Thunder add Albertan imports

Jacob Motiuk (#68) was the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League Defensive Player of the Year for the Senior B Calgary Mountaineers. He is joining the Langley Thunder this summer. photo courtesy of Vancouver Warriors

A pair of Alberta imports are on their way west as the Langley Thunder added more pop to their offence and bolstered their defensive/transition game by acquiring the Senior A playing rights of Jake Bowen and Jacob Motiuk ahead of the 2023 Western Lacrosse Association season.

“We are excited to add Jake and Jacob to the Thunder roster. Jake was a dynamic scorer at the Junior A level and gives us yet another weapon up front while Jacob adds speed and tenacity to our back end and will help us transition up the floor,” said Thunder General Manager Rob Buchan.

Bowen is a 6-3 left-handed forward who led the Junior A Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League in scoring with 76 points in 15 games for the St. Albert Miners while his 31 goals ranked second in the league. With Bowen leading the offence, the Miners won the RMLL and became the first Alberta team to advance to the Minto Cup championship final, where they fell to the Whitby Warriors. Bowen finished with 10 goals and 21 points in the seven Minto Cup games.

Bowen’s father Jamie played for the Thunder organization when they were in the North Shore and was a teammate of Buchan’s.

“His dad was a great player and we think Jake will be at least equal to that, if not better,” Buchan predicted.

Motiuk, who won the Colton Barlow Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2022 in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League where he played for his hometown Calgary Mountaineers. The right-handed defensive/transition player had a pair of goals and five points in eight regular season games.

The Thunder begin the 2023 WLA season on May 24 (7:30pm) when they host the Burnaby Lakers at Langley Events Centre. For full team schedule or more information, please visit www.langleythunder.com

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