Shawn Slaght, All Lacrosse All The Time – A Division of the Edge of Philly Sports Network
The Nanaimo Timbermen doubled up the Langley Thunder 12-6 on Thursday night, forcing Game 5 in the WLA championships series.
Nanaimo went back to Devlin Shanahan in goal and he was outstanding in the win. He stopped 37 of 43 shots against Langley’s high-powered offence.
On offence, Taggart Clark led the way for Nanaimo with a hat trick and five points, while Teioshontateh McComber also had a hat trick. Nanaimo’s defence shut down the Thunder, as Dane Dobbie managed a hat trick but they kept Curtis Dickson and Connor Robinson to one goal each.
Nanaimo opens with four-goal lead
Both teams really felt each other out to start the game. Nanaimo opened the scoring at 5:23 on the power play from the bouncer shot from Clark. Thirty-two seconds later, McComber would find the back of the net to give the Timbermen an early 2-0 lead. At 9:34, McComber would take a shot on Langley’s Frank Scigliano. Adam Weidemann was johnny-on-the-spot to pick up the rebound and score to make it 3-0.
Langley finally cracked Shanahan at the 10:42 mark. Dane Dobbie’s long bouncer shot would make it 3-1.
The Timbermen extended their lead when Will Johansen played a little pitch-and-catch with Ethan Ticehurst on a two-on-one shorthanded. Ticehurst would find the back of the net on the play to make it 4-1.
McComber rounded out the first-period scoring. He faked a shot and went short side at 14:24 to make it 5-1 at the first intermission.
Timbermen continue to pull away in the second
Nanaimo would extend the lead to five early in the second period. Nate Wade’s shot would go wide of the net, but Hiana Thompson would grab the rebound to score at 2:44.
Curtis Dickson would catch Shanahan scrambling and found the open cage at 3:33 to make the score 6-2. Nanaimo replied back at 7:22 with a long side-arm shot from Jon Phillips that went in. That goal ended the night for Scigliano as he was replaced by Steve Fryer for the remainder of the game.
Langley’s transition game picked up the slack late in the second period. A flip pass from Keegan Bell sent Matt Abbott down the floor for a Thunder goal at 12:30.
Clark continued to be a thorn in the side of Langley’s defence. Colton Lidstone spun and flipped a pass to Clark for a goal with 2:02 remaining in the frame. A seeing-eye shot from Clark with 0.2 seconds left in the second on the power play made the score 9-3 Timbermen in the hopes of forcing Game 5.
Series heading back to Langley
The Timbermen ran into penalty troubles early in the third period. Dobbie faked a shot low and went high to score on the power play at 1:10. Dobbie would then send a flip pass to Robinson for a goal on the man-advantage at 5:28 to make it 9-5 with Nanaimo still leading.
Nanaimo iced Game 4 midway through the third period. Weidemann’s shot between two defenders at 9:22 and McComber’s outside shot at 12:56 put the Timbermen back up by six.
Dobbie buried a behind-the-back pass from Robinson on the power play at 14:41, but Ethan Ticehurst sealed the deal with 2:08 left to play, forcing Game 5 back in Langley on Saturday night.
Three Stars
- Devlin Shanahan, Nanaimo Timbermen
- Taggart Clark, Nanaimo Timbermen
- Teioshontateh McComber, Nanaimo Timbermen
Top Scorers
Nanaimo Timbermen
Taggart Clark, 3g 2a
Teioshontateh McComber, 3g 1a
Colton Lidstone, 4a
Zach Manns, 4a
Langley Thunder
Dane Dobbie, 3g 1a
Curtis Dickson, 1g 3a
Connor Robinson, 1g 1a
Robert Church, 2a
Don’t forget to check us out every Sunday night at 9 pm (ET)
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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