At a turning point in the game, the T-men turned things in their favour.
The Acme Painting Timbermen senior B lacrosse team beat the Ladner Pioneers 10-7 on Sunday at Frank Crane Arena.
Nanaimo held a 5-4 edge going into the third period, but were facing a lengthy penalty kill. The home team responded to the challenge by scoring two short-handed goals and never letting Ladner back in it.
"I think that actually took the wind out of their sails and it was definitely a big momentum shift that helped us," said Kyle Couling, T-men defender.
He said playing on the larger surface of Frank Crane Arena might have also been a factor in the game.
"Our transition was real good; we hustled on and off the benches and we played a full 60," he said.
Mike Maughan, T-men coach, said that the success in transition is always part of the game plan.
"That's something we always try to do is push the pace and take the opportunities when we get them," he said.
Maughan said his team felt like it needed to win after losing the night before on the road. Beating their rivals gives them a good feeling and something to build on, he said.
“Our guys really wanted it,” said Maughan. “We really put in all the effort and all the work that was necessary… It was a hard-fought game, both teams played really well; it was an entertaining game even [for] coaches to watch.”
Blair Pinnock, Jon Diplock and Gabe Sutherland scored two goals each and Rick Fields, Cody Keating, Shane Chalker and Russell Thomas also tallied. Kyle Noble had three assists and Danny Walters was the winning goalie.
The day before, the senior B T-men lost 9-7 to the Tri-City Bandits on the road. Thomas scored twice in that one, Ryan Forslund had a goal and two assists and Fields, Diplock, Noble and Chalker were the other scorers.
GAME ON … Nanaimo (9-3) visits the Valley Rebels (8-5) on Friday (July 12) and then closes out the regular season the next day against the Port Moody Thunder (4-6-1-1) in another road game.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com