A loss of offensive momentum cost the Nanaimo DBL Timbermen a shot at the provincial title Thursday night after losing to the Ladner Pioneers 7-3 in the West Coast Senior Lacrosse Association semifinals.
Nanaimo had fallen into a 2-0 hole early in the series, but battled back to tie Ladner 2-2 to force Game 5.
Heading into the deciding game at the Ladner Leisure Centre, the Timbermen said they felt they had the momentum as their big defence had found a way to shut down Pioneer scorers. That was the case in Game 5, but Nanaimo’s offence simply couldn’t match Ladner’s attack.
“We created a few good scoring chances but I thought their goalie played well,” said Roger Dubyna, Timbermen coach. “In the end it was three or four critical mistakes that cost us at least three goals.”
The loss took away an opportunity for the T-men to avenge a 3-1 league championship final series loss to the Tri-City Bandits in 2010.
Instead, the Pioneers earned the right to take on the defending league champions in the 2011 edition of the championship final. Tri-City defeated the Valley Rebels three games to one in the other semifinal series.
The winner of the Pioneers-Bandits series will continue on to represent B.C. in the President’s Cup national championship tournament.
Scoring for the Timbermen in the loss were Ryan Clark, Kyle Noble and Shawn Swanson.