The junior A Timbermen will shoot for the stars, they say, and see where that takes them.
Nanaimo’s B.C. Junior A Lacrosse League club gets the season started this Friday (April 29) with a home game against the Victoria Shamrocks and then another home tilt the next night against the Coquitlam Adanacs.
“We’re shooting for the stars to get our ‘W’s early, but we know it’ll be tough,” said Tyson Leies, starting his second tenure as head coach of the junior Timbermen.
The T-men have 13 guys still away due to college or other commitments, so Nanaimo will go with the guys it’s got, plus plenty of reinforcements from intermediate A. Success early will come down to determination, said Jon Nicholson, the team’s general manager.
“The guys we’ve had out already in camp have been working really hard and the work ethic has definitely been instilled by the coaching staff,” he said.
Leies said the team will keep things simple to start.
“I’m hoping that our defence and goaltending can keep the goals down…” he said. “That’s the plan – defence to come up big and hopefully our young guns can get us a few and keep the games low-scoring.”
Returning forward Darrin Wilson will be depended upon early for scoring, with veteran Cody Clark and rookie Jake Mickelson other scorers.
Newcomer Jake Latin can play forward or transition and returnee Daryl DeFreitas had a great camp and will be a key contributor in transition. Kevin Glanfield is another promising addition to the transition unit.
In the back end are big, mobile rookies Liam Young and Jordan Terris, along with vet Chase Anderson.
Returning goaltender Matt Zeller will be supported in the crease by Kain Stewart and Nolan Tygat.
Early next month, the junior T-men will get back their top two scorers from last year, Connor Leies and Alec Molander. They’re also awaiting forward McLean Chicquen, returning transition player Adam Golia and others.
“I like the depth that we’re going to have,” Nicholson said. “I think we’re going to be a stronger team on defence than we have been in the last two years and I really like what we’re going to have up front, as well.”
Tyson Leies said the defence has size without sacrificing speed.
“The kids on the back end, at any point in time we’re going to have the green light for them to run up on offence, create some fast-break opportunities,” the coach said.
The league tweaked the playoff format this year, with five teams making the post-season instead of three. The T-men think they can be in the mix if they can be a .500 team over the first couple of challenging weeks.
“The parity in the league is going to be better than it has been, probably, in the last two or three years,” said Nicholson. “It’s going to be an interesting year just to see how things shake out, but we’re very optimistic. I think we’ve got a playoff team and I think we can do some damage this year.”
GAME ON … The junior A Timbermen take on the Victoria Shamrocks on Friday (April 29) at 7 p.m. at Frank Crane Arena. The T-men will then host the Coquitlam Adanacs on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Frank Crane. Tickets will be available at the door. For more information about tickets or the team’s schedule, please visit http://timbermen.bcjall.com.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com