The New Westminster Salmonbellies staged a near-improbable finish in Game 4 of the Western Lacrosse Association semifinal.
The senior A Salmonbellies trailed by six goals heading into the final period before falling 16-13 to the Victoria Shamrocks at Queen’s Park Arena on Wednesday.
The loss eliminated the New West club from the best-of-seven playoffs in straight games, but it hardly did justice to the series in its entirety.
In Game 1 in Victoria, New West led 6-5 after the opening period before giving up six straight goals in the middle period.
In Game 2, the ’Bellies were leading 12-9 in the final minute of play before giving up an unlikely four goals and the game to the ’Rocks.
In Game 3, New West had a rocky start but outscored the regular season champs the rest of the way before falling 11-8.
“It just goes to show that you can’t count us out,” said New Westminster lefthander Logan Schuss, who led the ’Bellies with two goals and seven points in Game 4. “There is no quit on this team. That’s why we like to play together – 60 full minutes. … We gave it everything we had.”
At Queen’s Park, the two teams traded goals throughout a 5-5 opening 20 minutes.
But Victoria found the mark in the middle frame, outscoring the home team 7-1.
Rather than lay down, the Salmonbellies responded in the third, scoring six times, including four with the goalie out for a sixth attacker, in a desperate eight-minute span that further injected excitement into a series that provided no shortage of surprises.
“(The outcome of the series) definitely didn’t show what kind of games they were,” added Schuss, who currently leads all playoff scorers with 20 points in four games.
But like it did all series, Victoria found ways to win in all manner of ways.
In game 4, defender Tyler Hass scored five times, including two of the ’Rocks’ four shorthanded goals in the game and one into an empty net. Jesse King got the other two shorties in a three-goal contribution.
“(Victoria) is so talented. They’re all a bunch of pros. … It just shows how important the little things between the play are,” Schuss added.
Jordan McBride, who had a solid series for the Salmonbellies, finished the game with six points, including a hat trick and a team-high 10 playoff goals.
Cliff Smith also registered a hat trick. Neil Tyacke came on in relief of starterAlexis Buque and took the loss.
Junior callup Josh Byrne added two goals and three assists to finish his first senior playoff with eight goals and 13 points, including a sparkling 44 per cent shooting average.
“Hats off to Victoria, but we’ll come out with a different mindset and win this next year,” said Schuss.
