The Maple Ridge Burrards find themselves at the bottom of the Western Lacrosse Association standings after dropping another pair of games over the weekend.
The Burrards lost 10-8 to the Nanaimo Timbermen on the road Saturday before coming home to host the Burnaby Lakers on Sunday, losing 12-8 in that game.
The losses drop the Burrards to 4-8 this season, tying them for last place in the league with the Coquitlam Adanacs.
After a 3-3 start, the Burrards have won just one game in their last six. The Burrards have also yet to win on the road this season, going 0-6 away from Planet Ice.
With six games left to play, Fridge admits the Burrards have a tough row to hoe to the post-season.
“I think 6-0 is an unrealistic expectation,” said Burrards head coach Daren Fridge. “But going 4-2 might not be enough.”
The Burrards were in a similar position last season when they were 6-9 with three games to play. They went on to win three games in a row to squeak into the playoffs for the first time in five years.
While the Burrards are only three points out of a play-off berth, if they are going to make a run at the post-season, they will have to do it without the services of forward Joel Dalgarno.
Dalgarno, who has 31 points in eight games with the Burrards this season, has missed the past four games due to work commitments and is unlikely to return this season.
“It’s a significant blow,” said Fridge.
The Burrards are also without their top scorer from last season, Jarrett Davis. They lost him to the Hamilton Nationals of the professional field lacrosse league, Major League Lacrosse, prior to this season.
Making matters worse, Curtis Dickson, the Burrards top scorer this season with 50 points in 11 games, was unavailable to play Saturday in Nanaimo against the Timbermen due to family commitments. Starting goaltender Ron Schibild was also out of the line-up with work commitments.
“I thought the guys did a good job of stepping up,” said Fridge of Saturday’s game. “[Back-up goalie Chris Seidel] gave us a chance to win, but we just didn’t score enough goals.”
“Basically, our top three scorers were gone.”
The team’s depleted roster of late has underscored the team’s need for secondary scoring.
“We are trying to fill the gaps as best as we can,” said Fridge. “But this has really exposed some depth issues on the team, and that puts pressure on everyone.”
Fridge said if the team is going to rally for a playoff spot, every player will have to step up.
“One thing I know about this team is that we never give up,” he said. “We are always in every game, so it’s not a question of effort.
“We just need that consistency.”
The Burrards opened the scoring with a pair of goals in the first period Saturday against the Nanaimo Timbermen. However, Nanaimo rallied with six unanswered goals to take a 6-2 lead midway through the second period. Maple Ridge potted three of their own to cut the lead to one, only to have Nanaimo score with 12 seconds left in the middle frame.
After trading goals early in the third, the Burrards were able to tie the game thanks to a pair of goals by Randy Daly with six and a half minutes to play.
It was all Timbermen from that point on, however, as Scott Ranger potted a pair of his own to give Nanaimo the 10-8 win.
Daly led all Burrards scorers with a hat trick, while rookie Riley Loewen had a pair of goals and an assist.
Derek Lowe had one goal and two assists, while Aaron Pascas has one goal and one helper. Aaron Davis had the other Burrards goal. Peter Tellis had a pair of assists, while Ben Davies and Tyler Miotto each had helpers.
The Burrards made the trip back to the mainland on the last ferry Saturday night in time to face the Burnaby Lakers Sunday night.
Again the Burrards got out to a 2-0 lead midway through the first period, but found themselves down by three goals after the Lakers went on a 6-1 run.
Burnaby was able to stay at least one goal ahead of thew Burrards for much of the game, and with less than eight minutes left, the Lakers held a slim 9-8 lead.
However, Burnaby finished with three unanswered goals to put the game out of reach for the Burrards.
Daly again led Burrards scorers with a pair of goals and a pair of assists, while Dickson had a pair of goals and one assist. Tyler Miotto had two goals, while Jeff Sauve and Ben Davies had the other Burrards goals.
The Burrards travel to Bill Copeland Arena for a rematch with the Burnaby Lakers this Friday, before returning home to take on the Victoria Shamrocks at home this Sunday, July 10, at Planet Ice in Maple Ridge at 6:45 p.m.