The New Westminster Salmonbellies have taken a 2-1 series lead in the Western Lacrosse Association (WLA) finals after an double-overtime win last Sunday (Aug. 20).
The Sr. 'A' Salmonbellies and the Langley Thunder are currently competing to determine which team will represent the West in this year's Mann Cup.
With the series tied at one game apiece going into Sunday night, a boisterous crowd of 1,804 turned out to Game 3 in Queen's Park Arena.
Langley led 5-3 after the first period and 8-6 after two. New West scored three times in the third to take a 9-8 lead, but with just two seconds left on the clock, Dane Dobbie scored for the Thunder to send the game into overtime.
Tied 9-9 after 60 minutes of play, the teams took a quick two-minute break and then headed into a 10-minute overtime period.
Langley took the lead 3:22 into OT with a goal by Connor Robinson. Less than two minutes later, Kevin Crowley, with an assist from goalie Zach Higgins, scored the tying goal for New West.
That set the stage for a “sudden-victory” overtime period.
Less than two minutes into double overtime, Keegan Bal put the ball past Thunder goalie Frank Scigliano to notch the win for the Bellies.
New Westminster’s Haiden Dickson was the game’s first star, Langley’s Curtis Dickson (no relation) was second star, and Bellies goalie Zach Higgins was third star. Bal, who had four goals and two assist, was named the Salmonbellies Stonehaus Player of the Game.
"Langley is a great team, so it’s no surprise that we have to fight for every inch out there," said Ray Porcellato, general manager of the Sr. 'A' Salmonbellies.
"We enjoyed the overtime victory last night for a few minutes after the game but switched our focus solely to Game 4 Tuesday night in Langley."
The battle continues
The Thunder defeated the Salmonbellies 11-9 in the opening game of the series on Aug. 16 at Queen’s Park Arena. The Bellies won Game 2 by a score of 13-8 at Langley Events Centre on Friday (Aug. 18), before taking Game 3 on Sunday.
The best-of-seven series continues in Langley for Game 4 on Tuesday (Aug. 22) and in New West for Game 5 on Thursday (Aug. 24).
Other games, as needed, are scheduled for Saturday (Aug. 26) in Langley and Tuesday (Aug. 29) at Queen's Park Arena.
All games begin at 7:30 p.m.
The winner of the WLA finals will host the Major Series Lacrosse champion and compete for the Mann Cup in September.
The Peterborough Lakers and the Six Nations Chiefs are playing for the Eastern title, with Six Nations currently leading the series 2-0 (Game 3 is at on Monday, Aug. 21 at 8 p.m. Eastern time).
