The Ladner Pioneers will be looking for a pair of weekend wins to secure their third straight West Coast Senior Lacrosse Association championship and a trip back east to defend their national title.
The Pioneers take on the Victoria Shamrocks in a best-of-three final that gets underway this afternoon in the provincial capital. The teams will then return to Ladner for a 3 p.m. start on Sunday.
Sweep both games and Ladner will have nearly a month of preparation before defending its President’s Cup championship in Oakville, Ont. as the B.C. representatives.
The Pioneers are coming off a quick semi-final series win over the North Shore Indians, capped by a 17-7 road win on Thursday night. The visitors took full control by outscoring the hosts 7-0 in the second period.
Calgary Roughnecks standout Tyler Pace led the way with five goals and three assists. Phil Caputo added a hat trick, while Matt Beers and Spencer Bromley chipped in with a pair. Singles went to Dean Fairall, Zach Herreweyers, Dylan Lacroix and Jakob Doucet. Christian Del Bianco made 21 saves.
Ladner had opened the series two nights earlier with a 19-6 home floor win. Again, it was a big second period that sealed the outcome with the Pioneers outscoring North Shore 10-1.
Bromley poured in six goals, including four in the middle stanza. Caputo added four and Fairall three. Ryan Keith and Jeff Cornwall were among the other scorers.
Victoria advanced to the finals with a 3-2 series win over Nanaimo, taking the game five finale 13-3 on Thursday.
