Lacrosse back in action
New Prince George Senior Lacrosse Association season on the floor
Last season the stars aligned perfectly in the playoffs for the Westwood Pub Devils.
Scott Anderson guzzled from the fountain of youth, Jamie Bellamy built a wall in the goal crease, and the Devils’ offence finally foiled Drew Doig and his RPR Mechanical/BX Pub Bandits.
Written off for dead after losing the first two games of the best-of-five final, in one of the most compelling battles for the right to hoist the Dale Rolufs Memorial Trophy, the Devils won the next three to claim their third Prince George Senior Lacrosse Association championship in four years.
After an unspectacular 8-5 regular season the Devils got hot at the right time and took everybody by surprise.
“It was a little unexpected, we knew it was going to be a bit of a down year for us, we had a bunch of new guys but they all grew actually throughout the season, they got a lot better, and by the time playoffs hit we were clicking pretty well,” said Bellamy.
Can the Devils claim the championship again? They’ll have all their weapons back, including the 50-year-old Anderson, who seems rejuvenated after injuries nearly forced him into retirement the past three seasons. The playoff MVP had eight goals and 17 points in seven games and was equally efficient at defence and winning draws.
Monty Jones was third in league scoring last year and Colton Poulin is a potent pointproducer, as are Pierce Watson and Spencer Ovendon. Bellamy is one of the best stoppers in the league and he’ll have capable backup support from Steven Brizan. Kyle Bloom is a key addition to the Devils’ defence, coming over from the Assault. Former captain Dave Bennett, Kyle Adams and Nathanael McFadyen have returned to the Devils after extended absences and Andrew Schwab will be there to lend his considerable stick skills.
Coach Ken Eyles came on board late in the season and did a masterful job of teaching the game to a handful of athletic newcomers who had never played the game. By the end of the season, guys like Luis Enes were scoring regularly and defenceman Benno Durfield was playing like a veteran. Darian Long hadn’t played in years but made significant contributions.
We ran out of guys (in the final), that fire season rocked us.
— Drew Doig
The Devils will have one fewer team to beat now that Northland Nissan Assault has folded due to a lack of players, leaving the league with three teams in Prince George, one in Quesnel and one in Mackenzie. All but the Mackenzie Lumberjacks added Assault players through a dispersal draft. Having full rosters should make the PGSLA teams better able to challenge for the provincial senior C and Treasure Cove Senior Invitational tournament titles against their Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island peers during the dog days of August.
The newly-named RPR Mechanical/JR Construction Bandits lost just once in the 14 regular-season games in 2017 and the Devils denied them their chance to repeat as playoff champions. They’ll have no shortage of motivation to get the job done this year.
Cole Paciejewski, the league MVP, had 35 goals and 56 points in seven playoff games and was conspicuous in his absence in the final. He played just one game of the series against the Devils before he was called away to fight forest fires. Without his eight points a game and the speed and playmaking skills he brought to the floor the Bandits had to lean more on Doig, a seven-point-per game sniper and league scoring champion. Doig was still deadly in the final, but could only do so much with two or three checkers hanging off him in his drives to the net. Jesse Huffman, Trevor Clark and Caleb Toth were also unavailable for a lot of the playoffs. If their work schedules will allow it, they are difference-makers who could put the Bandits over the top as champions this summer.
“If that’s not the goal this is all a waste of time,” said Doig. “We ran out of guys (in the final), that fire season rocked us. It’s a lot easier to score when there’s four guys who can score.”
Justin Parker and Jake McIntosh each had 35-point seasons and should be even better for the Bandits with another year of the senior game under their belts. They blend well with veterans Taylor Attree, Ryan Waddington, Dan Martin, Brock Paciejewski and Steven Kidwell. Jared Huston was plucked from the Assault.
As good as the Bandits are at putting the ball in the net, they also have the league’s stingiest goalie in Liam Miller, whose 3.60 goals-against average in seven games played led the league.
Down south in Quesnel, the M. Daniels Consulting Crossfire has always had strength in numbers, leaning on a bunch of teens who have played lacrosse together most of their lives. They still have that going for them, but this time, heading into their eighth season, those young kids are now mostly 20-somethings who know the senior game well.
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Coming off an 8-6 third-place finish in 2017, the Crossfire has a full roster of 25 players who just might be good enough to push the two frontrunners for the title.
Dusty Cathcart, Garth Kennedy and Hunter McSeveney all finished in the top 11 in league scoring last season and they’ve got a supporting cast of point producers which includes Brody Lawlor, Bryston Waffle and JT Moore.
“Every year we get older and stronger and that’s a big one for us,” said Crossfire manager Lisa Scott. “Our core group is 19, 20 or 21, where it used to be 16 or 17.”
Tomas Reistad will handle most of the goaltending duties and Bob Mills is the veteran on defence. Chris Santos and Blake Stitt are back in Quesnel after playing for the Assault.
This marks the first season for the Crossfire in the new rink at West Fraser Centre and that should encourage an even stronger fan following. A winning team will keep the folks coming.
The Co-Op Petroleum Stylers’ youth movement that started few years ago is bearing fruit. The Stylers won six of their 13 games last year and made the playoffs and there’s no reason to think they won’t challenge to move higher up the standings.
Goalies Kyle Frederick and Ray Masson, the ageless wonder at 66, have both seen a lot of shots over the years waiting for the Stylers to ferment into a contender and this could be the year.
Matt Rochon, Doug Porter, Daniel Nicholson and Morgan Bloom will stoke the Stylers’ offence and will set the tone for the midget graduates – Gage Prince, Hayden Esopenko and Caleb Hallett – all of whom should have a nose for the net. Cameron Prouse gives the Stylers the lefthanded shot they’ve sorely lacked. He had 15 goals and 25 points in nine games last year as the Assault’s leading scorer. Sara Sia was also picked off the Assault roster and she and Ashley Sidhu bring the female element to the Stylers.
Mike Bayley is going to have to sit out the season waiting for a knee injury to heal but will be behind the bench to offer his advice, giving the Stylers coaching expertise they haven’t had for years. With more bodies now available they could easily climb above the .500 mark in the standings this year.
If Mackenzie Omenica Fabricating Lumberjacks player/coach Jayson Minion had one wish, it would be for the economy of his hometown to suddenly boom to bring a rush of workers packing lacrosse sticks with their belongings. The Lumberjacks have no midget draft to restock their cupboards with young talent and got nothing in the Assault dispersal draft because none of those players live in Mackenzie.
Despite their limited access to bodies, the Lumberjacks still managed four wins last season and if they get that many this year they will consider their eighth season in the league a success.
“Sadly our team doesn’t change a whole bunch, it’s tough for us to grow and we are desperately looking for a goalie,” said Minion, the designated Lumberjacks netminder. “I’m too fat and old for this.”
Ranging in age from 16 to 40, the Lumberjacks are in it for the fun of it and they know home games are a big draw for the people of Mackenzie who have no other adult traveling team to support.
Last season, Chad Gratton led the ’Jacks in scoring with 11 goals and 32 points in 10 games and Kyle Pacheco (13-13-26) wasn’t far behind. Cole Bedell, Jaiden L’Heureux, Sam Peet and Dakota Murphy are back for more and the Lumberjacks will have veterans Robin Waughtal and Trent Poulin available full time this season.
“Nobody really gets down on themselves,” said Minion. “We know we’re in a tough league to compete in and if we can score a few more goals than the last game against that team then we’re doing OK. We just keep our chin up and do the best with what we can.”