The match-up for the inaugural Arena Lacrosse League West Division Championship series is set for this weekend with the majority of local talent on the outside looking in.
The Grizzlies and Sea Spray will meet at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at the Langley Events Centre. If the games are split then a 10-minute “mini-game” will be played at the conclusion of game two to decide this year’s champion.
Despite a terrific 37-save performance from Ladner’s Brody Harris, the Shooting Eagles dropped an 11-7 to the Grizzlies in one of last weekend’s semi-final match-ups.
The Grizzlies never trailed, jumping ahead 3-0 in the first quarter. The Shooting Eagles did cut the deficit to 7-6 late in the third quarter before the Grizzlies responded with four of the game’s final five goals.
James Baker led the Grizzlies offence with a hat trick and six points while Erik Maas (two goals, three assists) and Kieran McKay (two goals, two assists) both had two-goal games.
Former Delta Islanders' standout Mark Yingling, selected No. 2 overall in the 2022 WLA Draft, led the Shooting Eagles with a pair of goals.
The other semi-final encounter saw the Sea Spray jump out an early 4-0 lead en route to an 11-7 win over the Black Fish.
A late rally did bring the Black Fish within a pair with a half a quarter still to play but they could get no closer.
“We did a good job of when they had their runs, settling down and controlling the game. But the score was kind of scary there until late in the game,” said Sea Spray coach Russ Heard, who was happy with his team’s effort but felt they could have put the game out of reach much earlier.
“That team has a lot of moxie on the other side; when they are down, they constantly find a way to come back. I give full credit to (coach) Roddy Jensen,” he said. “Down the stretch, they were one of the toughest teams to play against.”
Tyler Kirby, who led the Ladner Pioneers in scoring the last time they played a full season in 2019, had a pair of goals and an assist for the Sea Spray. Islanders alumni Nick Jensen and Ryan Jones each had a pair for the Blackfish.
