The Nanaimo Timbermen couldn’t get the goals they needed to keep pace on Sunday.
The senior A Timbermen were defeated 11-5 by the New Westminster Salmonbellies in Western Lacrosse Association action at Frank Crane Arena.
The T-men fell behind 5-1 after one period and never really closed the gap.
“Again we ran into real good goaltending, [Alexis] Buque played really well; our guys weren’t shooting the ball great,” said Kaleb Toth, Timbermen coach. “We had a lot of chances just like they did; the difference was they capitalized on theirs.”
He said he was satisfied with the ball movement in the offensive zone, but said guys didn’t make the necessary adjustments and didn’t execute.
“When you play in the pro league, you’ve got to figure out how to score or else you don’t get to play there,” Toth said. “It comes back to old habits …It’s just something that we’ve got to keep pounding into them at practice, just to shoot better and shoot easier.”
He said the slow start Sunday affected his team’s mindset and guys didn’t play with confidence.
“When they don’t score early, then they start dragging their sticks and burying their heads, so we’ve just got to figure out a way to try to score early,” Toth said.
Ryan Lee and Jordan Getz each scored twice for Nanaimo and Chase Fraser also tallied. Pete Dubenski and Mike DeGirolamo both saw time in the crease as shots were 53-46 in favour of the home team.
The night before, Nanaimo was defeated 11-8 by the Maple Ridge Burrards at Frank Crane. Jake Cullen scored a hat trick, Lee had a goal and three helpers and other scorers were Colton Clark, Nate Wade, Getz and Jordan Gilles. Both goalies played in that one, too, with shots 48-46 for the visitors.
GAME ON … Nanaimo visits the Victoria Shamrocks on Friday (June 30).
sports@nanaimobulletin.com