One of the city’s great lacrosse rivalries is about to be revisited.
The Nanaimo DBL Timbermen play the team they’d most like to beat, the Ladner Pioneers, tonight (May 31) on the mainland.
Ladner manages to have a strong team every single year in the West Coast Senior Lacrosse Association. Visiting teams who go to the Ladner Leisure Centre with anything less than a full complement of runners are bound to get beat up and worn down by game’s end.
“They’ve always got a good team and they play like us, they play tough,” said Shawn Swanson, T-men veteran. “It’s chippy back and forth; it’s not a soft game like when you’re playing some of the other teams.”
If the Pioneers get pushy, the Timbermen will push back, said Swanson.
“But at the same time we’re playing a bit smarter of a game this year, a little bit cleaner game than we’ve played in the past,” he said. “Hopefully we can use that to our advantage.”
GAME ON … Next home action for the T-men is a rematch with the Pioneers June 7 at the Nanaimo Ice Centre.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com