Offence goes silent in third period as 'Bellies edge Thunder

Nathaniel Kozevnikov fires a shot at the New Westminster net during his Langley Thunder's Western Lacrosse Association game at Langley Events Centre on June 3. Gary Ahuja photo

Fresh off their first victory of the season, the Langley Thunder were unable to build on that momentum.

Following a strong defensive effort through the first 40 minutes and holding a 5-3 lead heading into the third period, the Thunder offence went silent. Langley managed just one more goal the rest of the way while the visiting New Westminster Salmonbellies closed the game on a 5-1 run to rally for an 8-6 victory in Western Lacrosse Association action at Langley Events Centre on Wednesday night.

The Salmonbellies improved to 2-2 while the Thunder fell to 1-4. In two of the losses, Langley has been unable to hold onto third-period leads.

Trevayne Hunter, Connor Watson and Jon Phillips scored twice apiece for Langley. Frank Scigliano made his season debut, stopping 40 of 48 shots. Gordie Phillips also made his Thunder debut after being acquired from Burnaby last week, winning 11 of 16 faceoffs and adding an assist.

Owen Rahn was involved in seven of New Westminster's eight goals, scoring five times and adding two assists. Noah Armitage (1-3) and Lukas Nielsen (1-2) also recorded multi-point games while Ashton Leclaire made 37 saves on 43 shots.

Langley entered the game fresh off an 11-7 victory over the Victoria Shamrocks on May 29. Watson led the way with a hat trick and six points while Dante Kulas had two goals and three assists. Keegan Okino made 48 saves on 55 shots in the win.

Next up for the Thunder is a home-and-home series with the Adanacs, beginning Saturday (June 6) in Coquitlam before the rematch at Langley Events Centre on Wednesday (June 10) at 7:30 p.m.

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