WLA 
Game Preview: Thunder vs. Timbermen
The Langley Thunder look for a second straight victory as they welcome the Nanaimo Timbermen to Langley Events Centre.
The game goes tonight (Wednesday, July 12) at 7:00pm.
Langley enters the game tied for top spot in the Western Lacrosse Association at 11-2 while the Timbermen sit third at 8-4 (and riding a four-game winning streak).
Both teams are coming off victories with the Thunder prevailing 7-6 in overtime over the Maple Ridge Burrards. Aden Walsh made his first start of the season and delivered a 60-save performance while Chase Scanlan scored the overtime winner. Curtis Dickson led the offence with two goals and five points.
Nanaimo’s last game was a 13-7 home win over the Coquitlam Adanacs on July 8. Zach Manns (3+2) and Ryan Sheridan (3+0) each scored hat tricks in that game with Justin Geddie stopping 42 of 49 shots.
It is the second meeting of the season between the two clubs with Langley winning 10-5 in Nanaimo back on June 3. Frank Scigliano was the first star that night with a 33-save performance while Robert Church had a hat trick to lead Langley. Manns finished with two of Nanaimo’s five goals in the game.
Langley is allowing a league-low 8.15 goals against per game while the Timbermen check in at No. 4 allowing, 9.08 goals against.
For the Thunder, Frank Scigliano has carried the load with 10 wins on the season, 6.34 goals against average and an .863 save percentage. Walsh had played the equivalent of just over two games, posting a 9.70 GAA and .835 save percentage.
At the other end of the floor, Geddie has spent more time in the crease for Nanaimo with a 9.53 GAA and .792 save percentage while Devlin Shanahan has an 8.28 GAA and .817 save percentage. Shanahan is fourth in both those categories among eligible goalies.
Offensively, Langley is second in the WLA with 11.31 goals per game and Nanaimo is third with 10.17 goals per game.
Church leads Langley with 58 points, including a WLA-best 36 assists while Dickson is tied for third in the league with 5.7 points per game. Manns leads the WLA with 65 points and his 33 goals rank him third. He is also fifth in points per game at 5.4.
And in the special teams’ battle, Langley is first on the penalty kill (.694) and third on the power play (.418) while Nanaimo is second with the man advantage (.442) and fourth on the penalty kill (.588). One key stat to watch is the Thunder penalty kill has Langley has a league-best 10 short-handed goals while the Timbermen have only allowed one goal when playing with the man advantage.
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