Ladner Pioneers will face the Tri-City Bandits in the West Coast Senior Lacrosse Association championship series starting Sunday night at the Ladner Leisure Centre.
The Pioneers advanced to the finals after eliminating the Nanaimo Timbermen thanks to a 7-3 game five win on Thursday. Ladner had enjoyed a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series before dropping next two games.
The deciding tilt saw the hosts enjoy a 2-0 lead after one period and be in control for much of the way. A balanced attack featured seven different goal scorers Taylor Hetherington, Scott Boyle, Travis St. Germain, Tyler Lietz, Quinn Waddington, Kevin Redhead and captain Dave Yee. Kevin Hill was solid in net, making 37 stops.
"We came to play right from the opening face-off and that was the difference," said Ladner head coach Bob Taylor. "We got off to a really slow start (in a 12-6 game three loss) and basically just ran out of time in trying to fight our way back into it."
The championship series is a rematch of the 2010 finals which saw the Bandits win in five games. Both teams have made wholesale changes to their roster since.
Game time Sunday is 8 p.m. Game three is slated for next Thursday at 8 p.m.
