Shawn Slaght, All Lacrosse All The Time – A Division of Edge of Philly Sports Network
A late charge in the third period by the Nanaimo Timbermen gave them a huge 12-9 road win over the Thunder in Langley on Wednesday night in WLA action.
Langley went on a two-goal run midway through the third period, but it was three goals in 1:05 late in the third period that would lift the Timbermen to their fifth straight win.
It was a pivotal win, as it put Nanaimo in first place with a record of 9-5. The Victoria Shamrocks sit in second at 8-2 but have four games in hand, while the Coquitlam Adanacs are third at 8-4 with two games in hand.
Timbermen set the pace in the first
The Langley Thunder would get on the board first with Connor Robinson finding the back of the net 1:38 into the game. The Timbermen replied with a three-goal run including markers from Adam Wiedemann, Teioshontateh McComber and Taggart Clark.
Robert Church kept the Thunder within striking distance, scoring with 18 seconds left in the period.
The Timbermen held a tight 3-2 lead heading into the second period.
Both teams keep it close in the second
Zach Manns opened the scoring at 2:29 of the second period to restore Nanaimo’s two-goal advantage. Brent Mitchell would then take a holding the stick penalty at 5:34 to put the Timberment a man down. It only took Dane Dobbie 10 seconds on the power play to capitalize to make the score 4-3 for the Timbermen.
A power play marker by Will Johansen at 7:34 and a goal by Zach Manns at 13:05 extended Nanaimo’s lead to 6-3.
However, Curtis Dickson scored at 14:52 and Dylan Kinnear added another six seconds later to make it 6-5. Kinnear added another at 15:39 on the power play and suddenly the game was all tied up 6-6.
The Thunder took over the lead when Church capitalized on the power play at 18:53. Manns would round out the second-period scoring with 34 seconds left in the frame to tie it 7-7 heading home.
Late charge leads to a victory
Tyson Roe opened up the third by finding the back of the net at 1:12. McComber added another at 5:27 to give Nanaimo a 9-7 lead early in the third.
But there was still a lot of lacrosse to be played. Robert Church would strike twice. First on the power play at 6:26 and again at the 10:53 mark and, once again, the game was knotted up, this time at 9-9.
Reece Callies took a cross-checking penalty for the Thunder at 17:40 and it proved to be pivotal. Twenty-eight seconds into the power play Jerome Thompson would score, which would prove to be the game-winner.
Wiedemann added the insurance goal at 18:47 and Johansen capped off the late charge by the Timbermen at 19:13.
Three Stars
- Adam Wiedemann, Nanaimo Timbermen
- Robert Church, Langley Thunder
- Zach Manns, Nanaimo Timbermen
Top Scorers
Nanaimo Timbermen
Zach Manns, 3g 2a
Will Johansen, 2g 1a
Teioshontateh McComber, 2g 1a
Colton Lidstone, 3a
Adam Wiedemann, 2g 1a
Jerome Thompson, 1g 2a
Langley Thunder
Curtis Dickson, 1g 4a
Robert Church, 4g 1a
Dane Dobbie, 1g 3a
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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.
