The third period proved to be an Achilles heel for the junior New Westminster Salmonbellies.
The junior A 'Bellies unexpectedly exited the B.C. Junior Lacrosse League semifinals following an 11-10 loss to the Delta Islanders following the deciding game of the B.C. Junior Lacrosse League bestoffive semifinal in Ladner on Saturday.
The win by Delta gave the league runnerup the series by a 3-2 scoreline.
New West took the opening two games of the series, but instead of sweeping the semifinal in straight games, ended up on the wrong end of a 14-4 score in Game 3 played last Wednesday.
That win allowed Delta a time to regroup and the Islanders did in dramatic fashion, outscoring New West in the final period of both games 4 and 5 to wrestle the series away from the Salmonbellies.
"It's tough when you lose the last game of the series," said New Westminster head coach Dan Perreault. "But, it's not like we didn't have any chances in the third periods. But the ball didn't drop for us. We were very evenly matched."
In Game 4, New West led all the way through the first two periods, holding a three-goal lead on two separate occasions in the middle frame before losing 8-7 at home on Friday.
But in the third period, Delta responded with three unanswered goals on 14 shots on Ross Bowman to knot the playoff series at two games apiece.
Game 5 was a similar affair, with New West in control of the second period after the two teams played to a 4-4 stalemate in the opening 20 minutes.
Team captain Brandon Goodwin scored a pair of goals less than two minutes apart midway through the second period to give the visitors a three-goal advantage at one point.
But, the Islanders, led by Logan Schuss and Mike Mallory, kept chipping away at the lead.
Perreault downplayed injuries as a reason for the Salmonbellies turn of fortunes.
"All teams have issues. I'm sure they had a few of their players banged up," Perreault said. "A big thing for them was Mike Mallory. He was quite quiet in the first two games."
Mallory tied the contest 9-9 with his fourth goal in the deciding game and three minutes later, Schuss potted his post-season high 18th to put Delta into the lead for good.
Mike Henry potted the eventual game-winner 34 seconds later from Mallory and Schuss.
In the final three games of the series, Mallory led all scorers with 21 points, including 14 goals. Schuss added seven goals and 17 total points.
Mallory and Schuss currently lead playoff scoring, averaging more than six points per game.
Keegan Bal got one goal back in the final minute of play, but it was too little, too late for the junior 'Bellies.
"Oh yeah, it's disappointing. We want to be in the Western finals, but we don't have that opportunity. In New West, we have high expectations to do well and to win, so it's disappointing. But Delta is a pretty good team, too," Perreault added.
Delta will now move on against the league champion Coquitlam Adanacs, who swept the Langley Thunder in straight games in the other semifinal.
Game 1 of the bestof-seven final began in Coquitlam on Tuesday (after Record deadlines).
B.C. JUNIOR PLAYOFF SCORING
G A Pt
Mike Mallory Del 17 16 33
Logan Schuss Del 18 14 32
Reagan Harding NW 15 17 32
Keegan Bal NW 10 16 26
Robert Church Coq 11 13 24
Brandon Goodwin NW 11 9 20
Eli McLaughlin Del 5 12 17
