A poor start cost the Penticton Heat midget lacrosse team in their Barn Burner tournament over the weekend.
Trailing 5-1 against the Coquitlam Adanacs resulted in the Heat losing 8-4 in the semifinal round at Memorial Arena.
Heat coach Dan Van Os said they need to have better starts against strong teams like the Adanacs if they hope to win.
The Heat opened the tournament with a 10-1 thrashing of the Port Coquitlam Saints. They followed that up with a 7-3 win against the Semiahmoo Rock and 5-4 victory against Vancouver Burrards.
“Our team got strong competition from three coast teams that all play a skilled, high level of lacrosse,” said Van Os. “I felt our team competed very well and learned to play at a quicker pace and to concentrate at all times.”
During the tournament, the Heat had several players stand out, including Louis Shortreed who scored a highlight reel goal against Vancouver, Michael MacLean, who was a force on offence and defence, Jake MacLeod, Graedan Freeman, Tavis Hamilton and goalie Brendan Steed.
“We played good as a team,” said Freeman. “We gave Vancouver its first loss of the season.”
The Heat players said playing teams from the Lower Mainland is different than Okanagan-based squads because of the pace.
Karsten Burton said their opposition play with more intensity and make plays quicker.
“It was a good experience,” said Burton.
Owen Haggerty watched from the stands with an injury keeping him from playing. Haggerty said his Heat teammates did a good job of working hard and that they gained from the experience of playing stronger opposition.
Next action for the Heat is a league game against Kelowna on Thursday and the Kelowna Andy Woods Memorial Midget Tournament July 13-16.