The Coquitlam Adanacs advanced to the WLA Championship Final with a 7-4 win over the Maple Ridge Burrards in Game 5 of their best-of-five semifinal series on Thursday night.
As he had been throughout the series, Christian Del Bianco was outstanding in Coquitlam’s goal. He stopped 43 of 47 shots for the win as the Burrards outshot the Adanacs 47-37.
Adam Noakes led the way for the Adanacs with two goals and two assists, while Kean Moon had a goal and three assists. Parker Kennedy and Thomas Semple also had a pair of goals each for Coquitlam.
For Maple Ridge, four different players scored. Marcus Klarich, Brandon Clellend, Josh Mills and Payton Cormier had the goals for the Burrards, with Klarich leading the way with two points.
Between the pipes, Jack Kask stopped 30 of 37 shots.
The Adanacs will now face the No. 1-seeded Victoria Shamrocks in the WLA Championship Final.
First Period
The Adanacs established control early, scoring three unanswered goals.
Semple opened the scoring at 9:01, with Kennedy and Jalen Chaster assisting.
Kennedy then scored just 67 seconds later to make it 2-0 before adding his second of the period at 15:44.
Del Bianco stopped all 13 shots he faced in the first period as Coquitlam held a 3-0 advantage after 20 minutes.
Second Period
The Adanacs continued to build on their lead early in the second.
Noakes scored twice in a span of just 43 seconds, at 4:38 and 5:35, to put Coquitlam ahead 5-0.
The Burrards finally broke through when Clellend scored at 7:21. Cormier followed up just one minute later to cut the deficit to 5-2.
Semple scored his second goal of the night at the 12:44 mark to restore the Adanacs’ four-goal lead.
Klarich scored for Maple Ridge with 2:17 remaining to bring the Burrards within three, 6-3, heading into the final frame.
Third Period
Moon gave the Adanacs some insurance early in the third, scoring at 3:09 with assists from Noakes and Robbie Turpin.
The Burrards continued to battle, with Mills scoring at 7:33 to make it 7-4.
Maple Ridge outshot Coquitlam 21-10 in the third period, but couldn’t solve Del Bianco as the Adanacs won 7-4 to advance to the WLA Championship Final.
Top Scorers
Coquitlam Adanacs
- Adam Noakes, 2g 2a
- Kean Moon, 1g 3a
- Parker Kennedy, 2g 1a
Maple Ridge Burrards
- Marcus Klarich, 1g 1a
- Brandon Clellend, 1g
- Josh Mills, 1g
- Payton Cormier, 1g
- Kaden Doughty, 1a
- Cameron Squarek, 1a
- Tyler Pace, 1a
Three Stars
- Christian Del Bianco, Coquitlam Adanacs
- Kean Moon, Coquitlam Adanacs
- Adam Noakes, Coquitlam Adanacs
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