The question marks at the start of the season which surrounded the Westwood Pub Devils and their ability to maintain their status as perennial contenders for the crown in the Prince George Senior Lacrosse Association were answered Tuesday night - with an exclamation point.
In a game on the Kin 1 floor to decide who would hoist the Dale Rolufs Memorial Trophy, the Devils were convincing 7-5 winners over their archrivals, the RPR Mechanical/BX Pub Bandits.
The Devils staked themselves to a 4-0 lead in the first period on singles from youngbloods Spencer Ovenden, Colton Poulin and two from Darien Long, then leaned on a superb goaltending effort from Jamie Bellamy to turn aside the Bandits' comeback attempts.
"Jamie was unreal, we got beat three or four times a period by their best players and he just stopped them and that was the difference," said Monty Jones, who had four assists Tuesday and led the Devils in scoring with 24 points in seven games.
"We worked so hard for this, we were the underdogs and every game was a fight."
Five-foot-four forward Drew Doig, a giant disguised as smurf in Bandits' clothing, did his part to get his team back in the game, scoring four goals in the second period. But the Devils countered with strikes from Poulin, Kyler Boucher and playoff MVP Scott Anderson to maintain a 7-4 gap heading into the second break.
Boucher, a just-turned 17-year-old from Vanderhoof, and Anderson, the 49-year-old warrior who came out of retirement to lead the Devils to their third playoff title in four years, represent opposite ends of the age spectrum and both made notable playoff contributions which proved damaging to the Bandits in the five-game series. No question, Anderson saved his best for last in the playoffs with eight goals and 17 points in seven games.
"He was irreplaceable, he was clutch in every game," said Jones. "When we need a goal, he gets it. When we need a stop he gets it, and when we need a draw, he gets that too."
The pundits had written the Devils off after they were outscored a combined 31-15 while losing the the first two games of the series. The Devils' defensive specialists - Anderson, Jones, Dan Plante, Cam Kilbreath and Jeremy Matte - hounded Doig whenever they got the chance on Tuesday and none of his teammates could carry the load on offence.
"Backs against the wall, we dug deep and figured out how to score on their goalie (Jon Wittmeier) and played a lot tougher defence in those last three games," said Bellamy, whose team was outshot 39-36. "At the end of the day they didn't have the numbers and we followed through and finished off the series. We struggled at the beginning of the year passing the ball on offence and we did not look in sync whatsoever, but we got a win our first game and the confidence grew."
No question the B.C. wildfires played a role in weakening the Bandits. Cole Paciejewski, the league MVP and leading scorer, is a firefighter and was occupied with the Nazko fire west of Quesnel, which forced him to miss all but the first game of the final series.
"I'd say with Cole Paciejewski being out of their lineup really hurt them, he's so fast fast and such a great shooter, and with him out we could focus more on a couple of their guys," said Anderson. "Jamie stepped in and came into his own and our defence started clicking and the guys up front started putting balls in the net. It just came together nicely. It's a good feeling."
Work priorities also left the Bandits without sharpshooters Trevor Clark, Jesse Huffman and Caleb Toth, but the Bandits were not using that as an excuse.
"We just couldn't put it in the net, and Scott Anderson didn't play like a 49-year-old," said Bandits coach Don Wittmeier. "They just had outside shooters and they were taking advantage of putting it in. It's kind of hard when you only have both Doigs putting the ball in the net, you have to spread your offence out and we didn't, and Jamie was saving them."
Heading into Tuesday's game, Doig had averaged more than nine points per game. But the Devils did a number on the rest of the gang. Brett Doig, Drew's 50-year-old father, was the only other Bandit in Game 5 to beat Bellamy. Drew hit a post and a crossbar on the same power-play chance halfway through the third period, a few minutes before Brett found the net.
"It's real hard to get open against those guys, they really frustrated our offence," said Brett Doig.
Ken Eyles took over late in the season as Devils coach and unquestionably had a positive influence in developing the youngsters on the team while laying out a strategy that meshed with the strengths of the veterans. Five Devils - Luis Enes, Dalton McIntyre, Ryan Adamweiss, Benno Durfield and Denny Perreira - had never played lacrosse before this season.
The Bandits will get their chance for redemption at the Treasure Cave Casino Challenge Cup. The 11-team tournament is set for the Kin Centre, Aug. 11-13.
