustration in the game…. I think there was some frustration involved on their part and that’s going to happen in this league. We expected it and knew it was coming. We are capable and we’ll play any kind of game they want to play," added Goodwin, who was shown the gate late in the game. New West ended up with 40 minutes in penalties, while the Burrards were tagged for 94 minutes, including 40 minutes in the third period.
Contributing two goals apiece were Mitch Jones, along with six assists, and Joel McCready. Netminder Alexis Buque turned aside 35 shots.
“(Buque) played extremely well, the guys on transition played well but we got big goals from everyone on our offence," noted the coach. "I thought they moved the ball well, they got into the two-man game played really well that way. I couldn’t really single out anybody except it was a real good 60 minute effort from everyone."
Coupled with last week's 13-12 overtime victory over Burnaby, where the 'Bellies rallied to force extra time on McCready's extra-man tally with 12 seconds left in regulation, New West now feels empowered despite sitting fourth overall at 8-6-1, tied with Burnaby for third but with the Lakers holding a game in hand.
With just three games left in the regular season and New West assured a playoff position, the next challenge is to see if they can challenge the the Burrards and Lakers for a piece of second place.
“We’re starting to come together, we’ve got our players in here. We feel we’ve got a good team and we haven’t proven it all year but now we feel a little better in how we’re playing," said Goodwin.
“We still have a lot of room to improve. I like to see us get better each game we play."
Tonight (Thursday) the 'Bellies host the Coquitlam Adanacs (7:30 p.m.) at Queen's Park Arena. They return to Maple Ridge on Sunday for a rematch, before wrapping up the regular season July 27 when Victoria comes to town.
