The host Richmond Roadrunners were squeezed out of a potential podium finish in what has proven to be a highly-competitive A1 tier at the B.C. Lacrosse’s Bantam Provincial Championships.
The Roadrunners concluded round-robin play with a 6-2 loss to the Saanich Braves on Saturday afternoon at Minoru Arenas. The result left them with a 2-3-0 record and just on the outside looking in at Sunday’s medal games.
Juan de Fuca topped the standings with a 5-0-0 record and will meet the Coquitlam Adanacs (3-2-0) for gold this afternoon. Ridge Meadows (3-2-0) will take on Saanich (2-3-0) for bronze. Had Richmond won its last game, it would have went from fifth to third place — leaping past Saanich and knocking Coquitlam out of the championship game in favour of Ridge Meadows — based on head-to-head results which was the first tiebreaker.
The Roadrunners had opened the tournament with a 6-4 win over Semiahmoo on Thursday afternoon, then dropped a 5-2 decision later that evening to Juan de Fuca. They rebounded with a big 8-6 win over the Adanacs on Friday before falling 5-2 to Lower Mainland regular season champion Ridge Meadows.
That set the stage for Saturday’s pivotal game against Saanich. The teams were tied at 1-1 after the first period when the Island squad scored three unanswered in the middle stanza. Richmond cut the margin in half with a period to play but could get no closer.
The championships conclude today with medal games in the A2 B and C Divisions as well.
