NLL Insider

New West and Coquitlam will meet in the Western Lacrosse Association (WLA) finals. The best of seven series kicks off on Tuesday night in Queens Park Arena at 7:45pm PST.

The New Westminster Salmonbellies advanced to the final with a 4-0 series sweep of the Victoria Shamrocks and have been waiting a week to get going. Up 3-1 in their semi-final series, Coquitlam was pushed to Game 7 by Burnaby before capturing the series with a 9-5 win last night.

“It really couldn’t come any sooner for us,” said New West GM Dan Richardson. “With the East already completed its first two games of the Final between Brampton vs Peterborough, our guys are really chomping at the bit to get going.”

“We have had a couple really good practices and meetings, and I think our team is as focused as it has ever been.”

“Coquitlam deserves full marks for its win over Burnaby. They really are a force, with some huge offensive threats from both sides of the floor with Dobbie, Secore and Wulder. And their defence, anchored by a couple of veterans in Murray and Catton make you pay every time you go through the middle. Their goaltenders Levis and Atherton are as good as they get and we will have to figure them out early or this will be a long series.”

New West looks to be the team to beat, however.

“It seemed like our depth was a huge factor against Vic,” added NLL veteran Chris Gill. “Someone different every night seemed to step it up and that would give the rest of the team an extra jolt.”

A look at their roster is stacked with some of the best young talent in the country. Youngsters Ilija Gajic, Cliff Smith and Jordan McBride led the team in the first round, while NLL stars like Peter Morgan and Jordan Hall played limited games.

“The Salmonbellies are a very good ball club, and you have to wonder how good they’d be with Conn and Iannucci in there,” added Victoria GM Chris Welch, referencing how the two star New West players suffered season ending knee injuries, Iannucci after being signed by St. Regis earlier in the season.

“Dan Richardson and Ken Thomas have done an excellent job in building this team,” added Welch.

The Adanacs battled in the 2007 Mann Cup and lost to the Peterborough Lakers in six games. New West is shooting for their 25th Mann Cup, but 1995 was the last time they were in a Mann Cup final. The two clubs are meeting in the final for the third time in three years.

“Coquitlam and New Westminster are always good series and as I said earlier the WLA fans in the Lower Mainland are in for a real treat,” added Richardson. “World class lacrosse in their own backyard at very reasonable affordable prices for the whole family to see.”

Here is the complete schedule for the last best of seven out West this season:

Tues. Aug 19 - Coquitlam at New Westminster (Queens Park Arena)
Thurs. Aug 21 - New Westminster at Coquitlam (Coquitlam Sports Centre)
Sat. Aug 23 - Coquitlam at New Westminster
Mon. Aug 25 - New Westminster at Coquitlam
Wed. Aug 27 - Coquitlam at New Westminster **
Fri. Aug 29 - New Westminster at Coquitlam **
Sat. Aug 30 - Coquitlam at New Westminster **

All games at 7:45 PM. (** denotes games if necessary)

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