There are five games scheduled in the WLA this weekend, featuring all seven teams. With the season about halfway done, there is still plenty of time for the teams at the bottom of the standings to move up and plenty of time for the frontrunners to extend their leads.
The Burnaby Lakers host the Maple Ridge Burrards in the first game of the weekend. The Lakers are only two points behind the Burrards for second place in the standings, but Maple Ridge plays twice this weekend to Burnaby’s once, so it is critical for Burnaby to take this Friday night contest to stay close in the standings.
The other Friday night matchup sees the New Westminster Salmonbellies visiting the Victoria Shamrocks. At 6-0-1, the Shamrocks are the only undefeated team in the league right now while the Salmonbellies are languishing in sixth place at 2-5. With the second fewest goals for in the WLA, New Westminster will need to find a way to get the ball to the back of the net if they want to stay in this game with Victoria, who are leading the league in goals with 77.
The lone Saturday contest has the last-place Coquitlam Adanacs hosting the third-place Langley Thunder. If Coquitlam has a strong game, they can narrow the gap between the two teams and get themselves right back into the playoff picture. Langley meanwhile has an opportunity to push themselves further away from the bottom of the league and, depending on how the Lakers do on Friday, could even move up to second place in the league with a win.
On Sunday the Adanacs travel to Nanaimo to face the Timbermen, who are currently in fifth place in the WLA, just one point ahead of the Adanacs. A good weekend by Coquitlam could jump them from the cellar all the way up to fifth or possibly even a tie for third, depending on the performance of the Thunder and the Lakers.
The final game of the weekend should be a barn burner as the top two teams square off in Maple Ridge. Victoria should be once again putting their undefeated record on the line while the Burrards will be pushing hard to gain some ground and make a play for first place.
