Aug 8, 2007 -- Staying out of the penalty box is key to the Coquitlam Adanacs regaining their series lead against the Burnaby Lakers in the third game of their WLA playoff series.

Thursday night, the Lakers defeated the Adanacs by a score of 14-10, a loss that could be chalked up to undisciplined play by the Adanacs, who racked up a total of 18 penalties.

“We were in the penalty box all night. We made our own beds on that one,” said coach Rod Jensen. “We didn’t commit to our game plan of keeping it to 5-on-5 play.”

The Adanacs kept two goal leads throughout the first and second periods, but were outscored 8-2 in the third.

“Burnaby had a couple of fast goals. They scored a lot of outside shots and had a lot of breakaways,” Jensen said. “They got the lead and they never looked back.”

Jensen said the Adanacs got complacent after the first game of the series, where they came away with a convincing 14-7 win over the Lakers.

“It’s natural when you play that well to say, ‘This is going to be easy,’” he said. “But Burnaby made adjustments and showed character. I give them credit for being gritty and coming into Coquitlam and getting the win.”

The speed of the Lakers also played a big role in Thursday’s win. Jensen said once the Lakers opened up their running game, they had quicker feet than the Adanacs.

“Burnaby is a small, fast team,” Jensen said. “And we weren’t as strong defensively against them as we were in the first game.”

Jensen said the Adanacs would benefit from the long weekend break the teams had between Thursday’s game and last night’s game.

“They were frustrated after the game, but they’re optimistic. The break will be good because the guys can take the weekend off and think about where we went wrong, and I think they will,” he said. “It’s time to refocus and get back in it. We know we can handle them if we play our style and stay out of the penalty box.”

The Adanacs faced the Lakers last night after The Tri-City News went to press.

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