After a shaky opening 20 minutes, the Langley Thunder recovered and scored five unanswered goals to seize control en route to a season-opening 13-10 victory.
The Thunder were playing at Maple Ridge’s Planet Ice against the host Burrards to open the senior A Western Lacrosse Association season on Sunday (May 19).
A big difference in the game was the teams’ respective power plays: while Maple Ridge struggled with one goal in eight opportunities, the Thunder were lethal with the man advantage, scoring five times in eight tries.
The Burrards came out firing in the opening 20 minutes, taking a 7-4 lead on the two-time defending WLA champions thanks to three goals in 2:31 to close the period.
But Alex Turner scored three times in the second period, with Brett Hickey and Mitch McMichael adding the others, and goaltender Brodie MacDonald stopped all 16 shots fired his way in the frame as the Thunder took a 9-7 advantage into intermission.
The Burrrards would get within a goal in the third, but that would be as close as they would come, with Langley securing the 13-10 victory.
Joel McCready scored twice in the final period, and finished with four goals and three assists.
Turner also had a big night with the hat trick and three helpers while Athan Iannucci has two goals and four assists.
The other Langley goals were scored by Shayne Jackson (one goal, three assists), Kerry Susheski (one goal), Hickey (one goal, two assists) and McMichael (one goal, one assist).
Maple Ridge was led by Curtis Dickson (three goals, one assist) and Jarrett Davis (two goals, two assists).
MacDonald finished with 41 saves as the Burrards outshot Langley 51-45. But a big difference in the game w
Up next for the Thunder is their home opener against the Coquitlam Adanacs on May 22 at the Langley Events Centre in a rematch of last season’s championship series. Game time is 7:45 p.m.
