The Coastal Timbermen are going to have to win a lot of games down the stretch, so they might as well start now.
The Nanaimo Timbermen senior A lacrosse team plays the Langley Thunder on Saturday (July 13) at Frank Crane Arena, then visits the Maple Ridge Burrards on Sunday.
The T-men (4-9) are coming off a tough one-goal loss to the Burrards last weekend.
“There’s still reasons to be optimistic. Unfortunately the loss does hurt our standings,” said Kaleb Toth, the team’s coach. “But it still didn’t change the fact that we need to win.”
He suggested that Nanaimo probably needs to win four of its last five to get into the playoffs, but said even three out of five could be enough depending on results on the out-of-town scoreboard.
The T-men are a young team, he said, but they’re figuring out what leads to wins and losses in the Western Lacrosse Association.
“Guys are realizing if they do listen and follow the systems and follow what we’re doing, success is inevitable,” Toth said.
That said, the team will be trying to pull off a pair of upsets this weekend. The Thunder are the league’s best defensive team by a wide margin and the Burrards are the second-highest-scoring team.
Toth said the T-men will try to fast-break the Thunder and get goals on transition, and will try to win the special teams battle against the Burrards.
“Guys are still optimistic, still positive that we can do it,” said the coach. “It’s just going to come down to playing mistake-free lacrosse. It’s the little things.”
GAME ON … The T-men host the Thunder Saturday at 7 p.m. at Frank Crane Arena. Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and students and $5 for children five and up. It’s the second-to-last home game of the season for the T-men. Their final home date at Frank Crane is July 27 versus the Burrards.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com