The New Westminster Salmonbellies climbed into a share of first place in the B.C. Junior Lacrosse League with a 20-7 romp over the Burnaby Lakers on Tuesday.
The once-mighty Lakers looked barely a shadow of its former self, falling behind 2-0 in the opening 43 seconds of the game at Queen's Park Arena.
The junior A Salmonbellies went on to score a 9-2 lead after the opening period and upped that advantage to 17-5 after two periods, while outshooting the visitors a staggering 65-31.
The win was New Westminster's third in a row and has included key victories over Langley and Victoria in the past week.
It also pulled the 'Bellies into a three-way tie with Victoria and Coquitlam atop the eight-team standings.
"It all started off with the loss in Langley in overtime," said team captain Steve Ferdinandi. "Guys are getting closer, and our offence and defence are getting better."
Anthony Malcom, Josh Byrne and Quinn Smith had a chance to pad their stats with big, multi-point games.
Byrne led all scorers with nine points, including four goals to move into second place in league scoring with 20 goals and 47 points.
Malcom contributed eight points to the win, including a season-best four markers.
Smith also had an eight-point outing, including his 15th and 16th goals of the year.
But Ferdinandi added the team cannot lose focus now that it is back on top.
"We have an end goal in mind, and we have to keep our focus - the Minto Cup is our end goal," he said.
"Clay (Richardson) is implementing a good system, playing a pressure defence. We're not there yet, but I think we're starting to pick it up."
New West will be on the Island to play Nanaimo on Saturday.
