The Langley Thunder were good in the beginning and in the end — but not so much in between — and that was enough for a game one victory to open the Western Lacrosse Association playoffs.
The Thunder led 7-2 after one period, fell behind 8-7 after 40 minutes and then scored the only three goals of the third period to defeat the Coquitlam Adanacs 10-8 on Aug. 1 at the Langley Events Centre in game one of the WLA best-of-seven semifinal series.
Game two goes on Aug. 6 in Coquitlam with the series returning to the LEC on Aug. 8 for game three.
After falling behind in game one, the top-seed Thunder tied the game at 8 with Athan Iannucci’s power-play goal, his third goal of the game. The score stayed deadlocked until Dane Dobbie potted the winner with 7:09 remaining. Scott Johnston would add an insurance marker.
Adam Jones finished with a pair of goals, while Kyle Belton, Garrett Billings and Mike Grimes scored one apiece.
Nick Rose earned the win, stopping all 15 shots he faced after entering the game late in the second period.
