Game Preview: Thunder vs. Adanacs

by Gary Ahuja

After a 10-day break, the Langley Thunder (3-1) are back in action as they host the Coquitlam Adanacs (0-4) in Western Lacrosse Association action.

The two teams will meet at Langley Events Centre tonight (June 14) with a 7:30pm start in the first of three regular season matchups.

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The game pits the WLA’s top defensive club as the Thunder enter the contest allowing a league-low 7.25 goals against per game versus the league’s lowest-scoring team in the Adanacs, who have averaged just 7.75 goals in each of their four games.

Both teams last games came against the Timbermen in Nanaimo with Langley doubling up the home side 10-5 on June 3. Robert Church (3+1) and Curtis Dickson (1+3) each had four-point games while Frank Scigliano made 33 saves.

Scigliano has been a brick wall in goal for Langley with a perfect 3-0 record, 5.27 goals against average and an .891 save percentage. With Scigliano shutting the door at one end of the floor, the Thunder offence has been led by the usual suspects as Dickson is averaging 6.0 points per game while Dane Dobbie and Church are each at 5.5 ppg. Dickson leads all WLA players with 17 assists and is second in the league with 24 points. Church and Dobbie are tied for fourth in points with 22 apiece.

Brett McIntyre (3+2) and Chase McIntyre (3+1) led the Adanacs as each player registered a hat trick, but that was not enough as the team fell 10-8 to the Timbermen in Nanaimo on June 10 to wrap up a Vancouver Island road trip as Coquitlam also lost 13-7 the night before in Victoria to the Shamrocks.

Chase McIntyre leads the team in scoring with eight goals and 14 points through four games

The Thunder special teams are one area the team has struggled with both units ranking sixth out of the seven teams as the power play is operating at just .278 (5-for-18) while the penalty kill has allowed six goals on 13 opportunities (.538).

The Adanacs have surrendered the most power-play goals (9) and have a league-low .308 penalty kill success rate. And on the power play, the team has scored on four of their 10 chances (.400).

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