By Ian McNaughton

Thursday night marks the start of the final push to the postseason with eleven WLA games over the next nine days. Tonight, the New Westminster Salmonbellies host their crosstown rivals Burnaby Lakers at Queen’s Park Arena in the third and final meeting of the season between the two sides. They split the first two games with the Lakers winning 14-13 in overtime on June 28 while the Bellies took the previous matchup 15-7 on July 4 at QPA. 

Burnaby was one of the hottest teams at the start of the year, going 5-1 in their first six games. However, the Lakers have just one win in their last six games, and with every game being important this late in the year, Burnaby would love to steal a win against New West. They haven’t won at Queen’s Park Arena since June 8, 2017, and if the Lakers have success, Robert Church will surely be a part of it. He’s second in the league in scoring with 65 points and has 9 points in the two previous games against the Bellies this season. 

For New West, they’re coming off an extraordinary 11-10 overtime performance against the Nanaimo Timbermen in the Harbour City on Sunday night. They have three of the top five league-leading scorers as Mitch Jones is ahead of everyone with 70 points. If the Bellies fall out of the playoff race, it would be the first time since 2013 that New Westminster wouldn’t be playing postseason lacrosse. 

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