“Muffler” Mike Kostiuk
All Lacrosse All The Time – A Division of Edge of Philly Sports Network
The Nanaimo Timbermen traveled to Burnaby to take on the Lakers at Bill Copeland Arena on Friday night. Nanaimo was looking to keep pace with league leaders Victoria and Coquitlam. In contrast, Burnaby was looking to climb back into the playoff picture. The Timbermen would get the best of Burnaby by using an 8-goal second period to power a 15-7 victory. Nanaimo improves to 7-5, remaining in third place in the standings, 2.5 games ahead of Langley. Burnaby falls to 3-8, one game in back of fifth-place New Westminster.
Nanaimo gets big start from Smith
Jerrett Smith (4g, 1a) started his big night for Nanaimo early, scoring at 6:02 and at 9:12 to open a 2-0 lead. The Lakers equalized with goals from Pearson Willis (9:59) and Mark Yingling (12:31) to tie the game. Teioshontateh McComber restored a 3-2 Nanaimo lead at 17:39. Shots on goal favored the Timbermen 19-9 in the first period.
Second helping for Nanaimo
The Timbermen would extend the lead to 5-2 courtesy of Colton Lidstone (2g, 2a; 3:42) and Smith’s hat trick goal (5:03). Toron Eccleston (6:08) would cut the lead to two, but Jon Phillips (2g, 4a) would find the net 20 seconds later to make it 6-3. Smith’s fourth of the night (7:25), and a marker from Jordan Cunningham (7:50) extended the Timbermen’s lead to 8-3. Burnaby would find themselves in deeper trouble when defender Jacob Dowell took a high-sticking major and a 10-minute misconduct penalty shortly before the 8:00 mark of the period.
Laszlo Henning (1g, 3a) got a shorthanded marker for Burnaby at 10:07, but Zach Manns (3g, 2a; 11:21) would strike back for Nanaimo on the extended power play. The teams continued to trade goals the remainder of the period. Phillips (17:10; power play) and Lidstone (19:07) each got their second goal of the night for the Timbermen. Philip Buque (12:46; power play) and Connor Watson (18:30) found twine for the Lakers. Once again, shots on goal heavily favored the Timbermen (21-12) as they entered the second intermission with an 11-6 lead.
Timbermen pour it on in the Third
Nanaimo would outscore Burnaby 4-1 during the third period to close the game. Buque (1:39) would notch his second for the Lakers early to close the gap to four, but they would get no closer. Manns picked up his second (12:22; power play) and third (15:24) goals of the game, and Hiana (Jerome) Thompson would net a pair (12:41; 18:01). Nanaimo again held the edge in shots on goal, 18-12.
Three Stars of the Game
- 1st Star: Jerrett Smith
- 2nd Star: Jon Phillips
- 3rd Star: Laszlo Henning
Other Stats of Note
- Zak Boychuk stopped 43 of 58 shots for the Lakers; while Devlin Shanahan saved 26 of 33 shots for the Timbermen
- McComber/Thompson (Nanaimo): 3 assists each
- Buque (Burnaby): 13 of 22 on faceoffs
Nanaimo plays at Maple Ridge on Sunday night. Despite having played more games than any other WLA team to this point, their remaining schedule is a favorable one.
Meanwhile, Burnaby is back in action Friday July 15 at Langley. Undoubtedly, the Lakers will need to win out to have any hope of making the playoffs.
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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