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For the third consecutive year, the RPR Mechanical/BX Pub Bandits and Westwood Pub Devils will battle for a playoff title in the Prince George Senior Lacrosse Association.
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For the third consecutive year, the RPR Mechanical/BX Pub Bandits and Westwood Pub Devils will battle for a playoff title in the Prince George Senior Lacrosse Association.

The best-of-five final starts tonight at Kin 1, with the opening faceoff set for 8. Last year, the Bandits swept the Devils (14-11, 9-5 and 8-5 victories) and prevented their opponent from a championship three-peat. In 2015, the Devils were the ones who took the broom to the Bandits.

This time around, the Bandits enter the final series as the clear favourite. As the first-place team during the regular season, they compiled a 13-1 record and scored a league-high 198 goals in those 14 games. On the flip side, they allowed just 87 for a goal differential of plus-111.

As well, the Bandits were undefeated against the Devils this season. Their only loss was a 10-9 setback to the Quesnel M. Daniels Consulting Crossfire on May 25 in Quesnel.

In the best-of-three playoff semifinal round, the Bandits brushed aside the fourth-place Co-op Petroleum Stylers with 15-8 and 16-7 wins.

The Devils, who finished second in the regular season with a 10-5 mark, got past the third-seeded Crossfire in the semifinals thanks to 12-10 and 9-6 victories.

Now, with the Dale Rolufs Memorial Championship Trophy on the line, they aren't likely to go away quietly in the series with the Bandits.

A key factor for the Devils could be the return to the lineup of long-time floor general Scott Anderson. The 49-year-old - a dominant force in the PGSLA for years - retired at the end of the 2016 season and had been coaching the team but, with three games left in the 2017 regular schedule, handed those duties to Ken Eyles and stepped back into the action. Since then, the Devils have been unbeatable, including the playoff wins against the Crossfire - games in which Anderson scored three goals and added four assists.

The Devils have also been boosted by the addition of former junior A player Dan Plante, who joined them with four games left in the schedule and brought an immediate offensive spark to the floor.

Even with Anderson and Plante in the mix, the Devils will face a stiff challenge in trying to keep pace offensively with the Bandits, who have league scoring champion Drew Doig (44 goals and 106 points in 14 regular-season games) in uniform.

In the Bandits' two semifinal games, Doig put up an astonishing 23 points on 14 goals and nine assists. Meanwhile, teammate Justin Parker had 11 points (four goals, seven assists) and Brock Paciejewski contributed eight points (three goals, five assists).

The Bandits' supporting cast has stepped up in the absence of Cole Paciejewski (third in regular-season scoring with 46 goals and 76 points), who is a firefighter and, with so much of B.C. up in flames right now, is on the job.

In the nets, the Bandits are backstopped by Liam Miller and Jonathan Wittmeier while the Devils rely on Jamie Bellamy and Steven Brizan.

In the eyes of PGSLA commissioner Glen (Moose) Scott, the series shapes up as a classic.

"The two teams don't like each other and it's going to be a simple matter of offence against defence," he said. "The Bandits have the firepower but if Jamie Bellamy and Steven Brizan are on their game and the defence doesn't fold, it's going to be a heck of a series."

Prior to the game, starting at about 7:30 p.m., the PGSLA will name its 2017 award-winners.