The junior A New Westminster Salmonbellies popped Coquitlam's seemingly unbreakable bubble.
The Salmonbellies ended the Coquitlam Adanacs consecutive winning streak at 24 games, beating the defending Minto Cup champions 7-6 in Game 1 of the best-of-seven B.C. Junior Lacrosse League playoff final Wednesday.
New Westminster built on a 4-1 first-period advantage and led by as much as five goals before the A's began to chip away at the visitor's lead.
"I thought (New West) was full marks for the win," said Coquitlam head coach Curt Malawsky. "They earned everything they got. They outworked us and outhustled us, and they got the result. We got the result we deserved."
New Westminster played without leading scorer Tyler Digby in the lineup.
Reagan Harding potted a pair of goals, including the eventual game-winner at 5: 16 of the third period.
Second-year keeper Frankie Scigliano stopped 37 shots to post his first-ever win over the Coquitlam juniors.
"(Coquitlam) came down on us hard. They've got a lot of skilled, talented players, so on any given time anyone can shoot that ball," Scigliano said. "Our defence, I don't know how to explain it. We played with a lot of heart and a lot of passion, and I guess that's what got us over the top tonight.
"We just have to stay positive. We'll take this game but put it behind us, take this series as though it's 0-0 and anything can happen."
Daniel McQuade and Mark Negrin, with his first of two goals, gave New West a 2-0 in the first two minutes of the game.
Keegan Bal and Brandon Goodwin added later tallies to put the Salmonbellies up 6-1 at one stage of the second period.
