The Port Coquitlam Hitmen were too strong in the end and the walking wounded of the Prince George Scamp Transport Devils could not keep up the pace.
The Hitmen had the legs, a punishing defence and some veteran-savvy firepower to run to an 11-6 victory in the gold-medal Glen ‘Moose’ Scott Invitational/provincial senior C lacrosse championship game on Sunday, Aug. 10 at Kin 1.
“They were a well-oiled machine, for sure,” said Devils coach Jamie Bellamy. “We played six games within the span of six games so it was a war of attrition. We were hanging on by a thread; some guys were more tape than human by the end of the weekend. Our trainer had her work cut out for her.”
Patrick Bayliss was a busy guy in net all weekend for the Devils and probably still has the marks on his body to prove it. He faced 62 shots in the final and let in just 11. He kept it close for two periods and the Devils were still within striking distance, trailing 8-6 at that point.
“He had a long weekend with a lot of shots and I’m sure he’s still quite sore, said Bellamy. “We were pretty heavily outshot.”
The Devils advanced with an 8-7 double-overtime win over the Port Moody Express in one of the semifinals hours before the final got underway. Connor Walton notched the gamewinner for the Devils. That game right after an apparent Express goal was waived off due to a crease violation. The Devils took ball possession and Andrew Shwab fed Walton with a pass across the goal crease for the deciding goal.
The other semifinal between the Port Coquitlam and the two-time defending BC-champion Kelowna Raiders ended in controversy. The game was tied 9-9 after regulation time and went into overtime. The Hitmen struck in overtime and according to BC Lacrosse Association rules the game should have ended there.
The game officials were under a false impression the rule called for a full 10-minute overtime period. The teams played the full 10 minutes and the Raiders outscored the Hitmen 2-1. After an extended discussion, Port Coquitlam was awarded a 10-9 victory and the Hitmen advanced to the final.
The Raiders decided not to play the Port Moody Express in the bronze-medal game and the Express claimed third place after Kelowna forfeited.
The Devils finished third in the preliminary standings with a 2-1-1 record. They started with 13-8 victory over the Victoria Jokers and ended the opening day with 5-5 tie with Port Moody.
On Saturday (Aug. 9) the Devils dispatched the Mission Cedar Kings 10-3, then lost 8-2 to Port Coquitlam.
All teams were allowed to add as many as three players to their roster. Bellamy said the addition of Carson Toth from the BHL Bandits and Harley Dorish from the U17 Prince George Posse, a team that won silver at the B provincials in July, added some significant scoring punch to the Devils’ lineup.
The Devils have won seven straight Prince George Senior Lacrosse Association championships and Bellamy said they benefited from playing the provincial tournament at their home rink. But it wasn’t quite enough to upset the champions of the Greater Vancouver-based West Coast Senior Lacrosse Association and the Devils fell short of the goal of bringing home the Fred Doig Memorial Trophy as BC champs for the first time since 2014.
“They played Ridge Meadows in the finals down there and Port Moody was strong and Mission was pretty strong, too, and Ladner had a good team — there’s a lot of talent in that league for sure,” said Bellamy. “They have a lot of ex-junior B and senior B guys who have found their way in that league.”
The seven-team provincial tournament included one other Prince George Senior Lacrosse Association team. The Prince George Assault, who lost in three straight games to the Devils in the PGSLA final, went 0-4 in the provincial tournament.
The Assault opened with a 7-5 loss to Mission Cedar Kings, then lost 22-3 to Port Coquitlam and the losing continued on Saturday (Aug. 9). The Assault fell 15-5 to Port Moody and 19-4 to Kelowna.
