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ROUND TWO—WHAT TO EXPECT
Round two begins this weekend with a home and home series between New Westminster and Victoria, as well as Coquitlam hosting Delta on Sunday, before making the journey to Ladner on Tuesday.
COQUITLAM (1) vs DELTA (4)
With their bye into the semi-finals the Coquitlam Adanacs have had a week and a half to rest up and get ready to face the Delta Islanders, who took the quarterfinal matchup with the Burnaby Lakers by sweeping them in two games. Since their BCJALL inception in 2001 this is the first time in team history the Islanders have advanced past the quarters, adding to an impressive season that has seen the team steadily climb the standings and add fuel to the fire at trade deadline with six key signings.
In the quarterfinals Delta scored 27 goals and dominated in all areas of the floor from goaltending, to defense, and offense. Including the end of the regular season the Islanders are heading into the semi-final series with Coquitlam on a seven game win streak that will no doubt be challenged by the league leaders. Look for Delta’s LOGAN SCHUSS to add to his post-season point total of 11 which includes six goals, and after finishing the regular season third in league scoring MIKE MALLORY will be looking to build on his one goal and four assists in the Burnaby series. ZACK BOYCHUK and BLAKE DUNCAN split the time between the pipes for the Islanders in the quarterfinals and while both goalies did just fine, they will most definitely be tested more often by the Adanacs in the upcoming series.
Coquitlam’s regular season record of 19-1-1 ensured they finished in first spot in the BCJALL for the third consecutive year and their 256 goals in 21 games averages out to just over 12 goals per game; couple that with a goals against average of 6.3 and you can see why the A’s finished where they did in the standings.
Just as important as their firepower up front, has been the play of their goaltenders DAN LEWIS and CHRIS SEIDEL who have traded starts since the beginning of the year, with Lewis having the slight edge in minutes. Both goalies have their advantages in the regular season statistics- Seidel has the lower goals against average with 5.9, and Lewis has the better save average at 83.18%. As if that wasn’t enough, the A’s picked up BRODIE MacDONALD from the Lakers at trade deadline to add to their experience at the back.
MacDonald has the most minutes played out of the three ‘tenders with 899 in 19 games in the 2010 season, and as far as goals against and save average is concerned he sits between Lewis and Seidel. At the other end of the floor look for MARK MATTHEWS to continue his onslaught of points as he finished the regular season with 66 points in just 10 games, including eight hat tricks and four short-handed goals. BRANDON BERTOIA led the A’s in power play goals with 12, and when given the chance, first year intermediate call-up WESLEY BERG made a name for himself in Jr. ‘A’ as he notched 42 points in 14 regular season games.
NEW WEST (2) vs VICTORIA (3)
After dropping the first game of the quarter-finals at home against the Timbermen, the Shamrocks came back and won the final two matches which advanced them to the semis where they will face a familiar foe in the post season. For the third year in a row the ‘Rocks will face the New Westminster Salmonbellies in the semi-finals and Victoria will be looking to better their post season record against the ‘Bellies, who in the past two post-season matchups only have one win against New West.
In the quarters KARSEN LEUNG led the ‘Rocks with 17 points in 3 games including seven goals and ten assists, and eighth round 2008 midget draftee JAKE EMMS continued his regular season success into the post season, notching five goals and seven helpers in the three games against Nanaimo. The Shamrocks made the most of their time with the man advantage in the series with the Timbermen, scoring ten goals on the power play, with Emms and BLAIR PINNOCK scoring three PP goals each. Starting all three games against the T-Men, expect goalie ADAM HICKEY to do the same in the series against New West, but just like the Islanders goalies he will have to elevate his game in order to advance his team into the finals.
Although the ‘Bellies went undefeated for the first seventeen games of the regular season it was the Shamrocks who held them to an eight goal tie back on May 16th. New West ended the regular season with two losses to Nanaimo and Coquitlam and just like the A’s, have had a week and a half to rest up with their bye into the semis. On the last game of the regular season TYLER DIGBY passed Victoria’s Casey Jackson by one point to capture the scoring title with 89, so fans watching this series will have the privilege of seeing the top two scorers in the league on the floor fighting for a spot in the finals.
When on the power play look for MARK NEGRIN to capitalize as he had 13 PPG’s in the regular season, and trade-deadline pickup CODY BREMNER will no doubt have an elevated role on the team in the semis as he’s had some more time to adjust to his new team. As far as goaltending is concerned for the ‘Bellies BRANDON MULLIGAN and FRANK SCIGLIANO split the time in goal in the regular season, but that might change depending on which player starts hot with the opportunity to advance to the finals on the line.
Submitted by Jen Mutas
League Reporter
jmutas@bcjunioralacrosse.com
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Around The League With Jen - Archives
2010 Articles
July 28, 2010 - (Finals—What To Expect)
July 16, 2010 - (Round Two—What To Expect)
July 10, 2010 - (Playoffs—What To Expect)
June 24, 2010 - (Prospects Game)
April 30, 2010 - (Beat This)
April 19, 2010 - (New Coaches A'Plenty)
2009 Articles
July 30, 2009 - (Getting to the Good Stuff Faster)
July 1, 2009 - (Prospects Success)
May 13, 2009 - (National Rankings)
April 26, 2009 - (Shamrocks pluck two netminders from Ontario)
February 9, 2009 - (2009 Midget Draft Report)
2008 Articles
August 23, 2008 - (Fans Have Say)
June 9, 2008 - (Mid Season)
May 2008 - (Month One)
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