The senior B Nanaimo Timbermen got back on track by beating the league’s top team.
The T-men won 9-5 against the previously undefeated Langley Warriors on Sunday evening at Frank Crane Arena.
“We played well,” said Andrew Miller, who scored five times. “Our defence only let them score five goals and [goaltender Nick] Patterson played really well and we buried on our chances.
“So it was good to beat an undefeated team. It was good to make a statement to the league and win.”
He said the T-men were well-prepared, knowing which Warriors players to watch for out on the floor.
“The chemistry’s starting to come and it’s starting to show a little bit more. We seemed to defend a lot better and our five-on-five defence was excellent tonight, so that’s pretty promising to see,” said Mike Maughan, the team’s coach.
He also praised Patterson’s “shining form.”
“When your goaltender stands on his head like that it helps get everybody else going,” said Maughan.
Miller said his five-goal performance “was just our five-man offence. Up and down picks, pick and rolls, transition was better in the second half of the game; that contributed, too.”
Jon Diplock also scored a hat trick and Corey Shires had a goal and four assists. Shots were 44-34 in favour of the home side.
Maughan said Sunday’s win was a good feeling for the T-men after they’d lost three straight.
“We’ve had some bumps in the road here and we haven’t had the start that we’re used to having over the last couple years, so this win is going to be good for the team’s morale and hopefully get us right back on the right track,” the coach said.
GAME ON … Nanaimo hosts the North Shore Indians on Saturday (June 4). The game will be played at the Nanaimo Ice Centre, not Frank Crane Arena, and faceoff is at 6 p.m.
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