The Nanaimo Timbermen found themselves back in first place in the WLA standings with a 17-9 win over the Burnaby Lakers on Tuesday night.
Nanaimo improved to a record of 10-6, putting them ahead of both the Victoria Shamrocks and Coquitlam Adanacs. Victoria and Coquitlam both have nine wins, however, the Shamrocks have four games in hand and the Adanacs have three games in hand. Regardless of the situation, the Timbermen have clinched a playoff spot.
Meanwhile, the Lakers drop to 3-11 and have all but been eliminated from the playoff race. The fourth-place Langley Thunder have a record 8-5. The Lakers only have four games remaining, while the Thunder have five.
Timbermen score early and score often
Nanaimo jumped out to a 4-0 lead right away in this game. Taggart Clark got the party started 26 seconds into the game. Adam Wiedemann scored at 10:34 to make it 2-0.
Clark would finish off the hat trick with two more goals before the Lakers finally got on the board. Connor Watson found the back of the net with a minute left in the period on the power play.
The Timbermen held a 4-1 lead after the first period.
Nanaimo expands its lead in the second period
Wiedemann scored 57 seconds to open the second-period scoring. Tyson Roe would add to the lead on a solo effort at 3:36 to make it 6-1 for the Timbermen.
Ty Ewen swung momentum the Lakers’ way at 6:32. Evan Messenger would reply 21 seconds later for the Timbermen to hold on to the five-goal cushion.
Roe would get a little too aggressive at 7:53 of the second period and was called for roughing. Toron Eccleston scored the power play marker for Burnaby midway through the man-advantage.
Nanaimo would rattle off a three-goal run in the middle of the frame. Adam Jay beat Lakers goaltender Brody Harris at 9:07. Colton Lidstone, who would have eight points on Tuesday night, bulged the twine at 15:40. David Byrne rounded out the three-goal run 23 seconds later to make it 10-3 for Nanaimo.
The Lakers’ Mark Yingling would have the final say in the second period. He scored with 2:10 remaining, but Burnaby still trailed 10-4 heading into the third.
First place in sight for the Timbermen
With a large lead in the third period, first place was well in sight for the Nanaimo Timbermen.
However, Philip Buque and Ewen opened the scoring for the Lakers to cap off a three-goal run between the two periods.
Nanaimo replied right back with a three-goal run of their own. Mason Pynn, Messenger and Jerome Thompson found the back of the net for the Timbermen to make the score 13-6.
Buque scored his second of the period, but Nanaimo answered right back with a goal from Jon Phillips 28 seconds later. Messenger added another at 12:48 to extend the Timbermen’s lead to eight goals.
Nanaimo found themselves in penalty troubles late in the game. Nick Finlay took a checking from behind minor at 14:06. Eccleston capitalized on the man advantage at 15:17.
Jerome Thompson scored for Nanaimo at 16:15 and Phillips added to the score 25 seconds after that. Undisciplined play continued for Nanaimo as Nate Wade and Colton Lidstone took penalties at the 17:29 mark. Laszlo Henning scored on the power play with 41 seconds left in the game, but at this point, it was too little too late. Make the final 17-6.
Three Stars
- Colton Lidstone, Nanaimo Timbermen
- Adam Wiedemann, Nanaimo Timbermen
- Evan Messenger, Nanaimo Timbermen
Top Scorers
Burnaby Lakers
Toron Eccleston, 2g 1a
James Rahe, 3a
Ethan M’Lot, 3a
Nanaimo Timbermen
Colton Lidstone, 1g 7a
Jon Phillips, 2g 3a
Evan Messenger, 3g 2a
Adam Wiedemann, 2g 3a
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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