The Victoria Wolves won the first one and now the Nanaimo Timbermen will try to bite back.
The senior B T-men are preparing to host their new Island rivals Monday (July 4) in the first-ever regular-season meeting in Nanaimo between the two lacrosse clubs.
The T-men beat the Wolves 10-8 in the pre-season, but the West Coast Senior Lacrosse Association expansion team took the first regular-season matchup 13-12 in overtime last month down the Malahat.
“I thought it was a pretty clean-played game, but very intense because it was the first game in what we’re looking at being a long Island rivalry here,” said Mike Maughan, T-men coach. “Both sides really wanted to win the game and there’s a lot of history on both sides with players that have played up here.”
With the players so familiar with one another, pride is at stake, Maughan said.
“Even in the exhibition game, I think it showed itself that there’s going to be a pretty solid rivalry between the two teams,” said Nick Agius, Wolves coach. “And the more we play each other, it’s just going to get more and more bitter.”
Agius was part of Nanaimo’s provincial championship team last year before helping start up the Victoria squad. His team is 5-5, just four points back of Nanaimo in the standings.
Maughan said it’s not surprising that the Wolves are competitive in their first season.
“I know the talent base of players down in Victoria is pretty extensive,” he said.
Agius said the Wolves could tell from the turnout at training camp that they were going to have a good team.
“It was just a matter of building the chemistry that most other teams have of being together for awhile,” he said.
Heading into Monday’s rematch, the Wolves know that the Timbermen have added some players and they also recognize they won’t be able to surprise the T-men this time.
“They’re not going to take us as lightly because they know we can pull one out on them. It’s going to be a tougher battle, for sure,” Agius said. “We’re just going to have to buckle down and play the game we’re built for and we should do OK.”
Maughan said his team has “come a long way” in the five weeks since the loss to Vic.
“I think we’ve grown quite a bit…” the coach said. “We’ll be a lot stronger this time in this matchup and being at home, too, we’ll definitely want to make sure we come out with the win.”
GAME ON … The T-men and Wolves play Monday (July 4) at 8 p.m. at Frank Crane Arena. Tickets, $10 for adults and $5 for students, will be available at the door.
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