Shawn Slaght, All Lacrosse All The Time – A Division of the Edge of Philly Sports Network
In yet another turn of events in the WLA, the Langley Thunder have forced a three-way tie for first place in the standings, and potentially a four-way tie by the end of the season.
The Thunder defeated the Victoria Shamrocks 11-8 on Wednesday night to make both teams’ records 12-6. The Nanaimo Timbermen finished off their regular season last week with a record of 12-6.
The final game of the regular season goes Thursday night with the New Westminster Salmonbellies hosting the Coquitlam Adanacs. If the Adanacs win, all four teams heading into the playoffs will have records of 12-6 and tiebreaker formulas will be needed to rank them one through four.
The WLA announced that, in the case of tiebreakers, the deadlocks will be decided by head-to-head records, total wins as well as goals for and against.
How did we get here?
Victoria opened up the scoring on Wednesday night, with Cole Pickup getting the marker at 8:44. Robert Church tied up the game at 10:47 on the man advantage and added another at 15:34 to give Langley the lead.
Curtis Dickson rounded out the scoring shorthanded with 2:40 left to play to give Langley a 3-1 advantage heading into the first intermission.
Thunder continue to control the game in the second
Knowing that first place was on the line, Langley continued to control this game in the second period. Dane Dobbie added a marker 1:04 into the second to round out a four-goal run that started in the first period.
Chris Wardle would finally get the Shamrocks back on the board on the power play at 6:46. However, the Thunder’s offence would get right back to work.
Dylan Kinnear scored at 12:23 followed by Chase Scanlan at 14:57 to make the score 6-2. Steve Priolo rounded out the scoring on the power play with 35 seconds left in the period, but Langley still held a 7-3 lead heading into the final frame.
Langley defence keeps King brothers at bay
Credit to the Langley defence as it was a quiet night for the King brothers. Marshal King scored 32 seconds into the third period for his lone goal of the game. Jesse King finished the game with only two assists. Jacob Ruest would add to Victoria’s tally 1:08 later to pull the Shamrocks within one.
Langley would then put the game to bed with a four-goal run. Scanlan scored his second at 4:06 and completed the hat trick at 6:39. Dickson would add a power play marker for Langley at 7:24 to make it 10-6 for the Thunder. Kinnear rounded out the four-goal run 37 seconds later.
Jake Foster added goals at 13:22 and 15:39 as the Shamrocks attempted a comeback, but it wasn’t enough as the Thunder won 11-8 to pull into the tie for first place.
Three Stars
- Chase Scanlan, Langley Thunder
- Frank Scigliano, Langley Thunder
- Steve Priolo, Langley Thunder
Top Scorers
Langley Thunder
Dane Dobbie, 1g 6a
Curtis Dickson, 3g 2a
Robert Church, 2g 2a
Victoria Shamrocks
Marshal King, 1g 2a
Jackson Nishimura, 2a
Jesse King, 2a
Steve Priolo, 2g
Jake Foster, 2g
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Shawn Slaght has been a sports reporter across the Canadian prairies for over 10 years and has experience covering everything from junior hockey to World Cup skiing to all levels of lacrosse. He is the Saskatchewan correspondent for All Lacrosse All The Time.
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