Battle of the Coquitlams

Wednesday night's game between the Saints and the Adanacs reminded me of an old Rodney Dangerfield saying with a twist: "I went to a fight, and a Junior A lacrosse game broke out". But in all honesty there wasn't much of a lacrosse game either. Rivalry games can have two outcomes; it can be a well executed game with intense attention to detail, or it can be a complete gongshow. Wednesday night was the latter.

Tuesday was the scene of another bitter rivalry in the BCJALL between New West and Burnaby where the 'Bellies edged the Lakers 15-14 in a nail-biter of a match up at Queens Park. The game was physical but tidy; the lead flip-flopped back and forth between the two teams for the majority of the game, which made it impossible to predict the outcome. I was excited for Wednesday's game.

Right after the opening face off whistle in Coquitlam, Adanac Matt Beers and Dayne Michaud from the Saints dropped the gloves. The fight was well paired, and both managed to land some pretty good blows. The only blood I saw was on Michaud's neck when he was in the box, I didn't see exactly where it came from, and I'm calling a draw.

After some more interference penalties for both teams, Jordan Weir got the A's on the board diving just outside the crease for his eighth goal of the season. Before the end of the period Weir would throw in another, along with Scott Defrancesco and Jarrett Davis.

Martin Cummings would be the lone goal scorer in the first for the Saints, rifling a power play goal past Chris Seidel with three minutes to go.

Cummings again was the lone scorer for Poco in the second, but his celebration was short lived when Jarrett Davis answered back just twenty seconds after. Two more power play goals from Sean Robinson and Michael Krgovich would keep Coquitlam ahead and end the second period 7-2.

After Krgovich's goal Tyson Cornfield would relieve Richard Cambry in the Poco net; and surprise, surprise, the second would end with a fight between PoCo's Kevin Miotto and the Adanacs' Brandon Turner. Miotto gave a quick punch and Turner wasn't having any of it. Nothing materialized but penalties.

I don't even know where to start in the third. The refs had their hands full and after a lengthily delay in trying to figure out all the penalties, the game finally got back underway. Martin Cummings would score his third and fourth goal of the night in the final frame, along with a power play goal from Andrew Murphy but the damage was done.

Mike Brascia would score two for the A's, Krgovich put in his second, and Chase Dunlop got in on the action late in the period. The game would end 11-5 for the A's, in what was a tough game to watch.

Game Notables:
I can't stress my last sentence enough; this game was tough to watch. Anyone that has read my previous articles knows I appreciate a good fight or two, or even three. But there comes a time when you just need to play the game, if you want to play rough- play smart. Why take yourself out of the game just to try and throw a few punches? I would have liked to see more of a beating on offence and defence, than the choppy undisciplined play I saw tonight.

In the second and third period the game went fourteen minutes at un-even strength between the two teams. At the end of the game Poco had sixteen penalties called against them, and Coquitlam was called for eighteen infractions. Even when both were a man up, there were no valuable opportunities. With the score being what it was for most of the game, the power play could have been a valuable asset to get Poco back in the game, or on the other hand- jack up the tally for Coquitlam.

Players need to keep in mind- fans pay to watch these games and deserve a package performance. The physicality of lacrosse is what makes it arguably the best spectator sport; but if you're going to play a scrappy game, there needs to be an equal amount of quality lacrosse.

No question about it- both these teams have offensive and defensive power. They also have tough guys on the team whose talent stretch much further than just being a goon. The A's and Saints have only one more opportunity to play each other this season and it's not until July 4th. Mark your calendars, it's going to be interesting.