One down, six wins to go for the College Heights Pub Assault to capture their third straight Prince George Senior Lacrosse League championship.
The Assault initiated the Quesnel Crossfire to playoff lacrosse Monday night at the Coliseum with a 14-3 win. It's the first playoff appearance for Quesnel who joined the league last season. College Heights leads the best-of-five semifinal 1-0 with Game 2 scheduled for Wednesday night in Quesnel (8 p.m.).
During the regular season the Assault finished second with a 9-3 record while the Crossfire was third at 4-8. The Crossfire only had nine players on the bench, plus two goalies for the first game.
Devon Whalen spotted the Crossfire an early 1-0 advantage in the opening 20 minutes but two late goals by the Assault had the defending champions ahead 4-2 at the period's end. Whalen led Quesnel during the season with 27 goals and 39 points in nine games.
Dustin Walsh and Dave Jenkins Jr. each had a pair of goals for the Assault and Joel Admondson scored the other marker for the Crossfire to tie the game at 2-2.
It was a full-on Assault in the second period.
College Heights added six goals to lead 10-2 after two periods. Jenkins scored his third and fourth of the game, while Walsh completed his hat trick. Other scorers were John Makowsky (2) and Josh Kelly.
After Jenkins made it 9-2 the Crossfire pulled Bob Mills from the net and replaced him with James Teer. Shots after two periods favoured the Assault 25-14.
Walsh, Makowsky and Jenkins added goals for the Assault in the third period while midget player Brody Lawlor scored for the Crossfire. Craig Dunfield added his first goal of the playoffs for the Assault in the final minute.
The series between the Assault and Crossfire features the top three goaltenders of the regular season. Russill Mills of the Assault led the league with a 79.95 save percentage while his teammate Brian Stanley produced a 77.99 percentage. Bob Mills of the Crossfire was third with a 77.01.
The BX Pub Bandits finished on top of the league with a 10-2 record. Damon Calfa and Drew Doig led the Bandits and the PGSLL in scoring with 83 points apiece. Calfa finished the regular season with 45 goals to Doig's 41.
After missing the playoffs last season the Shooters Pub Devils (4-8) had some old faces return to the lineup this season, helping them earn a playoff spot on the last day of the regular season. Three of the returning players to the Devils were Dave Bennett, Scott Anderson and Blake McIntosh.
The best-of-five semifinal between the Bandits and Devils begins tonight, 8 p.m. at the Coliseum.
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