The Mission Cedar Kings are one win away from advancing to the West Central Senior C Lacrosse League finals, but they’re also facing elimination with a loss.
Mission opened the playoffs with a 9-8 win over the Port Coquitlam Hitmen on July 25 in Port Coquitlam during the WCSCLL’s single-game knockout round.
The Cedar Kings went up 4-1 early, but the Hitmen battled back to score five unanswered goals and lead 6-4 after one. Mission took over in the second period, building up an 8-7 lead and the third period saw the Cedar Kings hang on for the win.
John Makowsky scored a hat trick, with Cody Thompson adding two goals and three assists. Owen Munro scored two goals, including the game winner, and one assists, while Brenton Graham collected one goal and four helpers. Mitch Cavallarin scored the Cedar Kings other goal, with Gavan Sand (two assists), Tyler Voisey (two assists) and Thomas Sand (one assist) also recording points.
Mission’s Jeff Lissimore was also solid in goal, making 48 saves in the victory.
That win moved the Cedar Kings to the best-of-three WCSCLL semi-final, which opened on Saturday against the defending champion Port Moody Express.
Game one saw Mission knock off the champs 8-7 in overtime.
The Cedar Kings fell behind 4-2 after one, but battled back in the second period with Mission’s power play catching fire to even the game up at five. Both teams managed just one goal apiece in the third period, ending regulation at 6-6 and meaning a 10-minute overtime was next.
The overtime, which was not sudden death, saw Voisey score a shorthanded goal, but the Express tied the game back up moments later. The overtime hero turned out to be Thompson, who scored with 3:13 left in the overtime period and that goal held up.
Thompson had a five-point (three goals, two assists) night, with the other goal scorers being Graham, Makowsky, Munro and Thomas Sand. Also collecting points were Branden Bloom, Gavan Sand, Zach Jones, Wil Gllich and Travis Laycock.
The winning abruptly ended for the Cedar Kings in game two on Tuesday, as the Express dominated with a 10-4 win.
Game three occurred on Wednesday night, with the winner advancing to the league championship series, but details were not available at press time.
Read next week’s print edition of the Mission City Record for details on how the Cedar Kings fared.