The Nanaimo Acme Timbermen found their lacrosse legs and earned a win, too.
The senior B Acme Painting Timbermen won their season opener Saturday, defeating the Royal City Capitals 12-4 at the Nanaimo Ice Centre.
“Really good,” said Shawn Swanson, the team’s general manager. “I was quite surprised. There was a little worry going in because we had so many rookies playing, but they all played really well.”
The Caps didn’t come over to the Island with a full roster, and the T-men took advantage, establishing the pace and running the floor in transition.
“I thought our offence was really crisp for the first game of the year. Defensively we had a few breakdowns; luckily [goalie] Nick Patterson was having a really good game. And our transition was pretty good. We had lots of breakaways and two-on-ones.”
Swanson said the energy of opening night was one of the reasons for his team’s success and said the contest resembled a mid-season game.
“Obviously it wasn’t up against top talent and a full team, but I liked what I saw,” he said.
The Timbermen led 6-0 after one period and 12-1 after 40 minutes before easing up over the final frame.
Steve Higgs led Nanaimo’s offence with four goals and Ryan Forslund, Ryan Clark and Rick Fields had two goals apiece. Other scorers were Drew Miles and Cody Keating.
Things will get tougher for the T-men now. They play two more home games this coming weekend, hosting the Ladner Pioneers on Saturday (May 3) and the Langley Warriors on Sunday.
“We’ll go into practice with a jump in our step knowing we got the win that we needed to get, and now we just have to work and look ahead at Ladner,” Swanson said.
The Pioneers are the No. 1 rivals of the Timbermen and games between the two teams are always competitive.
Ladner hasn’t started its season yet and Nanaimo doesn’t know what sort of roster to anticipate, but Swanson noted that the Pioneers “come from a little lacrosse hotbed” and should come ready to compete.
“It’s always really good lacrosse –
rough, tough, lots of little skirmishes,” he said. “We really get up to play them.”
GAME ON … The Timbermen and the Pioneers play Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Nanaimo Ice Centre. Sunday’s game against the Warriors is a 5 p.m. faceoff at the NIC. Admission to Timbermen home games is $8.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com