Maple Ridge’s own Mitch McDole was all over the score sheet as the Maple Ridge Burrards and Burnaby Lakers tied 12-12 on Tuesday night at Cam Neely Arena.
McDole in his first season in the Western Lacrosse Association, put up two goals in the first period. He then had two assists to start the second period, giving him four points on his team’s first five goals.
Then, 30 seconds after his last point, the hard-nosed rookie got into a fracas that resulted in 30 minutes in penalties and his ejection from the game.
“He was real good,” said coach Rob Williams. “He stepped in when one of his teammates got high sticked. He did everything to impress us.”
McDole played the first three games of the season, but lost his spot in the lineup as the Burrards coaching staff faced tough roster decisions, and he went to Senior B lacrosse.
“He’ll play up again for sure.”
McDole was the Burrards’ first pick in the 2018 WLA draft, taken 13th overall in the second round. He was also picked 53rd overall in the National Lacrosse League entry draft from the Calgary Roughnecks, so the Burrards were taking a quality player, and not making a sentimental hometown pick.
He was headed for a big night on Tuesday, but it was newcomer Jean-Luc Chetner who wound up leading the scoring, as he put up two goals and seven points on the night.
Curtis Dickson had two goals and five points, while Ben McIntosh had two goals and an assist. Ryan Johnson and Owen Barker each had a goal and two assists, and the other scorers were Dayne Michaud and Kevin Reid.
The Lakers tied the game with 1:04 to play on a goal by Eli McLaughlin, who scored two more of his four goals in overtime to salvage a point for Burnaby.
He was named the game’s first star, while Chetner and Reid were second and third.
Williams said Red had an outstanding game, and won a ton of loose balls for his team.
The Lakers recently had star Robert Church return to the the lineup after winning an NLL Champions Cup with the Saskatchewan Rush. Burnaby is tied for the fourth playoff spot, and Williams said the teams that face them this month are going to be up against a tough opponent. The Burrards came through their season series against the Lakes with two wins and a tie.
With the tie, the Burrards remain atop the WLA standings with a record of 7-2-1-1, but the New Westminster Salmonbellies have gone 7-2, and are just two points back with two games in hand.
The Burrards now lose arguably their two best offensive players in Curtis Dickson and Ben McIntosh, who are travelling with Team Canada to Israel for the FIL World Lacrosse Championships.
Dickson is leading the league in both points (61) and goals (37).
They will not return to the Burrards roster until the last game of the season.
Williams is confident the team has enough depth to stay in contention for first place.
“We’ve got four solid righties,” he said. “It’ll be a different look, but we’ll be fine.”
The Burrards will take on the Coquitlam Adanacs (2-8) at Poirier Sports Complex on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Their next home game will be Sunday, when they host the always tough Victoria Shamrocks (6-4) at 6:45 p.m at Cam Neely Arena.