Ball Breaker | Day 1

After what seemed like an eternity of winter there is finally a break in the weather; and with the sun and warmer temperatures comes box lacrosse season. April 17th was the first day for the annual Ball Breaker tournament, to get the players, teams, and fans back in the game they love so much.

Game one saw the hosts Port Coquitlam take on the New Westminster Salmonbellies, in a game riddled with calls. Despite New West being in control it was the Saints who would score first with Trevor Evans taking advantage of an early power play. From there the ‘Bellies took over and dominated over the first two periods. About ten minutes into the game Jesse Rougeau and Jeff Sproule would throw down for the first fight of the weekend, and after a few good throws it was Sproule who would have to head to the dressing room with a bloody mouth and change his jersey, leaving Rougeau with the nod. After forty minutes the ‘Bellies had a comfortable six goal lead, and even with a late three-goal push from the Saints, a short-handed empty net goal from Tom Newton would seal the deal and end the game 10-5 in favour of the ‘Bellies. Port Coquitlam went with two Intermediate goalies while they wait for Mike Lowe to return from university back east, and considering they were up against an offensive powerhouse team like New West, Carson Michaud and Garrett Spann did quite well between the iron. There were thirty-three penalties called in the game between both teams, 111 minutes altogether including game misconducts to Andrew Polkinghorne (New West), Rougeau, and Milan Marcetta (Poco).

Game two between Langley and Delta would have a completely different feel with regards to penalties and rough stuff, at least until the final thirty seconds of the match. The Islanders took the initial lead in the game, besting the Thunder by three goals to one after the opening period. The middle frame would see Reegan Comeault and Brandon Bull add to the first period goal from Colten Hayes, and get the Thunder within one goal of the Islanders after forty minutes. Delta would re-group and come back hard in the final period with Eamon Butler scoring two of the three goals in the third, one being short-handed. With the score pretty much wrapped up at 7-4, the last few minutes started to get rougher, and ended with Hayes getting an unnecessary roughness penalty for bear hugging Matt Messenger with his stick and then taking him down. Messenger went down so hard in fact, that when his stick hit the cement there was a spark and a little bit of a flame; pushing and shoving ensued and a few more penalties were called, but the damage was done and the score was final.

The last game of the day saw the defending BC champs Coquitlam take on the Lakers. Both teams had a lengthy team meeting by their benches during warm up, and the game had a good start with both sides looking comfortable. Goaltending was the main topic of conversation in the crowd, as both Brodie MacDonald and Dan Lewis looked solid for their teams. Lewis was ran down twice in the first ten minutes of the period, something the Coquitlam bench was not happy about, but the A’s answered back with two goals and take the period by the same score. Halfway through the second both teams would switch goalies- Chris Seidel for Coquitlam, and Xander McDonald for Burnaby, who is a first year Intermediate goalie with Richmond. Burnaby finally got on the board in the second with Zachary Chan beating Seidel just minutes after the switch. Five goals from the A’s extended their lead by six goals after two periods, and the game would coast in the third with the final score being 8-3. Besides the standard-issue physicality of the game, players didn’t resort to anything past pushing and shoving until McDonald got roughed while Coquitlam was trying for one more goal. Pleasantries were exchanged around the goalie by the players on the floor, but nothing became of it. Despite the goal difference, this game was arguably the most evenly matched as far as skill and team cohesion was concerned; both teams had great chances and looked comfortable on the floor.

At the end of day one Coquitlam, Delta, and New West are the teams to beat for Sunday, with the following matchups:
6:00pm Langley vs. Coquitlam
7:40pm Burnaby vs. New West
9:00pm Poco vs. Delta

All games played in the main arena at the Poco Rec Center on Wilson Ave.