Tonight in the WLA the Burnaby Lakers (5-5) take on the Coquitlam Adanacs (3-6). Both these teams were in action on Friday night. The Lakers got a big win as they defeated the Langley Thunder 8-4 and moved into a tie for third place in the WLA. Coquitlam got blown out 13-6 by the Victoria Shamrocks last night. The Lakers will look to keep their momentum going as they face off against Coquitlam.
The Lakers look like a completely different team than the one that started this season 0-3. The Lakers owe their success to Scott Jones who has been on a hot streak and had five points in Burnaby’s game on Friday night. The second key for Burnaby’s success is Dane Stevens as he has picked up his game since the beginning of the season and now sits third in league scoring. The Lakers have also got strong play from Dan Lewis who has been on a roll as of late and has a 8.74 G.A.A and a .801 save percentage on the season. The Lakers will want to get their offense going early as they will want to demoralize the Adanacs and force Coquitlam to play from behind.
The Adanacs have struggled this season mainly due to the loss of Nick Rose. Rose was the backbone of the Coquitlam team that made the WLA finals in 2012. Adam Shute though has not been able to fill Rose’s shoes and has struggled posting 9.51 G.A.A and a.787 save percentage. As much as the Adanac’s have struggled on the back end their offense has also had problems as Dane Dobbie has basically had to carry the team on his back. Coquitlam need players such as Jesse Guerin, Brett Hickey, and Matthew Dinsdale to take their game to the next level and provide more support for Dobbie. If the Adanacs want to win this game they need Shute to step up in net and stop perhaps two of the hottest players in the WLA in the form of Scott Jones and Dane Stevens. If Coquitlam can shutdown Burnaby’s offense and counter attack effectively then they will be able to win this game.
The Lakers will win this game as they have been firing on all cylinders recently and will outmatch the Adanacs in every area of the game on route to their third straight win.
