Saints Own Win

Submitted by League Reporter, Jen Mutas

With the top three spots in the BCJALL all but wrapped up for Coquitlam, Victoria, and New West leading up to the final weekend of the regular season; standings four to six are a tight race, with Port Coquitlam bringing up the rear in seventh. Two wins for the Saints, coupled with two losses for Nanaimo would mean Poco could slip into that sixth spot for playoff contention.

With all that in the back of their minds, Port Coquitlam had two home games left on their schedule heading into the weekend, with Delta up first on Friday night. The Saints would start the game off on the right foot when James Dunbar threw in his first goal of the season just a minute into the game. Delta would counter to tie up the game and not give the Saints much wiggle room on the scoresheet, but five minutes later the teams would once again go back and forth including three goals on the power play, and Darcy Cummings scoring short handed for the Saints on a Delta turnover. The first would end in a narrow 7-6 edge for Poco, even though Delta had almost doubled them in shots in the first twenty.

Not much would change in the second as far as one team going ahead of the other, still very even play from both sides including each scoring with the man advantage and Poco scoring again shorthanded; this time from Matt Laustrup. Delta would not get the ball past Lowe for almost ten minutes at one point, until Drew Duncan gave the Islanders a boost and send them into the third period down again just one goal.

After some rough stuff and penalties to round out the second period, the final frame would start with three-on-three play which looked to tire out everyone on the floor. After the penalties expired it was business as usual with no lack of intensity, almost as if a light went off and reminded everyone they were playing for playoff spots. With Michael Berekoff scoring three-on-three for Delta and again on the power play five minutes later, the Islanders made the mistake of playing it safe and not advancing their lead. As soon as their guard was down Laustrup would gun through the Islander defense and tie the game up at twelve, sending the crowd to their feet. Just as they had done all night, Delta managed to get a man alone in front of Lowe while Poco was double teaming Carlton Schuss behind the net. Schuss would thread a pass through to Alex Tuura who had all day to pump fake a goal and put the Islanders ahead by one yet again with six minutes left in the game. From then on it was like the clock had a tick; you could feel the seconds going by, and especially feel the sense of desperation coming from Poco who were realizing time was running out. As what usually happens in desperation situations, a questionable tripping penalty was called against the Saints who were working hard down low on Delta with just ninety seconds left in the game. Having scored two short handed goals already in the game it was time to bear down for Poco, and bear down they did. With just thirty seconds left on the clock Scott Jones would be the regular-time hero for the Saints circling behind the Delta net and throwing in an impressive one handed wrap around goal to tie it up at thirteen and send the game to overtime.

As the BCJALL has seen numerous times this season, overtime would consist of a full ten minute period and if nothing was solved after that the game would remain a tie in the standings resulting in one point per team. Knowing that one point just wouldn't cut it to catch Nanaimo, the Saints knew it was go big or go home in a matter of words. After typical end to end rushes from players who barely had any fuel left in the engine, it was Darcy Cummings who would fill the role of overtime hero for the Saints, diving from just outside the crease, and finding the back of the net to send Poco Arena into an absolute frenzy. From then on there was a sense of anxiety on the floor from both teams, and coming down to the wire some players were dry heaving on the bench due to dehydration and intensity. With just seconds left on the clock it looked to be the Saints had it all wrapped up after their time out, but as the whistle blew the play in, a turnover to Logan Schuss would test Lowe one last time on the night, and as he did so often tonight, Lowe shut the door to solidify the 14-13 overtime win.

Coming down to particulars, Delta definitely didn't play their game tonight as far as defense was concerned. Loose balls, passing, and possession were key factors in letting Poco get ahead and gain momentum. Even with the constant tying, going ahead, and falling behind with the score between the teams, frustration about the easy stuff seemed to get the best of Delta at times. That being said, they didn't let Poco get too far ahead before putting on the jets themselves and reminding the Saints they had to put up a fight to get the win. The Schuss brothers combined for sixteen of Deltas thirty four points, and had a hand in all but three of the Islanders goals. Carlton led all players on the night with four goals and six helpers.

Goaltending was once again a huge factor in the game, and tonight it was a battle of the ex-Langley keepers. Graham Chandler came in to relieve Blake Duncan with five minutes to go in the first; and as impressive as his night was between the pipes for Delta, he was outshone by the brilliant play of Mike Lowe for Poco who faced sixty three shots over seventy minutes of play, including ten in the overtime period alone. Tonight was by far the most impressive and composed Lowe has looked all season, showing his ability to adapt to a playoff-feel kind of game, and stick it out for the full match.

Poco should be impressed with their ability to win the must-win situation tonight. Games like this are what playoffs are all about, and Poco showed everyone they would be an entertaining fit into the BCJALL post season. Riding high from their win tonight, the Saints host the Timbermen on Saturday at 5pm where they hope for a repeat upset, and the ability to edge the T-Men for that final playoff spot.