NLL Insider

Last week, four teams were still fighting to make the 2009 B.C. Junior ‘A’ Lacrosse League (BCJALL) playoffs. Burnaby and Delta have since guaranteed themselves playoff action, leaving two teams to fight for one last playoff spot.

Nanaimo (7-12) will travel to Port Coquitlam (5-13-1) on Saturday night in a potential battle for that last remaining post-season ticket.

Nanaimo is currently in sixth-place and has three paths into the playoffs: a win at PoCo on Saturday, a win over Burnaby on Sunday OR a PoCo loss to Delta on Friday. Should any of the above scenarios occur, your playoff bound teams are set with Nanaimo in, plus PoCo and Langley (1-17-1) out.

In his fifth season, the T-Men’s Jon Diplock will do whatever he can to help his team win this weekend. The Timbermen will also be looking for offensive production from Colton Clark and Cody Bremner. Goaltender Scott Bannister sits Top 5 in league save percentage.

Port Coquitlam’s offense has scored 197 goals-for, 25 more than Nanaimo. It’s that offensive production, led by Scott Jones‘ 81 points for third-best in the league, that could be enough to push the Saints into the post-season. To advance, PoCo needs to win its final two remaining games, versus Delta and Nanaimo, PLUS have Nanaimo lose to Burnaby on Sunday.

Which team do you think will make the ‘09 BCJALL playoffs? Vote in our most recent Top 10 National Jr. ‘A’ Rankings.

Note: Last weekend, Nanaimo lost to Victoria, 11-7, and to Coquitlam, 11-10, but kept it close. PoCo was blown out by New West, 17-8, and by Victoria, 15-9. Burnaby lost to Coquitlam, 12-4, but beat Delta, 11-4, and Langley, 14-7. Delta also beat last-placed Langley last weekend, 10-8.

Burnaby (10-10) and Delta (8-10-1) have clinched playoff seeds and are likely first-round playoff opponents, although Delta could end up facing New West if Nanaimo wins out and Delta losses twice this weekend.

The Islanders will make the post-season for the first time in a long time, however, they will be without leading team scorer Jason Jones who has gone back East to Brampton. Younger brother Mitchell Jones will now play a more dominant role; Mitchell has 20 points in four games.

New Westminster (11-7-1) has clinched third and will face the sixth-place regular-season finisher.

Coquitlam (18-1) has clinched first and Victoria (15-5) will finish second; The two top programs will enjoy first-round playoff byes. The A’s and Shamrocks will also meet one last time this Sunday in Coquitlam at 5:00pm, to help close out the regular season.

This week’s games with potential playoff impact:

Friday – July 3, Delta at Port Coquitlam, 8:00pm
Saturday – July 4, Nanaimo at Port Coquitlam, 5:00pm
Saturday – July 4, Coquitlam at Delta, 7:30pm
Sunday – July 5, Burnaby at Nanaimo, 5:00pm

For game results, visit the bcjunioralacrosse.com.

The 2009 BCJALL playoffs are set to kick off the following week and will feature three rounds of best-of-five playoff series. Check back next Tuesday for playoff previews.

Canada Day, July 1, the BCJALL will also hold its first ever Prospects Game at Queens Park Arena. The match will feature the league’s top graduating players including Kevin Crowley (New West/ NCAA Stony Brook), Curtis Dickson (New West/ NCAA Delaware), Trevor Moore (Coquitlam/ NCAA Robert Morris), Matt Yager (Victoria/ NLL Lumberjax), Shaun Dhaliwal (Burnaby), Micha Govorchin (Delta), Matt Weibe (PoCo) and Jon Diplock (Nanaimo).

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