Things should be picking up for the junior B Timbermen.
Nanaimo’s Pacific North West Junior Lacrosse League club began training camp with a thin roster and had to scramble a bit to build up their lineup, but on the eve of the season, the team started to come together.
The squad gets the regular season underway Wednesday (April 27) with a home game against the Saanich Tigers.
Ken Morrison, general manager of the junior B Timbermen, said with a young team, there are unknowns, which makes things interesting.
“We started a little later than other teams, but I think we’re going to do OK,” he said. “We’re going to have a couple more guys coming in pretty quick here, too.”
There are just a handful of returnees from last year’s team, with a lot of players getting their first taste of the junior level. Todd Manns is the team’s new coach.
The PNWJLL has only four teams, and Morrison said he’s heard the other three – the Tigers, the Westshore Bears and the Cowichan Valley Thunder – are all expected to be pretty strong.
“It’s going to be tough for us at the beginning, but I think we’ll jell together,” he said. “Todd’s a good coach and he’ll get these kids going.”
GAME ON … The junior B Timbermen host the Tigers on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Nanaimo Ice Centre and then are home again Sunday to face the Thunder at 5 p.m. at the NIC.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com
