Sometimes if you want to win a championship you have to rely on other sources.
The RPR Mechanical/JR Construction Bandits took full advantage of this theory on Tuesday as they stormed back to beat the Westwood Pub Devils 9-6 in Game 1 of the best-of-five Prince George Senior Lacrosse Final from Kin 1.
Even without top scorer Cole Paciejewski, who is attending the FIL World Lacrosse Championships with Team Scotland, the regular season champs found a way to dig themselves out of an early 4-0 first period hole.
Dan Martin led the offensive charge for the Bandits who notched five goals and two assists while playing alongside Drew Doig.
“We had a good group of guys with a full bench and play as a team and that’s how we put it together really,”
When asked if his performance was aided by how tightly Doig was checked by the Devil defenders, Martin responded with a resounding yes.
“Oh absolutley, they are always looking for those young guys to pop in the goals and it gave me an opportunity to get some for myself.”
It didn’t take long for the emotions to boil over between the two rivals as the Bandits Jesse Huffman and the Devils Dylan Long each received five-minute majors in the second period after a scrum deep inside Devils territory.
If that wasn’t enough on the drama scale, Doig received a ten-minute misconduct from the men in stripes after chriping one of the Westwood defenders following the Banidts seventh goal of the contest.
The Bandits notched six unanswered goals at one point who took a 6-4 advantage into the dressing room heading into the third period where they would light the lamp three more times.
Liam Miller picked up the slack in the Bandits goal after allowing four consecutive Devils markers to begin the Dale Rolufs Memorial Trophy series.
“After the first period we just took our time and talked about in the change room and talked about how we have to pick up guys and collect loose balls and pay attention to running the floor.”
The Bandits lead the series 1-0 with Game Two set for Thursday at 8 PM from Kin 1.
Before the game, the Prince George Senior Lacrosse Association announced their award winners for the 2018 season:
Helen McIntosh MVP
(Goalie) Jonathan Wittmeier – Mackenzie Lumberjacks
Most Points
Drew Doig – RPR Mechanical/JR Construction Bandits
Ted Conway Top Goalie
Jamie Bellamy – Westwood Pub Devils
Most ImprovedÂ
Caleb Mueller – RPR Mechanical/JR Construction Bandits
Aaron Van Driesum Sportsman Player
Matt Rochon – Co-op Petroleum Stylers
Les Bartley Coach/General Manager
Jason Minion – Mackenzie Lumberjacks
RC Adams Glass Defensive Player
Taylor Attree – RPR Mechanical/JR Construction Bandits
Rookie of the Year
Gage Prince – Co-op Petroleum Stylers
Sportsmen Team
Co-op Petroleum Stylers
All-Star Teams
Jonathan Wittmeier (1st Team Goaltender Mackenzie Lumberjacks)
Taylor Attree (1st Team Defender RPR Mechanical/JR Construction Bandits)
Ryan Waddington (1st Team Defender RPR Mechanical/JR Construction Bandits)
Kyle Pacheco (1st Team Transition Mackenzie Lumberjacks)
Drew Doig (1st Team Offence RPR Mechanical/JR Construction Bandits)
Cole Paciejewski (1st Team Offence RPR Mechanical/JR Construction Bandits)
Jamie Bellamy (2nd Team Goaltender Westwood Pub Devils)
Bob Mills (2nd Team Defender Quesnel Crossfire)
Scott Anderson (2nd Team Defender Westwood Pub Devils)
Chase Ballentine (2nd Team Transition Quesnel Crossfire)
Dusty Catchcart (2nd Team Offence Quesnel Crossfire)
Colton Poulin (2nd Team Offence Westwood Pub Devils)