The Nanaimo Timbermen played from the first faceoff to the final buzzer and were rewarded with a win.
The senior A T-men defeated the Coquitlam Adanacs 9-4 on Sunday at Frank Crane Arena to stretch their undefeated streak to three games.
Kaleb Toth, Nanaimo coach, said Sunday’s win really came down to playing a full 60 minutes.
“There’s been some games this year where we’ve taken some shifts off and periods off. Today, I thought, was a full, complete game,” Toth said.
With the game tied 3-3 after 20 minutes, Nanaimo pushed the margin to 7-4 going into the third and played smart the rest of the way.
“That was probably the best 60 minutes we’ve played all season as a team,” said Adam Jay, transition player. “Everyone came together and played well as a team.”
Goalie Mike DeGirolamo was first star with a 39-save performance and he was nearly unbeatable over the final two frames.
“Our defence is probably the best in the league,” the goalie said. “This is the best defence I’ve ever played on. We keep everything to the outside, everything’s super easy for me.”
Toth said the D was able to make adjustments during the game, which he liked, and which made things tougher on the opponent.
“The key is just not giving them a lot of time and taking away the shooting lanes and helping each other out,” the coach said.
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Here's goalie Mike DeGirolamo and defender Conrad Chapman taking care of business in their end of the floor during tonight's game… https://t.co/IEDQbrtlbt #Nanaimo #lacrosse pic.twitter.com/l5a4iiLzMm
— Greg Sakaki (@BulletinSports) June 25, 2018
Jay said the awareness on the floor was great in Sunday’s win, for example with relaying information on transition opportunities.
“We can be better on defence,” he said. “Our talk, our communication can get better. That’s the thing – we held them to four goals and we didn’t even play our best tonight.”
Brody Eastwood led Nanaimo’s attack with two goals and two assists and Jon Phillips also scored twice. Colton Clark had a goal and four assists and Baden Boyenko added a goal and two helpers. Gord Phillips, Jay and Jordan Gilles were other scorers. Shots were 56-43 in favour of the home team.
GAME ON … Nanaimo has just one game this coming weekend, on the road Friday, June 29, versus the Victoria Shamrocks. Next home action is July 7, when the Langley Thunder visit Frank Crane Arena for a 7 p.m. faceoff.
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