On Thursday night the Langley Thunder took on the Burnaby Lakers in game 4 of their first round playoff series. Langley was looking for a win to close out the series and complete the sweep while Burnaby was looking to stay alive with a win.
The first period began with Burnaby on the power play after Langley took a high sticking penalty just 37 seconds into the game. Langley though would score a shorthanded goal as Joel McCready found the back of the net to make it 1-0. Langley kept the pressure on Burnaby as Tor Reinholdt scored to make it 2-0 Langley. Defense then began to take control of the game as neither team was able to score. With 5 minutes left in the period Peter McFetridge would score on the power play for Burnaby to cut the score to 2-1. Langley would end the period on a high note as Athan Iannucci scored with 5 seconds left in the period to give Langley a 3-1 lead heading into the second period. In the second period Burnaby’s offense came alive. Just a minute into the second period Dane Stevens scored a power play goal for Burnaby to make the score 3-2. Burnaby would keep the pressure on Langley as they scored 3 consecutive goals as Trevor Moore scored along with Scott Jones scoring two goals one of them being shorthanded. The score was now 5-3 for Burnaby. Langley did not back down as they responded with three consecutive goals just minutes apart as Shayne Jackson scored twice and Rob Van Beek scored to make it 6-5 for Langley. Burnaby would take the lead heading into the third period as Scott Tining and Matt Quinton scored to give Burnaby an 7-6 lead heading into the third period.
In the third period Langley would strike just 50 seconds in as Lewis Ratcliff scored on the powerplay to make the score 7-7. Burnaby would respond quickly as Matt Quinton scored just a minute later to restore Burnaby’s lead and make the score 8-7. Langley would respond again as these two heavyweights battled it out as Sam Cook scored to make the score 8-8. Burnaby would once again counter as Chase Williams scored to make it 9-8 for Burnaby. Langley would start to take control in this game as Mark McGrotty and Athan Iannucci would score just 30 seconds apart in order to take a 10-9lead. Iannucci was not done their though as he scored again with just 10 minutes remaining in the period to give Langley an 11-9 lead. Burnaby would keep in the game though as it came down to the wire with 20 seconds left in the game Matt Quinton would score on a penalty shot to make the score 11-10. Burnaby would try to get the equalizer before time ran out in the period but Langley’s defense shut them down. With the victory Langley sweeps the series and returns to the WLA final for the second straight year.
Burnaby lost this series due to Langley’s offense being too much for their defense to handle. Burnaby tried to keep pace but in the end though Langley was able to pull away and get the win. This was still a good season for Burnaby as they were good all year and will be in a good position next year to make a run to the finals with some fine tuning and adjustments as they will still have Dane Stevens, Scott Jones and Dan Lewis back. Scott Jones showed his value tonight as even in defeat he was named third star of the game for his 2 goal and 2 assist performance.
Langley won this series the same way they have won most of their games this season by using their offense to overpower the other team’s defense. Burnaby could not stop Langley’s offense in this series as Athan Iannucci, Lewis Ratcliff and Shayne Jackson victimized Burnaby’s defense all series long. Athan Iannucci took first star in game four for his 3 goal and 1 assist performance while Garrett Billings received the second star of the game for his 5 assist performance. Langley will now rest up and wait to face the winner of the Victoria and Coquitlam series.
