The Prince George Posse proved they can run with the best, coming within a goal of winning a medal at the prestigious Hyack Invitational A2 level bantam lacrosse tournament over the Victoria Day long weekend in New Westminster.
Coached by Don Wittmeier and Blake McIntosh, the Posse strung together four round-robin wins over Penticton, Cowichan Valley, Nanaimo and Coquitlam to finish tied with Burnaby atop the standings to advance to the semifinal round. The Posse's 3-2 win over Coquitlam, a perennial powerhouse, was proof enough to Wittmeier the team of 13- and 14-year-olds he and McIntosh have been grooming for seven years is good enough to beat any team in B.C. this year.
"I thought we would do OK, but not as well as the boys actually did," said Wittmeier. "The defence was outstanding and it shows we can compete with Vancouver teams, and that's usually the measuring stick. Those teams have been playing in a league since April 15 and they play lacrosse all year because they have field lacrosse, so they always have sticks in their hands."
In the semifinal round, the rematch with Coquitlam remained scoreless until the Adanacs fired a screened shot that beat Posse goalie Jonathon Wittmeier for the only goal of the game.
In the bronze medal game that followed, the Posse dropped a 6-5 decision to the Burnaby Lakers and placed fourth out of 12 teams. Jake McIntosh scored three goals for Prince George. Alex Nimmo and Cory Yeast had the other Posse goals. Wittmeier went the distance in the Posse nets, playing all six games.
The Posse roster also includes Hayden Kerr, Griffin Wal, Skyler Roy, Andrew Heitman, Douglas Porter, Justin Wittmeier, Nick Hansen, Bobby Legare, Ethan Brown, Dawson Ellery, Talen Bentram, and Cameron Prouse.
"It was unbelievable how hard the boys worked," said coach Wittmeier. "We had three lines and every line scored. Our third line [Yeast, Nimmo, Roy, Bentram and Justin Wittmeier] only let in three goals in six games in the tournament. Against that calibre of teams, that's amazing. They did their jobs."
Heitman, one the Posse's top goal scorers, suffered a broken wrist when he was bodychecked by a Nanaimo player.
As the only A2 team north of Kamloops, the Posse started throwing the ball around in the gym in late January and coach Wittmeier says the results of those early practice sessions is showing up in tournament play. The Posse advanced to the final in the Penticton tournament two weeks ago, losing the championship game 4-3 to Surrey.
The Posse will travel next to Vernon June 7-8, then will be in Calgary for a Canada Day tournament. The provincial A2 championship will be played July 18-20 in Delta.
