Two teams are going to enter Frank Crane Arena on Tuesday night and one is going to be crowned B.C. champion.
The senior B Nanaimo Timbermen and the Ladner Pioneers are going to a Game 3 rubber match in the West Coast Senior Lacrosse Association finals.
Ladner won Game 1 by a 7-4 score in Nanaimo, then the Re/Max T-men took Game 2 by a 12-11 score in overtime in Delta on Saturday.
The T-men trailed by two goals with five minutes left, but forced overtime and then Joey Fendick scored what stood up as the OT winner.
Kyle Couling, Timbermen coach, said the team had plays drawn up for pulling the goalie as they looked to tie the game late.
“Every time we got that lined up, the offence came through and scored before we had to do it, so it was nice to see execution by our guys,” he said.
Couling said the T-men played smart lacrosse. With a short bench for a variety of reasons, guys protected the ball and managed the clock.
“It was a really good character win and those wins like that, having the last-minute situations, the overtime situations, are going to pay off down the road,” he said. “You want to have those nail-biter situations so that when they come down in the games in, say, the nationals, then we’ve been there and we’ve experienced it and we can just play through it.”
Nanaimo will have star players Jeff Shattler and Cory Conway in the lineup for Game 3 against Ladner.
“We’ll be going in with a much stronger lineup than we had on Saturday, and with momentum, really – I think our win was pretty deflating toward them…” Couling said. “Our confidence is way up and our determination’s there.”
GAME ON … The T-men and Pioneers play Tuesday, Aug. 14 at 7 p.m. at Frank Crane Arena. Tickets will be available at the door. Also at the game, there will be Presidents Cup national championship tournament tickets available.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com
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