When the Claude's Barbershop/BX Pub Bandits needed to find passing gear to drive their lacrosse engine, Drew Doig took over the transmission.
Ever dangerous when he gets the ball on his stick, Doig proved unstoppable leading the comeback in the third period as the Bandits outscored their archrivals, the Westwood Pub Devils, 7-1 on the way to a 14-11 triumph in Game 1 of the Prince George Senior Lacrosse Association championship series Thursday night at Kin 1.
Doig came to the Olympic-sized rink packing sticks of dynamite in the legs and used that explosive force to propel his five-foot-five, 165-pound frame out of the reach of the Devils. Quick, shifty and unpredictable, he had a hand in 11 of his team's 14 goals, scoring three times and assisting on eight.
Second only to teammate Cole Paciejewski this season in the PGSLA's individual scoring race with 30 goals and 96 points in 15 games, the 26-year-old Doig has been carrying the mail for the Bandits all season. Thursday's win improved their record, including playoffs, to 18-1. They'll try to go up two games to none against the Devils when the best-of-five series resumes Monday night at Kin 1 (8 p.m. start).
"We finally outworked them in the third period," said Doig.
"They outworked us the first two, but in the third I think we were getting the loose balls and beating them for the battles we needed to win the game.
"That team loves beating us and we love beating that team, so they're pretty intense games and you get excited for them. All day, everyone's looking forward to it. Monday's game is going to be a tough one."
Devils veteran Dave Bennett says his team can't afford to fade in the late stages like they did Thursday and expect to beat the Bandits. Doig and Damon Calfa lit up the Devils for three goals in the first two minutes of the third period Thursday to knot the score 10-10 and that inspired the Bandits to take control.
"We know it's going to be a hard series, we haven't beat them yet this year," said Bennett. "We seem to get up but we can't put together a full 60 minutes. Some bad penalties and things changed in a hurry. We were getting pretty tired, we didn't have our full bench and by the third period we were running short of legs."
Devils forward Pierce Watson, who joined the senior league last season after playing junior A in Port Coquitlam, is getting a taste of the long-standing rivalry between the teams. He scored four goals and had an assist in Game 1 and the Devils will need him to keep producing to prolong the series.
"It was fun playing this game, it's just that we got unlucky in the third," Watson said. "We had good momentum going in but after those three goals our momentum just went downhill from there. We'll come back and give 'em a show next game."
The Devils are the two-time defending PGSLA champions and they'll have their leading scorer, Blake McIntosh, back for Monday's game. McIntosh, who had 37 goals and 70 points this season, fourth in the PGSLA, missed the opener while he was traveling coaching the Prince Gorge Posse rep team at the bantam A2 provincial championship in Vancouver.
The Devils were also without goalie Jamie Bellamy, who allowed just one goal in a semifinal playoff win over Quesnel. He's also expected to be available for Monday.
Game 3 of the series is set for Wednesday, with Games 4 and 5, if needed, scheduled for July 25 and July 27.
