Mountaineers mauled in Minto Cup opener
Adanacs goalie Del Bianco stands tall as Coquitlam cruises past host team
Being a host club at a national tournament can be a challenge. The hosts want to quickly establish that they deserve to be there, competing against the best teams in the nation.
It’s even tougher when the opposing netminder starred for the Calgary Roughnecks in the National Lacrosse League last season. The youngest regular goalie in the professional loop led the NLL in goals-against average (10.50) and save percentage (.793).
So, it was no surprise that Christian Del Bianco, the Coquitlam Adanacs goaltender, was a wall in the B.C. team’s 16-1 victory over the host Calgary Mountaineers.
But it became painfully clear — as early as the first period of the opening game of the tournament Thursday — that the hosts of the Minto Cup, Canada’s Junior A national lacrosse championship, will need to put this one behind them as quickly as possible.
“The Minto jitters are out now, so we just have to keep building,” said fifth-year Mountaineer and captain Ryan McLean, whose club did not automatically qualify for the Minto Cup by being hosts but did qualify by finishing as runnerup to the Okotoks Raiders in the Alberta championship.
“You just have to have a shortterm memory and focus on what’s next. It’s the first game of the tournament and we have a long way to go from here.
“We don’t want to just be here — we want to compete. Our goal is to win, not just to be a participant.”
The score, while incredibly lopsided, was mostly due to a heck of a first period from Coquitlam. The Mountaineers tightened up their defence as the game progressed, limiting the Adanacs’ offence to singles from Larson Sundown, Ryland Rees, Dennon Armstrong, and Chase Scanlan in the second period. In the third, they only allowed just one power-play strike by Will Clayton and a breakaway goal by Graydon Bradley.
That was something to be proud of, especially for a young Mountaineers squad that faced a turnover of 16 players.
“I’m really proud of the way we performed in the last 40 minutes,” said head coach Joe Vetere, whose club lost a tough best-of-seven battle that went the distance with the Alberta champion Okotoks Raiders.
“At the end of the day, we’re building and we’re having a lot of fun, and we have to keep working toward our end goal. Obviously, we’re younger than they are and they have a lot of experience.
“We have to learn from our mistakes.”
The Adanacs stormed out to a 4-0 lead in the opening 5:32 when Jalen Chaster scored on a breakaway. Shots were 12-2 in Coquitlam’s favour in the first 10 minutes.
Calgary was almost invisible until Jake Foster gave the host team some life with 4:16 remaining in the first half, scoring the Mountaineers’ lone marker of the game.
The home side’s bench was deflated, trailing 10-1 after 20 minutes of action. Coquitlam’s Colin Munro, Dylan Foulds and Clayton scored singles, while they received two goals apiece from John Hofseth, Sundown and Scanlan.
The Adanacs pummelled Calgary goalie Laine Hruska with 21 shots in the opening stanza.
“It caught us by surprise, a little bit,” Vetere said. “When you can’t match the speed and can’t match the intensity … but we’re using this game as a building block going forward.”
Needless to say, it was a busy night for Hruska, who faced Coquitlam’s machine gun-like artillery that directed 46 blasts his way.
He made a nice save on Coquitlam’s top scorer, Dylan Foulds, during a Calgary man advantage, but that alone was an indication the power play crew in front of him was facing an uphill climb.
On the other end, Del Bianco, the 2016 Minto tournament MVP, was nearly perfect, stopping 26 of 27 shots.
“It’s nice (being in Calgary) because you have that familiarity,” Del Bianco said. “It’s almost like a second home.
“(Thursday) was just about getting your legs under you. It’s been a bit of a break since our last playoff game and everyone is so eager. It’s just about finding that medium between being ready to go and not being too excited.”
It’s been a long layoff for the Adanacs, who last played two weeks ago when they finished off the New Westminster Salmonbellies in six games.
But they didn’t show it, thanks to Del Bianco.
“I coached against him (Del Bianco) in the NLL this year,” said Coquitlam head coach and Colorado Mammoth boss Pat Coyle. “I know from experience coaching against him, when he gets on a roll, he actually puts fear in the other team. Like, ‘Are we going to ever score here?’ That can really change a game.”
Keep in mind that Del Bianco provides a challenge for the best players in the world, let alone the country’s top junior-aged stars.
And his numbers at this level have been out of this world in five seasons with the Adanacs.
The 20-year-old Coquitlam native was 62-2-0-1 with a 5.94 goalsagainst average and an .853 save percentage.
Game 2 of the round robin on Thursday night saw the Brampton Excelsiors defeat the Okotoks Raiders 25-8.
Next up for the Mountaineers is a date with the Excelsiors on Friday (5 p.m., Max Bell Centre).