New Westminster drew first blood in the B.C. Junior Lacrosse League rivalry with Coquitlam.
The junior A Salmobellies won their season home opener, defeating the Adanacs 10-8 at Queen's Park Arena on Tuesday.
The 'Bellies held off a late A's rally in the final stanza with a pair of special team tallies, including the game-winning goal on a power play by first-year intermediate Kamloops product Jeremy Bosher at 15: 40 of the third period.
The 17-year-old Bosher, who will be aged up with the junior team this season, scored his first-ever junior A goal with the second of New West's three shorthanded goals, and also set up Josh Byrne with the first shortie in the opening period following a great special teams rag.
Bosher and Byrne led the junior 'Bellies with two goals and one assist apiece.
"It's my first game of junior A. I'm just getting a taste of it. I'm going to enjoy it," said Bosher, who will be headed south on a field lacrosse scholarship after graduation. "It's just the beginning of the season. We can only go up from here and that's what we're doing."
Third-year Salmonbellie runner Daniel Perreault
opened the scoring with his third goal of the season. Perreault also had a three-point night.
The Salmonbellies led throughout the contest, building a 6-4 lead heading into the final frame following back-to-back 3-2 efforts in the first two periods.
But Coquitlam took advantage of some opportunistic penalty calls, firing three goals with the man advantage to knot the score at 8-8 on Steven Neufeld's hattrick marker.
Three minutes later, Bosher scored from the high post. Reese Robinson iced the game with a loose-ball turnover at mid court and scored into the empty net to ice the Salmonbellies' first win of the season.
New Westminster is at home to the Nanaimo Timbermen on Sunday. Game time is 5 p.m.
