It was the biggest game of the season so far, and the Nanaimo Timbermen won it.
The city’s senior A Western Lacrosse Association club defeated the Burnaby Lakers 12-7 on Saturday at Frank Crane Arena.
Nanaimo held a 6-4 edge going into the third and finished strong to take the win. The contest had implications in the standings, as the fourth-place Timbermen are now three points ahead of the fifth-place Lakers.
“We’re never giving up,” said Baden Boyenko, the game’s first star. “We want to make the playoffs so bad. We knew this game was going to be a big one and we needed to come out and show we could play some hard lacrosse.”
Kaleb Toth, Timbermen coach, said after both teams were sloppy in the first period, his team got on track.
“As the game went on, we got better,” Toth said. “We started doing the little things right, started using our speed as an advantage and when we play our game, we’re tough to beat … The breaks come with a lot of hard work and we’re a really hard-working team, we try to be fundamentally sound and try to play with intelligence.”
Nanaimo has now won three straight and has gone seven games without a regulation loss, and that success has helped players’ mindset in different situations in the game, the coach said.
“They’re starting to get confident in each others’ ability and their own ability and they’re starting to get a little bit of a swagger,” said Toth.
Charles Claxton, Timbermen goalie, agreed that guys are developing a winning mindset.
“It’s a huge realization for us that we could go far in this league and I think if we just keep that confidence up, we will go far,” he said.
Claxton made 34 saves for the win. The offence was led by Boyenko, who scored a hat trick, Jon Phillips, who had two goals and four assists, and Colton Clark, who had two and two. Other scorers were Conrad Chapman, Chase Fraser, Adam Jay, Gord Phillips and Tyson Roe.
GAME ON … The Timbermen visit the Maple Ridge Burrards on Sunday. Next home action is July 22 when the Coquitlam Adanacs visit Frank Crane Arena for a 6 p.m. game.
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