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Acme T-men beat Indians, reach finals

The Nanaimo Acme Painting T-men senior B lacrosse team defeated the North Shore Indians 11-6 on Tuesday on the mainland.

The Nanaimo Acme Timbermen get to play for both a provincial and a national championship.

The Acme Painting T-men senior B lacrosse team defeated the North Shore Indians 11-6 on Tuesday on the mainland to win its semifinal series three games to one and advance to the West Coast Senior Lacrosse Association finals.

The T-men had a tough start Tuesday, falling behind 4-1 in the first five minutes, to the delight of the Indians’ home fans.

“The drums were going, it was loud and we were shell-shocked,” said Shawn Swanson, Timbermen general manager. “We bore down, we plugged away and only let them have two more goals in the next 55 minutes.”

Nick Patterson made 32 saves, Ryan Forslund had a hat trick, Devon Casey and Jon Diplock scored two goals apiece and Shane Chalker, Steve Higgs, Aaron Vanderhorst and Curtis Sim also tallied.

The T-men will face the Tri-City Bandits in the final and since the Bandits are hosting the Presidents Cup national tournament, both B.C. finalists automatically qualify.

“It’s huge,” said Swanson, but said his team will be focused first on the finals. "It's going to be an absolute battle to beat them. It's going to be interesting to see where we are now. I don't think we'll see the same team that we saw in [the regular season] but that goes for us, as well."

The GM mentioned that making the WCSLA finals is also important because it keeps the T-men active. Nanaimo also participated in last year's Presidents Cup, but that was after a month off from meaningful lacrosse.

"This will be good for us in the sense that we can be playing some really good ball and figuring out our kinds and figuring out our weaknesses and all that stuff," said Swanson.

GAME ON … Scheduling isn’t finalized, but Game 1 will likely be Wednesday (Aug. 6) at 7 p.m. at Frank Crane Arena. Schedule info will be posted on the league website.

sports@nanaimobulletin.com