The Nanaimo Timbermen might not have been determined enough to get the ball in the net when they lost to the Langley Thunder on Wednesday night.
The Coastal Windows Timbermen fell 10-7 to the Thunder on the mainland after falling behind 6-2 after 20 minutes.
“We didn’t get off to a very good start,” said Art Webster, coach of the Timbermen. “We got there late, we didn’t have a very good warmup and it seemed like it took us a period to get going.”
The second and third periods were much better, and the T-men ended up outshooting the Thunder 55-38. But Langley’s Brodie MacDonald, a 6-foot-7 newcomer who is one of the hottest goalies in the league right now, shut the door.
“We had a hard time scoring on him,” Webster said. “You’ve got to get inside on him, get him moving and either bounce it under his glove or fire it under his glove.”
Nanaimo’s Scott Ranger continued to light it up with four goals and Lewis Ratcliff returned to the lineup and scored twice and added two assists. Doug Langlois was the only other T-men player to beat MacDonald. Matt King was pulled in the loss and relieved by Zack Boychuk.
The senior A Timbermen (4-5-2) are back in action on the mainland Saturday (July 9) to face the Coquitlam Adanacs (4-8). The T-men have already beaten the A’s once this season, so a victory would clinch the season series.
“We match up well against them but we have to be ready to play right from the get-go,” Webster said. “We can’t sit around and wait for somebody else to do it.”
GAME ON … Saturday’s faceoff is at 7 p.m. and the game will be webcast live at www.tmen.ca … Boychuk is slated to get the start in goal in that one … Webster said T-men veteran Kaleb Toth will not be making a return this season. An injury sustained earlier this year in National Lacrosse League play turned out to be worse than originally thought.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com
