The Lacrosse Blog

Way to go, Bellies

Wow, am I ever relieved that the New Westminster Salmonbellies beat the Coquitlam Adanacs in the second game of the WLA finals. You see, tonight the Adanacs had two extra players on their team: referees Todd Labranche and Keith Williams. Only once before have I seen such blatantly biased refereeing and that wasn't in a lacrosse game, nor was it at this high level of play. If the Salmonbellies had lost, this post would have read like a bad case of sour grapes. Since they won, however, I can call it as I saw it. The reffing stunk.

If you look at the scoresheet, New West spent far more time in the penalty box (24 minutes as opposed to 16 minutes for the As). In actual fact, however, the Bellies' minor infractions usually resulted in penalties while similar plays by the As were considered interference only. What's more, the Adanacs' blatant choking, high sticking (as in a stick audibly contacting a helmet), tripping, and holding went uncalled as was Ray Guze's incessant mouthing off to the refs, especially after each of his three penalties.

I was reminded tonight of the three things I hate the most about the Adanacs. They are (in no particular order): Ray Guze, Andrew McBride, and Peter Veltman (although I'll admit that Veltman was rather mellow tonight).

Way to show support for the Salmonbellies, New West fans. Bellies fans outnumbered Coquitlam fans about 3-1. Not bad for an away game. Mind you, if I lived in Coquitlam, I don't think I'd support the Adanacs. I prefer teams who play hard but play fair. I have yet to see the Adanacs play fair.

Labels: Coquitlam Adanacs, lacrosse, New Westminster Salmonbellies, wla 2008

posted by Barbara K. Adamski @ 10:35 PM