Quite a game...
Tonight's game against the Maple Ridge Burrards was extremely exciting. Even though I haven't missed many home games, this was my first time to see the Burrards play this season. They played hard and kept the Bellies on their toes. The Bellies were in fine form, too, except for several minutes in the third period when they seemed to lose their concentration.
The highlights of the game were:
• watching the remaining three Salmonbellies get penalties for retaliating against a cheap shot by a Burrard (meaning the whole line minus the goalie was off, and four huge Bellies were squished into the penalty box)
• seeing Bob Salt smile not that long after we discussed the fact that he never smiles--ever.
The Bellies' next game is Tuesday, when they meet the Victoria Shamrocks in the semi-finals at Queen's Park Arena. Be there. And wear red.
Labels: lacrosse, Maple Ridge Burrards, New Westminster Salmonbellies
Bellies to rely on tighter defense this season
With the loss of some major high-scorers, the Bellies will have to rely on tighter defense this season, according to
this article. Overall, I think there's going to be some pretty close games this season. Take the recent Salmonbellies vs. Burrards game. While the Bellies won 11-8, the game did go into
overtime. The games between the two teams weren't that close last year.
Labels: lacrosse, Maple Ridge Burrards, New Westminster Salmonbellies
Salmonbellies in 2008?
According to this
Vancouver Sun story, WLA assistant commissioner Sohen Gill says the Bellies will prevail in 2008. From the article:
"I would think, on paper, the Salmonbellies should win," said Gill, whose son Chris plays for New Westminster but is otherwise unbiased. "The Adanacs are still right there, so who really knows? But again, on paper, I think the Salmonbellies are the better team."
The Salmonbellies' first game of the season is a May 18 away game against the Maple Ridge Burrards.
Labels: Chris Gill, Maple Ridge Burrards, New Westminster Salmonbellies, Sohen Gill
Now I get it...
I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary when the Salmonbellies had a less-than-stellar first period against the Burrards in Maple Ridge. At the end of the first, the teams were tied at 3.
But in the second period, they gave away a couple of goals. I still didn't think that in itself was odd. What was odd, though, was that they pulled Disher and substituted
Ray Hodgkinson from the Junior A's. In the first place, why did they pull Disher? He wasn't having a bad night. And in the second place, why did they put in a new guy? The Bellies already have a backup goalie. In any case, Hodgkinson let in several goals, but not on his own. The Bellies provided him with no defense. By the end of the second period, the Bellies were down 9-4.
In the third period, the Burrards' shooting streak continued. In the last 10 minutes of the game, however, the Bellies managed to sneak a few past the Burrards' goalie, but it was too little, too late, and the Burrards took the game 15-7.
I didn't quite understand it. The Bellies weren't playing with the full team. Gill and P. Morgan were watching from behind the plexiglass. And the Bellies just weren't up to snuff. After coming home and checking the standings, though, it dawned on me. The Burrards are now tied with the Timbermen for fourth place. I'm not sure how they decide who gets into the playoffs. New West was scheduled to take on Nanaimo this Friday in Queen's Park. A tie-breaking game or a best of three will have to be played between the Timbermen and the Burrards. This is advantageous for the Bellies, because the winning team will be exhausted entering the playoffs, while the Bellies will be fresh. Sneaky. But clever.
I'm not writing this to undermine the Burrards' efforts. They played a great game this evening. They ran hard and shot well. And their goalie,
Alex Coutts, was a wall. I'm surprised he wasn't given first star of the game. In my opinion he was the best player out there.
So there you have it: the politics of playoffs. Interesting times ahead.
August 4 Update: Ha! Turns out I was wrong. I found out at last night's game that because, in the regular season, the Timbemen had beaten the Burrards more than the Burrards had beaten the Timbermen, the T-men advanced to the playoffs. The Bellies were just playing a crappy game, and the Burrards were playing a good one.
Labels: Alex Coutts, Maple Ridge Burrards, Ray Hodgkinson, Salmonbellies
