New Westminster's 1-3 showing at last week's Minto Cup junior A lacrosse championships showed the weakness in the Salmonbellies club.

The junior 'Bellies averaged just six goals a game during the Canadian championships, including nail-bitingly close 6-4 loss to the defending two-time Minto Cup champion Orangeville Northmen in the tournament semifinal last Friday.

New Westminster scored a total of seven goals in two games against the Northmen, while potting seven in a four-goal loss to the eventual Minto Cup champion Coquitlam Adanacs in pool play.

The lack of firepower, despite the lack of the league's top scorer Tyler Digby who was missing because of athletic scholarship priorties with Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was evident.

So too was the overall lack of team speed compared to that of the B.C. and Ontario provincial champions.

These two areas are what junior Salmonbellies general manager Doug Zack hopes to address next season.

"You look at this Orangeville team, and the West is always trying to copy the East. They're highly skilled and are quick in transition," Zack said after the semifinal loss. "We'd love to have that and be quicker all around.

"It's the West template to be big and strong and kind of tough. But we definitely want to be quicker. It's a buzz word - it's transition.

"I think on offence it's academic. You have to score goals to win."

But Zack maintained that the experience was an invaluable one for the players and management.

The Salmonbellies lose just seven players from their roster to graduation next season, while 11 current teammembers including, goalie Brandon Mulligan, will be entering for their final year of junior next season.

"We learned a lot to get this far. We did all we said we wanted to do. We wanted to get to the semifinal game. It just didn't end up the way we wanted it to," Zack added.

"It's a stepping stone. We're going to keep improving."