“Muffler” Mike Kostiuk –
All Lacrosse All The Time – A Division of Edge of Philly Sports
The Langley Thunder hosted the New Westminster Salmonbellies at the Langley Events Centre in a crucial WLA matchup Saturday night. Langley was looking to solidify a playoff position, while adding further disappointment to New Westminster’s 2022 campaign. Led by a 7-point night from Dane Dobbie, the Thunder defeated New Westminster 9-7. With the win, Langley improves to 6-4 and remains in fourth place in the standings. The Thunder are now two games ahead of the fifth-place Salmonbellies (4-8) with two games in hand.
A Pair of Twos
The first forty minutes of the game saw plenty of action, but not much on the scoreboard. Jason Jones found the back of the net just 37 seconds into the game to give New Westminster a 1-0 lead. Connor Robinson, fresh off his NLL Cup win with the Colorado Mammoth, equalized for Langley at 3:07. Anthony Malcom restored New West’s lead at 5:11, before Robinson netted his second at 7:58. The first period would end in a 2-2 tie.
The second period saw the heavy hitters start to get involved. Dobbie (5g, 2a) began his big night with a pair of goals at 9:20 and 14:18. The Salmonbellies responded with tallies from Mitch Jones (17:53; power play) and Jordan McBride (18:54). The teams once again went into intermission tied (4-4). Shots were also nearly equal: Langley 34, New Westminster 32.
Langley Pulls Away In Third
Dobbie notched his hat trick at 1:23, giving the Thunder a 5-4 lead. McBride’s second (4:33) would tie the game again as New Westminster employed an extra attacker on a delayed penalty. Haiden Dickson (2g, 1a; 7:43) added a power play marker to make it 6-5 in favor of the Salmonbellies.
Thomas Vaesen (9:16) tied it up for Langley, but Dickson’s second almost a minute later (10:08) restored the ‘Bellies one-goal edge. However, Langley would end the game on a three-goal run. Dobbie’s fourth of the night (11:25) and Cal Slade (12:08) made it 8-7 Thunder. Dobbie added an empty-net goal with two seconds remaining to seal the victory.
Three Stars of the Game
- 1st Star: Dane Dobbie
- 2nd Star: Mitch Jones (1g, 4a)
- 3rd Star: Steve Fryer (43 saves)
Other Stats of Note
- Shots on Goal: New Westminster 50, Langley 51
- Connor Robinson (Langley): 2g, 3a
- Curtis Dickson (Langley): 5a
- Zach Higgins (New Westminster): 42 saves
- New Westminster hosts Maple Ridge on Tuesday 7/12, while Langley takes on Nanaimo on Wednesday 7/13
Don’t forget to check us out every Sunday night at 9pm (ET)
“Muffler” Mike Kostiuk was formally introduced to box lacrosse when he attended a New England Black Wolves game on a whim in 2016. Instantly hooked, he has since become an avid follower of the National Lacrosse League. Following the postponement of the 2019-2020 NLL season, he was offered the chance to share his wealth of statistical knowledge and unique insights with the lacrosse community at large. He cheerfully accepted, and currently serves as Edge of Philly’s correspondent for both the Albany FireWolves and New York Riptide.
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