Lakers score first WLA win at home

The Burnaby Lakers got their first win of the Western Lacrosse Association with a little help at home.

The senior A Lakers scored an 11-8 victory over the Coquitlam Adanacs at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre on Friday but it could have gone wrong for last season's regular season champions.

Looking good after a 6-2 first period, Burnaby allowed the A's to get back to within a pair of goals following a second consecutive letdown in the middle frame in as many games.

Fortunately for the home club, Coquitlam got on the wrong side of the referees in the third period, allowing the Lakers to pull out their first win of the summer campaign with a four-goal finish, including a pair of markers on the power play.

Athan Iannucci led the way with a couple of goals in a five-point flourish, while rookie Brine Rice added four points, including two counters. Veteran Laker Shaun Dhaliwal also counted a pair on two separate shots.

Zak Boychuk got the club's first win in goal, stopping 43 of 51 shots.

For Rice, it was the Kahnawake left hander's second multi-goal game and team-leading 11th point to date.

Rice is looking every bit the steal of the 2018 junior A draft at this stage of the season.

Taken in the sixth round of the February lottery, Rice fits nicely into the spot vacated by veteran lefty Jason Jones, who was recently traded to New Westminster for a player and picks.

Rice was a sniper for the Ontario junior B Kahnawake Hunters, counting 57 goals and 114 points in 30 games through 2014-2016. He also played briefly in junior A with the Peterborough Lakers before coming west to the Royal City to finish off his junior career with the New Westminster Salmonbellies.

In New West, Rice's star shone brightest in the playoffs, where he tallied six goals and 15 points in his first six post-season outings of 2016 and then garnered eight goals in as many games and 23 total points the following playoff year.

"Honestly, it doesn't matter where you're drafted. It's what you put in. As a rookie, you want to play your part," said Rice, following Friday's win. "You just want to go hard."

Burnaby will have it's hands full, when it meets up with the Maple Ridge Burrards Sunday tonight.

The 2-1 Burrards have a super-hot Curtis Dickson, who recently lit up the Langley Thunder with eight individual goals and 10 points in a one-sided contest last week.

Game time is 6:45 p.m. at the Cam Neely Arena.