Shamrocks pull away from Thunder

Langley's Nathaniel Kozevnikov gets a step on his Victoria Shamrocks opponent during Western Lacrosse Association action at Langley Events Centre on May 27. Ryan Molag photo

It is back to the drawing board for the Langley Thunder.

The Senior A lacrosse team fell to 0-3 in Western Lacrosse Association play following an 11-4 loss to the visiting Victoria Shamrocks on Wednesday night at Langley Events Centre. The Shamrocks improved to 2-0 with the victory.

The score was tied 3-3 early in the second period before Victoria scored four times in the middle frame to take a 7-4 lead. The Shamrocks then added the only four goals of the third period to seal the win.

“I thought we came out pretty well, but obviously we spent too much time in the penalty box, so we have to be more disciplined,” said Langley coach Ian Poole. “We have to learn how to battle through a full 60 minutes of tough, hard-nosed lacrosse.”

Through three games this season, Langley has scored five, six and four goals respectively.

“There are a lot of new faces, so the players need to get comfortable with each other, trust each other and believe in each other, and that takes time,” Poole said.

Jon Phillips led the Langley offence with a goal and two assists while Trevayne Hunter, Nathaniel Kozevnikov and Bailey Vanichuk scored once each. Devin Pipher added a pair of assists.

The teams conclude their home-and-home series on Friday (May 29) at Victoria’s Q Centre before the Thunder return to Langley Events Centre on Wednesday, June 3 to face the New Westminster Salmonbellies. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

“Getting off to an 0-3 start isn’t ideal, but we need to understand the season isn’t over … there’s still a lot of lacrosse left,” Poole said.

“We are looking forward to getting some guys healthy and back in the lineup. But we have to work for it because nobody is going to hand it to us.”

The Langley Thunder organization consists of Senior A, Junior A and Junior Tier 1 teams competing in the Western Lacrosse Association, BC Junior A Lacrosse League and BC Junior Tier 1 Lacrosse League, respectively. All three teams play their home games at Langley Events Centre.

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