The Nanaimo Timbermen were finally able to snap a long losing streak.
The senior A lacrosse squad defeated the Maple Ridge Burrards 9-8 on Sunday night at Frank Crane Arena. The T-men (3-11), after winning their first two games of the Western Lacrosse Association season, had lost 11 straight to fall out of the playoff picture.
"It's a relief getting the monkey off our back finally, breaking that streak…" said Zak Boychuk, T-men goalie. "It's a lot of games to lose in a row. You can get down on yourself. We loosened up, had some fun, started working smart … Some bounces finally started going our way. Thankfully. It was about time."
The game was close all the way, tied after one period, tied after two, and then tied 8-8 until Jake Emms found a rebound in front of a wide-open net at the end of a goal-crease scramble with four and a half minutes left. The T-men made the lead hold up.
"The guys worked really hard and the one thing that they did different today is they worked smart," said Kaleb Toth, Timbermen coach.
He said his team limited its turnovers, made the right decisions in transition and hustled after loose balls, especially the ones in front of their own crease.
Toth said the T-men played for pride.
"No one likes to lose, especially 11 in a row," the coach said. "The guys were tired of losing and they wanted to win."
Cody Bremner led Nanaimo's offence with four goals and Mac Johnston had two goals and four assists. Doug Langlois, Steve Higgs and Emms were the other scorers. Boychuk made 45 saves in the win.
GAME ON … The Timbermen visit the Langley Thunder on Wednesday (July 22), then host the Burnaby Lakers on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Frank Crane Arena.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com