Bandits win bruiser against Devils
Two bitter rivals got together Saturday night on the senior lacrosse floor at Kin 1 and, just as you might expect, they buried the hatchet and patched up the relationship.
Yeah, right.
It became blatantly obvious not long into the game the RPR Mechanical/JR Construction Bandits and Westwood Pub Devils – the finalists from last year’s Prince George Senior Lacrosse Association playoffs – do not like each other.
They hacked each other with their sticks, bashed bodies into the boards with reckless abandon and when tempers flared they wrestled each other to the concrete floor and with clenched fists came up scrapping.
In a rough, penalty-filled matchup to decide temporary bragging rights in the long-standing feud, the Bandits came out on top with an 8-7 decision that easily could have gone the other way.
Dan Martin’s power-play goal with 3:46 left in the third period gave the Bandits the edge they needed in the first meeting between the teams since the Bandits blew a 2-0 lead in the five-game championship series last summer. The Devils won three straight to claim the Dale Rolufs Memorial Trophy for the third time in four years.
“It wasn’t a matter of if, it was a matter of when and right on cue it started getting a little chippy and rough and I wouldn’t expect anything less playing the Devils,” said Bandits speed demon Cole Paciejewski, who was in on seven of his team’s eight goals with a goal and six assists. “Overall it was a good game, it was close, it’s pretty exciting to play in a game like that.”
Paciejewski tied the game 2-2 midway through the first period and set up Drew Doig’s equalizer with a minute left that knotted the score 3-3 heading into the break.
Doig, last year’s scoring champion, finished with a goal and four assists.
Martin’s game-winner came with the Devils’ Dylan Long serving two consecutive five-minute major penalties after Long lost it while tangling with Ryan Waddington. He dropped his gloves and started raining blows down on Waddington but the veteran Bandit refused to fight and Long paid the price with a costly punishment. Martin took a pass from Doig and rippled the net in behind Jamie Bellamy.
“There was a lot of rough stuff going on so the refs did what they could and we ended up on the losing side of it,” said Devils forward Andrew Schwab, who scored four times and had one assist. “Even if you don’t like the guy out there you can’t be swinging at him if he’s got his hands down.
“It was one of the better games I’ve played all year and it was a lot of fun. That’s how lacrosse should be played – hard, fast and tough. It’s great playing with the boys again, I missed all of them, it’s always a good time in the dressing room and in the game it’s nothing but smiles.”
With the odd scowl thrown in. The Devils built a 6-4 lead in the second period until Martin reversed the trend with a beauty, using a side-to-side shimmy to go wide around Bellamy. Midget graduate Caleb Mueller tied it with his second goal of the period and Carson Toth gave the Bandits their first lead of the game with another slick deke late in the second period.
In the third period, Monty Jones sent Schwab into the clear with a lead pass, and with less than 10 minutes left, the game was tied again. Schwab had a chance to force overtime while shorthanded with his Superman impression, coming out of the corner cradling the ball, but couldn’t get a good shot away and Liam Miller was well-positioned to keep the ball out of his net. Schwab came up with blood streaming down from his knee after whacking his leg off the goalpost.
“I would have liked to score and send this one into overtime, everyone on the bench really wanted it and we fought to the last second,” sad Schwab. “This is going to be a good battle all year.”
Schwab, who played senior B last year for the Ladner Pioneers and finished fourth at the President’s Cup national championship, is back in a Devils’ uniform for the first time in four years and the 27-year-old is making up for lost time with his old teammates.
Schwab rang at least three shots off the posts. Scott Anderson, Adam Wagner and Pierce Watson also scored for the Devils.
Miller made 39 saves in the Bandits nets, while Bellamy came up with 30 stops.
The rematch is set for Monday, May 14 at Kin 1 and chances are there will be more blood spilled.
The Bandits improved to 2-1 with Saturday’s win, moving into a tie for top spot with the Co-op Petroleum Stylers, who handed the Bandits a 13-8 loss on Wednesday. The Stylers improved to 2-1 with their 15-5 win over the Mackenzie Omenica Fabricators Lumberjacks earlier Saturday.
“Before today four teams were 1-1 and it just goes to show how close the league is this year,” said Paciejewski. “Everyone’s beating everyone and it’s just a matter of who comes out to play that particular day. I’m really excited to see what happens come playoff time.”