Devils draw first blood in senior lacrosse final

The Westwood Pub Devils wasted no time flexing their muscles as two-time defending champions in the opening game of the Prince George Senior Lacrosse Association final series.

They built a 7-1 lead in the opening period and went on to hammer the Northland Nissan Assault 21-6 in Game 1 Tuesday night at Kin 1.

Pierce Watson led the Devils' cause with six goals, while PGSLA scoring champion Andrew Schwab had a nine-point game with four goals and five assists and Jake McIntosh picked up three goals and eight assists.

David Lawrence and Colton Poulin each collected two goals, while Danton Nicholson, Jeff Moleski, Cameron Braun and Nolan Bayliss also scored. Bayliss also drew three assists.

For the Assault, Matthew Rochon, and Cole Kulczyski each fired a pair of goals. Doug Porter had one goal and two assists and Dave Jenkins had a goal and an assist.

The Devils fired 69 shots at the Assault net. Kyle Frederick and Russill Mills combined to make 48 saves. Patrick Bayliss blocked 34 shots in goal for the Devils.

Game 2 of the best-of-five series is set for Thursday at Kin 1.

If the Devils win that game they'll have a chance to wrap up their third consecutive league championship in Game 3 on Monday.

If needed, Game 4 is set for next Wednesday, with Game 5 to follow, if necessary, on Thursday.

Before Tuesday's game the league handed out its annual season awards and goaltender Jon Wittmeier, who backstopped the Mackenzie Conifex Power Lumberjacks to a third-place 8-8 finish, was named winner of the Helen McIntosh Award as the most valuable player.

Wittmeier played in 11 of the 16 regular season games and posted an 8.03 goals-against average with a .820 save percentage.

Bayliss, the Devils' goalie, was selected for the Ted Conway Award as the league's top goaltender. He played in six games in the season and sported a 5.33 goals-against average and .844 save percentage. Schwab received his trophy as the league scoring champion. In 13 games he put up 47 goals, 42 assists and 89 points.

See page 10 for a complete list of award winners and the all-star teams.