Take a group of guys from Delta, add three players from Prince George, and you get the right combination to win the biggest box lacrosse tournament in Europe.
It's exactly what happened to the Pioneers, a senior B men's lacrosse squad that won the 22nd annual Ales Hrebesky Memorial tournament in Prague, Czech Republic, on the weekend.
The Pioneers went a perfect 7-0 in the 21-team tournament, including a 9-6 victory over the Green Gaels from Ontario in Saturday's championship final.
"It's very, very exciting that we won," said Jamie Bellamy, one of the three Prince George players on the team. "There were huge fireworks after and we weren't really expected to win. It wasn't even on our radar. We were super-pumped.
"It was pretty cool. I've never played in Europe before. It (the atmosphere) was really, really loud. It was outdoors with flood lights for the 8 p.m. (final) game. The Czech fans were really loud. It was raining and we were slipping and sliding everywhere."
The Pioneers compete in the West Coast Senior Lacrosse Association in the Lower Mainland.
Besides Bellamy, one of two goaltenders on the Pioneers, the other Prince George players were defender Pierce Watson and forward Andrew Schwab.
The Ales Hrebesky tournament is hosted by the Lacrosse Club Custodes Sokol Radotin in memory of its former player - Hrebesky - who died in November 1993 at the age of 21 after he was hit by a drunk driver while he waited at a bus stop.
Hrebesky was a gifted lacrosse player who was also a gymnast, a cycle-ball player and a keen hockey player. His host club organized the first memorial tournament in 1994 and it has grown ever since. It now features 21 teams from 15 different countries.
In 2007, the Green Gaels were the first team from Canada to compete in the tournament and they ended up winning. The Kahnawake Rapids from Quebec won the 2014 title.
The Pioneers finished fifth in the tournament in 2013 and 2014 and asked Bellamy, Schwab and Watson to join them two months ago. Bellamy and Watson play for the Westwood Pub Devils in the Prince George Senior Lacrosse Association. Schwab also played for the Devils but has since moved to Armstrong.
Bellamy, 22, played junior A lacrosse with Nanaimo and intermediate lacrosse with the majority of the Pioneers in Delta.
In Prague, Bellamy was in net for the Pioneers' 8-3 win against Bats Bratislava from Slovakia and their 11-1 victory against the Glasgow Clydesiders from Scotland in round-robin play. He saw some action in the cross-over game, where the Pioneers defeated the Riggers from Ireland 7-1 to advance to the quarter-final.
The Pioneers then downed Tel Aviv from Israel 7-1 in the quarter-final to advance to the semis, where they beat the Megamen of Boston 10-4.
Schwab scored two goals and picked up three assists in six games while Watson tied for the hardest shot in the skills competition during the North America versus Europe all-star game Friday night.
As a goaltender, Bellamy noticed a difference between the European and North American styles of play.
"In box lacrosse you have to play the angles," said Bellamy. "They play with bigger, pro-style nets in Europe. It's a bit of an adjustment, but I adjusted fairly quickly.
"It was quite surreal in Prague. It was exciting to see so much talent. There were a lot of ex-professional players playing for the Canadian teams and it was a high level of lacrosse."
The Pioneers didn't have a chance to practice together until they arrived in Prague on April 20. When they did get in the box, it was for a 90-minute session.
The Pioneers returned home to B.C. on Monday and Bellamy went straight to the Coliseum to watch the Northland Nissan Assault down the Prince George Bandits 19-8 in PGSLA action. He then returned to work on Tuesday as a sales rep at Northland Nissan.
Bellamy's Devils are in action Thursday night when they take on the Quesnel Crossfire. He splits goaltending duties with Steve Brizan and said he's definitely more prepared for the season now after playing for a week in Europe.
