Shawn Slaght, All Lacrosse All The Time – A Division of the Edge of Philly Sports Network
The Nanaimo Timbermen held on for a 12-9 win on their home floor on Monday night to take a 2-0 series lead over the Coquitlam Adanacs in the WLA semifinals.
Nanaimo got some inspiration at the beginning of the game. The Timbermen honoured former player and coach Kaleb Toth for his induction into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
Once the ball dropped, Zach Manns had a huge game for Nanaimo with six points. Teioshontateh McComber and Jon Phillips each had two goals and two assists in the win.
On the other side of the floor, Brett McIntyre had four goals and John Hofseth had a hat trick as Coquitlam finds themselves behind the eight-ball heading into Game 3.
Tight first period
Not wanting to go down 2-0 in the series, Hofseth opened the scoring for the Adanacs 2:44 into the first. The Timbermen followed that up with Coady Adamson scoring unassisted at 5:58 to tie up the game.
Manns would round out a two-goal run for the Timbermen at 13:33 on the power play with Manns finding the back of the net to give Nanaimo their first lead of the game.
Coquitlam responded right back on the power play with a goal from McIntyre at 16:04. Thirty seconds later Hofseth gave the Adanacs the lead again 3-2. McComber rounded out the scoring with 1:55 left in the period to tie it 3-3 at the first intermission.
Nanaimo starts to pull away
The Timbermen took the lead off of a Jerome Thompson goal at 8:11. It was short-lived as Dylan Watson scored 21 seconds later. Vinny Ricci scored at 9:51 of the seconds period as Coquitlam regained the lead 5-4.
Naniamo picked up the slack in the latter half of the period. Taggart Clark scored on the power play at 13:05 to tie up the game and start a three-goal run.
Jon Phillips scored the go-ahead goal at 16:01, while McComber added insurance at 17:23 to make it 7-5 for Nanaimo.
McIntyre would keep the Adanacs in the game, scoring with 59 seconds left in the period. However, a buzzer-beater by Ethan Ticehurst gave the Timbermen an 8-6 advantage heading into the final frame.
Timbermen hold on for 2-0 series lead
Nanaimo extended their lead early in the third period with Adam Jay scoring unassisted at 5:17 and Phillips scored on the power play at 6:18 to make it 10-6 for the Timbermen. Jerrett Smith rounded out a four-goal run for Nanaimo at 7:07.
Coquitlam tried to stage a comeback late in the period. McIntyre scored with an extra attacker on the floor at 11:01, followed by Hofseth 42 seconds later. McIntyre added another at 13:46 to make it 11-9.
With Christian Del Bianco out of the net for Coquitlam for the extra attacker, Ticehurst buried one into the open net with 41 seconds left in the game to make the score 12-9
Game three goes back to Coquitlam on Wednesday night as the Adanacs look to erase the 2-0 series deficit.
Three Stars
- Zach Manns, Nanaimo Timbermen
- Brett McIntyre, Coquitlam Adanacs
- Ethan Ticehurst, Nanaimo Timbermen
Top Scorers
Nanaimo Timbermen
Zach Manns, 1g 5a
Teioshontateh McComber, 2g 2a
Jon Phillips, 2g 2a
Coquitlam Adanacs
Brett McIntyre, 4g 1a
Dylan Watson, 1g 4a
John Hofseth, 3g
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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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