It's now or never for the New Westminster Salmonbellies.
On the heels of losing 11-10 to the Peterborough Lakers Wednesday, the B.C. champions sit in an uncomfortable zone known as a 3-2 deficit in the Mann Cup championship.
They have a chance to continue their run for a national crown by putting together their best effort yet in Game 6 on Friday (7:30 p.m. at Queen's Park Arena), and avoiding elimination. But they must overtake a very dynamic Lakers team to do it.
New West scored the first two goals Wednesday and had the Lakers lashing out for an inside shot during the opening five minutes in a stretch that saw the hosts outshoot Peterborough 7-3. But the sands unsurprisingly shifted and the visitors counted five of the next six goals -- including two off the powerplay -- to exit the first period ahead 5-3.
Early in the second, the Lakers tallied goals 26 seconds apart and appeared to be controlling the tempo and transition with their constant high energy game. As they have done throughout the series, New West forced its way back into the fray with a three-goal run, on tallies from Kevin Crowley and Mitch Jones, with two. The lanky lefthander fired near-identical shots from the right slot, catching Peterborough netminder Matt Vinc down low to make it 7-6.
Barely a minute later, however, Curtis Dickson forced a turnover at the centre line and charged down to the crease with a defender chasing, burying the ball past Alexis Buque to restore the Lakers' two-goal advantage.
While Vinc robbed Justin Goodwin from in tight, a minute later along came Jones with his third of the period to again cut the deficit to one.
Peterborough had an answer for that rally as well, with two goals to close out the middle frame up 10-7. They added a goal five minutes into the third, attaching urgency into every New West rush going forward.
They responded to the challenge, getting goals from Logan Schuss, Brett Mydske -- on a brilliant individual play that saw the New West native carry a defender on his back before bucking the ball past Vinc -- and Anthony Malcom, the latter tally coming with 2:28 left in regulation.
With time and opporunity winding down, the 'Bellies applied some pressure over the final minute but Peterborough stood its ground, ending up controlling the ball over the final 30 seconds.
The Lakers outshot New West 48-47, getting hat tricks from Adam Jones and Dickson.
Mitch Jones finished the night with three goals and six assists for New West, while Schuss counted two goals and five helpers.
With their season a loss away from ending, the situation for New West isn't dire or dependent upon St. Anthony -- the 13th century patron saint of lost things -- New West only needs to channel more of what worked in the opening two games, and what helped them escape a similar season-ending situation against Maple Ridge in the WLA semifinal. In other words, they have the manpower to turn the boat around.
After Game 5 when Peterborough pulled even in a series New West had led 2-0, Mitch Jones said the obstacles ahead were the kind of test he and his teammates were eager to overcome.
"There's a lot of things on the line. When it comes down to the Mann Cup, there are a lot of emotions, a lot of passion," said Jones, who carries a Mann Cup ring from his 2015 run with Victoria. "There are guys who have played for years, had a shot at it and haven't got it.
"There are guys in our locker room who want it bad, and I'm sure there are guys in their locker room who want it just as bad. We've got to harness our emotions in the right way and make that into energy, instead of riff-raff and smoke and mirrors kind of stuff."
Game 6 goes Friday, 7:30 p.m., while a seventh game, if necessary, would be played on Saturday. All games are at Queen's Park Arena.
