The title defence is officially underway.
The Nanaimo Timbermen opened the 2016 West Coast Senior Lacrosse Association season with a win, defeating the Valley Rebels 12-7 on Sunday at Frank Crane Arena.
“There’s a lot of growing that we need to do, but we got the result and we’re happy to start out with a win…” said Mike Maughan, the team’s coach. “This team has some big expectations and we expect to win no matter who we play.”
Nanaimo started strongly with a 6-3 lead through one period, but the visitors wouldn’t go away.
“Those guys came over and they battled hard and they forced us to step our game up a bit, so it was nice to get that first win, for sure,” Maughan said.
Corey Shires impressed in his debut with the senior B Timbermen, as he scored a hat trick and assisted on three more.
Jon Diplock also recorded a hat trick, Andrew Miller had two goals and four assists and Ryan Forslund had a goal and five assists. Other scorers were Ryan Dietterle, Ross Dougan and Brett Fleming.
Nick Patterson earned the win in goal as shots were 52-48 in favour of Nanaimo.
“Our defence worked hard and were very physical and Nick back there does what he always does, which makes us look good at times,” said Maughan.
The coach said he liked the effort his players showed, but he sees room for improvement at both ends of the floor, and the guys recognize that, too.
“There’s a lot of little things we’ve got to work on still…” said Shires. “Once we’ve got everyone working together, I think our offence should be unstoppable, same with our defence.”
The newcomer was happy to contribute with his new team.
“I grew up with pretty much all the guys on the team, so the transition was super easy, everyone was super welcoming,” Shires said. “So it’s been nice.”
GAME ON … The senior B Timbermen play a pair of road games this coming weekend (May 6-7), visiting the North Shore Indians and the Royal City Capitals, respectively.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com