For fans of Prince George lacrosse, this story will warm your belly.
The Prince George novice Posse pulled off a stunning achievement last weekend in New Westminster when it captured the John Witt Memorial Bellie Bowl A2 novice tournament title in dramatic fashion.
In what were their first games together this season, the 12-player Posse squad went undefeated in five games, including a thrilling 7-6 overtime win over Coquitlam in the championship game on Sunday.
"The kids were crying after we won," said Posse head coach Jeff Moleski.
"They'd only played four or five house league games and those other teams had already played 20 games (together as rep teams). That's the struggle of playing in a smaller centre, but the kids have a real compete level and it was really nice to watch."
Garrett Sakamoto fired the winner three minutes into the extra session to trigger the celebration on the floor at Queen's Park Arena in New Westminster.
"It was a really nice goal, a couple of nice passes and he fired one in, a bounce shot off the goalpost and in," said Posse head coach Jeff Moleski. "To be honest, it's pretty special for the kids to win. Five or six of the older ones led the way and the newer kids really stepped up as well. We have two or three kids who have never played lacrosse before."
The A2 novice level is second in calibre only to A1. The Posse opened with an 8-1 win over New Westminster,then beat Coquitlam 6-4 and Chilliwack 7-3 to finish first in the pool. In the semifinal, Prince George topped Chilliwack 5-3.
"It was some of the hardest-hitting lacrosse I've seen," said Moleski, who played 11 seasons of pro lacrosse in the National Lacrosse League before he retired in 2015. "They played five games and it got really tough. I've never seen anything like it. In all honesty, it's one of my lacrosse highlights."
Kael Frederick played every minute in goal for the Posse. The Prince George roster also includes Bryce Heggie, Jayden Larmand, Kobe Kidd, Peter MacNeill, Owen Martin, Jackson Moleski, Hunter Moleski, Brayden Patterson, Gage Quiring and Jacob Vallentgoed.
James Larmand and Trevor Sakamoto are the assistant coaches.
The Posse players are too young to compete for a provincial championship, which starts at the peewee (11-and-12-year-old) level. The team will wrap up its season at the Canada Day tournament in Calgary, June 30-July 2. Teams from B.C., Alberta Colorado and California are entered.
