Burrards even Mann Cup 1-1

Photo by Darryl Smart

When Maple Ridge Burrards head coach Rob Williams said his team wasn't going to back down from the Six Nations Pro-Fit Chiefs, he wasn't lying.
Unfortunately for the Chiefs, they came out a bit flat, leading to a 13-9 loss to the Western Lacrosse Association champions at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena Saturday.
 "We took our foot off the gas tonight and in the end it burned us," Chiefs' Ryan Benesch said. "We have to go back and get focused. I think we were a little lackadaisical. We have to be more focused."
The best-of-seven Canadian senior men's lacrosse championship series is now tied 1-1.
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"They won some of those battles early and put us on our heals," Chiefs head coach Rich Kilgour said. "I think we came out flat tonight. They proved they're a good team and they're here for a reason. We didn't have the same work ethic. I think we learned a valuable lesson."
In a reversal of Game 1, the Chiefs scored the first goal of the game thanks to Ethan O'Connor. But it  was the Burrards who responded with four goals from Riley Loewen, Matt Symes, Ben McIntosh, and Luke Gillespie.
The two teams exchanged punches in the second period, with Benesch, Dhane Smith and Austin Staats scoring for the Chiefs, while Gillespie, Symes, McIntosh, Dan Taylor and Jarrett Davis responded for the Burrards.
The Chiefs showed life in the third period, when Dan Dawson and Staats scored twice each with a single going to Benesch. But for every Chiefs goal, there was an answer thanks to Loewen, Gillespie and McIntosh."We came out like we had to tonight," Williams said. "In the west we aren't used to playing a defence this big, so we've had to insert some bigger bodies."
Enter  Gillespie and  Symes, who led the way for the Burrards.
"Symes and Gillespie was a good combination for us tonight," Williams said. "They were able to use their size to wear them out a bit and create chances.
"We have a lot of depth," he said. We aren't afraid of putting guys in the lineup. The guys play together and know what the goal is. A lot of that is just being a good teammate."
With a day off Sunday, the two teams reconvene at the ILA Monday at 8 p.m. for Game 3.

BOXSCORE
1st period
17:17 Ethan O'Connor
15:10 Riley Loewen - Mike Mallory, Ben McIntosh
14:44 Matt Symes - Mike Mallory, Ben McIntosh
4:24 Ben McIntosh - Connor Goodwin, Dan Taylor
1:22 SH Luke Gillespie - Dan Taylor

2nd period
18:38 SH Luke Gillespie - Jarrett Davis, Ben McIntosh
17:01 Ryan Benesch - Dan Dawson, Randy Staats
16:30 Matt Symes - Jarrett Davis, Dan Taylor
15:45 Dhane Smith - Ryan Benesch, Ethan O'Connor
11:31 Ben McIntosh - Riley Loewen, Jarrett Davis
8:41 Dan Taylor, Kevin Reid, Connor Goodwin
6:01 PP Austin Staats - Randy Staats, Dan Dawson
5:55 Jarrett Davis

3rd
19:12 Riley Loewen - Connor Goodwin, Luke Gillespie
16:48 Luke Gillespie - Mike Mallory, Jarrett Davis
12:20 SH Dan Dawson - Dhane Smith, Roger Vyse
11:47 Ben McIntosh, Mike Mallory, Connor Goodwin
7:16 Ryan Benesch - Dan Dawson, Austin Staats
6:19 Austin Staats - Dan Dawson
4:54 Austin Staats - Dan Dawson, Stephen Keogh
4:41 Dan Dawson - Ryan Benesch, Sid Smith
1:34 PP Riley Loewen - Ben McIntosh, Dan Taylor