The Richmond Roadrunner Pee Wee A2 lacrosse team saved its best for last, capping a tremendous season with a silver medal finish at the Provincial Championships in Vernon.
It was a perfect time for the Roadrunners to be firing on all cylinders.
They opened the eightteam tournament by going 3-0 in round-robin play.
Richmond defeated host North Okanagan 9-4, then rolled to an impressive 13-4 triumph over Abbotsford.
The third game saw the locals trailing 5-3 in the third period to Nanaimo, before storming back with a pair of goals to draw even, then netting the game winner in overtime.
The Roadrunners moved onto the semi-finals where they upset favoured Surrey 10-8. The outstanding run concluded with a 12-6 loss to Langley in the championship game. Richmond actually led 3-2 in the late stages of the second period before a rash of penalties and Langley's superior talent pulled away for the win.
"The boys put out a really good effort and came together at the right time," explained proud head coach Rod Jensen.
"With a few lucky breaks here and there, I think we could have taken Langley right down to the wire."
Overall, the team had some great individual achievements as well.
The offence was led by first team all-star and tournament MVP Josh Bourne, who compiled an impressive 18 goals over the five games.
Two-time game MVP Ryan Jensen, added 12 goals and added 10 assists.
Other offensive contributions came from Hunter Van Hest, Mitchell Lavoie, Jordan Sandhu, Kyle Alhfield, Brock Jung and Jordan Roberts.
The iron wall defence was lead by first-year goalie standout Sam Loewen, who also won a game MVP award.
"It is truly amazing that a first year goalie could perform at this level under the extreme pressure," added Jensen.
The big athletic defence consisted of game MVP Dorrin Luding, Taylor Dudlets, Connor Sexsmith, Callum MacBeth, Justin Preston and Fair Play Award winner Graham Lynn.
"We were by far the most athletic and aggressive team in the tournament," commented assistant coach, Roy Van Hest.
"To have such a small association and achieve the silver medal placement clearly shows the character and determination of this group of boys."
The team would also like to thank bench personal Paul Roberts and Colin Sexsmith, along with team manager Carey Sexsmith.
