The Nanaimo Timbermen started off their season on the right foot.
The senior A Western Lacrosse Association club won its first game of 2018, defeating the Coquitlam Adanacs 11-9 on Saturday on the road. The T-men weren’t able to make it two in a row, though, as they fell 8-3 to the Maple Ridge Burrards the following night, also on the mainland.
In the season opener, Chase Fraser led the Timbermen with four goals and three assists, Brody Eastwood had two goals and two helpers and Keenan Koswin also scored twice. Colton Clark had a goal and two assists and Quinn Smith and Dane Sorensen also tallied. Charles Claxton earned the win in relief.
Kaleb Toth, Timbermen coach, liked his team’s resiliency to come back from an early 4-0 deficit.
“That was a pretty close game, back and forth throughout the entire game, so it was good to be on the winning side of that,” he said. “I knew we were going to win, I had that feeling.”
The next night, Fraser scored twice and Clark had one. Toth said Burrards goalie Frank Scigliano played well – he made 45 saves – but Toth said the T-men need to find a way to score no matter what.
“We shot the ball poorly. I think that we were settling for a lot of outside looks because the inside looks that we had early, Frankie stoned us on.”
Season preview: Timbermen looking to take the next step
The Timbermen had thought last week that Fraser wouldn’t be available the first few games of the season, but the sniper was able to get a last-minute flight to be able to join the team. He is also expected to be in the lineup for this week’s games.
“Chase is a phenomenal player. He’s dynamic, he can shoot the ball hard, he’s got great movement inside, he’s got a great first step and the one thing that I’ve noticed this year is he’s seeing the floor a lot better,” Toth said.
GAME ON … The senior A T-men visit the New Westminster Salmonbellies on Thursday, May 31, then play their home opener against the Victoria Shamrocks on Saturday, June 2, at 7 p.m. at Frank Crane Arena. Tickets will be available at the door.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com
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