Holding their fate in their own hands, the New Westminster Salmonbellies inched closer to clinching a Western Lacrosse Association playoff berth with a polished 9-3 victory over the Langley Thunder on Wednesday.
With the return of Kevin Crowley to the lineup, New West’s offence was in full complement and the result was 64 shots on net – with only a sharp Steve Fryer keeping the score respectable.
The win improves the ‘Bellies' record to 10-7-0, locked with Burnaby and Nanaimo in a three-way tie for third place. A victory tonight at Queen’s Park, where New West hosts second-place Victoria (7 p.m.), would guarantee a top-four finish for the 130-year-old franchise. However, their exact position among the top-four would be decided by the results of other games played this weekend.
On Wednesday, the visitors grabbed an early lead when Austin Shanks buried a shot past Fryer just 1:46 into the contest. Although Langley's Brad McCulley responded just 30 seconds later, New West reclaimed the lead for good on Mitch Jones’ first of four at 4:17. Jordan McBride also tallied in the first period.
In the middle frame, Jones and Crowley -- who last played for the ‘Bellies on June 6 in a 13-7 win over Coquitlam – upped the lead to 5-2. Although the Thunder’s Coady Adamson cut the lead to two goals, New West peeled off four straight to close the game, including two more by Jones.
Along with Jones’ four goals, Shanks netted a pair in a four-point night, while Crowley accounted for a goal and four assists.
While New West has dropped its first two games against the Shamrocks – 15-10 on the Island and 9-7 nearly a month ago at Queen’s Park -- the team played both games without 2018 WLA scoring champion Logan Schuss and Crowley.
If they do beat Victoria tonight and the Island club was to fall to last-place Coquitlam on Saturday, New West would still fall behind the Shamrocks in the standings due to their head-to-head record. Friday’s game between Burnaby and Nanaimo (7 p.m. at Bill Copeland Arena) would also play a role in the final positioning of the playoff teams. With a New West win tonight, that would mean the loser of Friday’s contest would be eliminated from the playoff picture. Should Victoria beat the ‘Bellies, a Burnaby victory would allow New West to sneak into the fourth and final playoff spot, due to a better head-to-head record against the Timbermen.
It wouldn’t have been so convoluted had New West been able to stop the Lakers last Thursday at Queen’s Park.
The visitors carted off an 11-10 win over New West, on the strength of Robert Church’s 11-point night, including five goals. The home team trailed for most of the contest but rallied hard, beginning with Shanks’ goal with :01 seconds remaining in the second period and Lyndon Bunio’s tally 34 seconds into the third, setting up Brandon Goodwin’s unassisted marker seven minutes later to make it 7-7.
Burnaby, however, countered with two of their own and the two teams traded goals the rest of the way.
Maple Ridge (12-6-0) and Victoria (11-5-0) have already clinched spots into the playoffs. The exact positioning of the four will go down to Saturday's regular season-ending contest in Coquitlam, so first-round match-ups and schedules won't be announced until Saturday night at the earliest.
