The Ladner Pioneers have punched their ticket to the West Coast Senior Lacrosse Association final and hopefully a return trip to the President’s Cup national championship.
The Pioneers completed a three-game sweep of the Coquitlam Adanacs with a 12-7 win Monday night at the Ladner Leisure Centre.
Ladner led from start to finish, dominating in every facet of the game.
Cody Nass led the scoring attack with three goals and two assists, while Peter McFetridge, Nathan Clare, Dylan Lacroix and Mike Berekoff all added two goals apiece. Dan McDermott rounded out the scoring.
Spencer Bromley added five assists.
Making his second start of the series, Broadie MacDonald was solid in net, making 24 saves. Rob Cook took over in the third period and made nine saves as the Pioneers outshot the Adanacs 50-40.
In game two Saturday night in Coquitlam, Ladner pulled out an 11-10 win.
Nine different Pioneers scored with Garrett Lewis and Bromley each notching a pair.
Zack Wickett was outstanding in net making 56 saves as Ladner outshot Coquitlam 69-66.
Ladner will now await the winner of the other semi-final series between Nanaimo and Victoria. Nanaimo holds a 2-1 series lead.
Game four is Tuesday night in Victoria. If a game five is needed, it would be Thursday night in Nanaimo.
Nanaimo is the host for the President’s Cup, so if they win Ladner would clinch a berth regardless of the outcome of the league championship series. If Victoria wins, then Ladner knows it still has some work ahead.
“It’s good to get that series over with,” said Pioneers head coach Ross Frehlick. “I think our toughest game was game two in Coquitlam. We had a big lead and they came back and almost tied it up, so that was their shot. I think they knew coming into our barn Monday night that they were done. We just dominated them.”
The Pioneers had a balanced scoring attack throughout the series, which Frehlick hopes will continue.
“Our three leading scorers (Clare, Kirkby and Berekoff) were strong, but then we had other guys like McFetridge and Lacroix step up,” he said. “It’s hard to check a team when everyone is putting the ball into the net.”
Besides the balanced scoring Frehlick said their goaltending was also a big factor in the series.
“Broadie only let in five goals last night in 50 minutes then we put in Rob Cook because it was his last game in Ladner Arena after 27 years of playing on our team,” said Frehlick. “Goaltending is huge. Broadie makes us so much better. He is the best goalie in our league.”
The league final will start next Wednesday either in Nanaimo or at home in North Delta at Sungod Arena against Victoria.
