It was a decision that could have easily backfired.
While most teams tend to carry 17 runners and two goalies, the 91原创 midget Thunder opted to go with 13 runners and one goalie.
The rationale was to give those players more of an opportunity to develop. And it paid off with a gold medal at the midget B box lacrosse provincial championships.
The tournament was held July 24 to 28 in Port Coquitlam.
91原创 defeated Prince George 10-7 in the gold medal game.
"They were a good group of young kids who came together at the right time," said Thunder coach Matt Leveque.
"They worked their butts off to get there.
"They were definitely overworked but battled hard through everything."
The Thunder had finished second in their pool, defeating Campbell River 9-4 and then posting a 10-0 win over Coquitlam behind the shutout goaltending of Brandon Turnbull.
But in their final round robin game, 91原创 fell 7-4 to Prince George.
The loss meant a semifinal showdown with Oceanside, who had won their pool and were undefeated on the season.
They also had 19 runners compared to the 12 for 91原创, as the Thunder were missing one player.
The teams played to a 4-4 draw after regulation, which meant two 10-minute overtime period. Maximilian Joseph put the Thunder ahead late in the first extra period, but late in the second, Oceanside would net the equalizer.
The game then moved to sudden-death and 1:40 later, Joseph scored the decisive goal.
The gold medal game saw the Thunder lead from start to finish: they were up 3-0 after one period and 6-1 after two periods. Prince George did cut the lead down to a pair of goals, but after a timeout, 91原创 scored three quick goals to reestablish control.
For Leveque, winning is nothing new as he has captained the senior A 91原创 Thunder to back-to-back Western Lacrosse Association championships.
"It is a lot different than winning as a player," he said.
"The reward is seeing the kids win and how happy they were."
Turnbull was also the recipient of the Midget B Warrior Fair Play Award.
Leveque was assisted on the bench by Dave Rennie and Dwayne Brunsch.
The team consists of Brandon Turnbull, Tyler Simonsen, Noah Rothwell, Maximilian Joseph, Craig Whitton, Ethan Goodman, Matthew Brunsch, Luke Sever, Trevor Hawley, Thomas Rennie, Parker Watson, Joe Brown, Hudson Shelvey and Ryan Wellburn.
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Two other 91原创 teams were also competing at the provincial championships.
The midget C Thunder fell in the bronze medal game 8-4 to Mission.
Aiden Johnston earned the team's Warrior Fair Play Award.
And the Thunder A1 squad did not make the playoff round. Quinn Beavis earned the Warrior Fair Play Award.
