Game Preview: Thunder host Timbermen as playoff race hits stretch drive

by Gary Ahuja

Just how tight are the Western Lacrosse Association standings?

Consider this: only four points separate second place from seventh place as six teams jockey for the final three playoff positions with the Victoria Shamrocks having already clinched top spot.

And the Langley Thunder (6-7-1, 13 points) will look to get a leg up on the competition for one of those playoff berths when they host the Nanaimo Timbermen (4-7-1, 9 points) at the Langley Events Centre tonight (Wednesday, July 17) at 7:00pm. The Thunder have four games remaining while the Timbermen still have six to play between now and August 1, the last day of the regular season.

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It is the final meeting of the season for the two Senior A lacrosse clubs who have each won on the others’ home floor with the Timbermen prevailing 8-6 on June 26 before Langley returned the favour 12-8 on July 7 in Nanaimo.

Langley is coming off an 8-7 overtime loss on the road to the Coquitlam Adanacs on July 13, but prior to that, the Thunder were on a 5-1-1 stretch. Against the Adanacs, Robert Church dominated offensively as he had a hand in all seven goals, scoring five of them himself, with Chase Scanlan finishing with six assists.

Scanlan leads Langley in all three major categories with 29 goals, 32 assists and 61 points while playing in all 14 games. He is second in the WLA in points, third in goals and fifth in assists.

Church has missed a half dozen games but has managed 19 goals and 38 points in eight games, an average of 4.8 points per game, which ranks fourth in the league.

Nanaimo was also last in action on July 13, posting a 14-10 home victory over the New Westminster Salmonbellies behind a hat trick and four points from Jon Phillips and a six-assist effort from Jason Knox.

Zach Manns leads the Timbermen in goals (22) and points (49) while he shares the team lead in assists with Knox as each player has set up 27 goals.

In net, Nanaimo’s Colby Bowman sits fourth with an .823 save percentage while Langley’s Aden Walsh is fifth at .818.

Both Langley and Nanaimo’s special teams’ units rank in the top three as the Timbermen are the No. 1 power play (.473) and No. 3 penalty kill (.590) while the Thunder are second on the PK (.630) and third with the man advantage (.435).

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