The Cranbrook Outlaws are champions after capturing a gold medal at B.C. lacrosse provincials in Campbell River this past weekend.
The Outlaws went undefeated in three round-robin games before heading into the gold-medal game against Cowichan Valley, where they came out with an emphatic 10-1 victory.
Outlaws head coach Ron Miles said it was the defence that enabled the team to play well and win their games.
“Our defence was awesome and other teams were finding it really hard to get shots,” Miles said.
“In the final game I think the final shots were something like 36-18—we doubled them in shots—but ours were standout shots and theirs weren’t.
They had one goal, and the goalie, it went in tucked under his arm, but that was the only goal that got by him.”
Conor Sinclair was named the team’s MVP, while Hunter Zawada was named to the All-Star team.
The Outlaws began their quest for gold with a dominant 12-1 victory over a team from Juan de Fuca. Following that, the Cranbrook squad doubled up 8-4 on Cowichan Valley in a scrappy affair. The team captain was tossed after getting a match penalty for intent to injure, which included a three-game suspension.
“When we played the Cowichan team, we didn’t play as well as we could’ve,” said Miles. “But it gave us an idea of what we needed to do.”
The Outlaws then rounded out the round-robin with a 11-0 win over the host Campbell River.
While the Outlaws won every game with some high scoring efforts, there could’ve been more goals on the scoresheet, according to Miles.
“I don’t know if I’ve seen a team that hit the post or the crossbar as much as our team,” he said.
The Outlaws, which compete in the Southern Alberta Lacrosse Association, finished the season in fourth place.