The third period proved to be the Achilles heel for the junior New Westminster Salmonbellies.
The junior A 'Bellies exited the B.C. Junior Lacrosse League semifinals following an 11-10 loss to the Delta Islanders in Ladner on Saturday.
The win by Delta gave the league runner-up the best-of-five semifinal series by a 3-2 scoreline.
New West opened the series with two consecutive wins, but instead of sweeping the semifinal in straight games ended up on the wrong end of a 14-4 score last Wednesday.
That win allowed Delta a time to regroup and the Islanders did it in dramatic fashion, outscoring New West in the final period of both games 4 and 5 to wrestle the series away from the Salmonbellies.
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.
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 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.
Mallory tied the contest 9-9 with his fourth goal of the 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.
Keegan Bal got one goal back in the final minute of play but it was too little, too late.
Delta will now move on against the league champion Coquitlam Adanacs, who swept the Langley Thunder in straight games in the other semifinal.
The schedule for the championship final has not yet been announced.
