Thunder head to Queen's Park Arena to face 'Bellies

The Langley Thunder and New Westminster Salmonbellies are all set for the rubber match of their three-game regular season series as they meet tonight (Thursday).

But while the first two games were at Langley Events Centre, this game will be contested at New Westminster’s Queen’s Park Arena.

Both teams enter the contest riding two-game winning streaks and currently and Langley sits fourth (8-5) and New Westminster (6-8) fifth in the Western Lacrosse Association standings.

Game time is at 7:30pm and can be streamed at www.wlalacrosse.com/wlatv

Previous Game

Chase Scanlan and Robert Church both had four-goal, nine-point games on July 17 as Langley was a 13-6 road winner over the Burrards in Maple Ridge.

The Burrards were up 3-1 after 20 minutes before the Thunder struck for eight goals in the middle frame to take control of the game.

The Salmonbellies scored the game’s first four goals and never trailed in an 11-7 win at home over the Victoria Shamrocks. Goaltender Neil Tyacke was the first star as he stopped 48 of 55 Victoria shots while Ethan Forgave and Anthony Malcom each scored hat tricks.

Offence

When it comes to points per game, Langley has three players among the league leaders as Dane Dobbie sits second at 5.3, while Curtis Dickson and Connor Robinson are tied for third at 4.8.

Dickson is also second in assists (35) and points (58) and tied for fourth in goals (23). Dobbie is tied for third in goals – along with teammate Robert Church – as both players have scored 25 goals while Dobbie is also tied for fourth with 53 points.

As a team, the Thunder are averaging 10.2 goals per game while the Salmonbellies are scoring 9.1 goals per game.

New Westminster rookie Haiden Dickson leads all WLA players with 30 goals and he sits second on the team with 51 points, just behind Mitch Jones (24 goals, 29 assists and 53 points).

Goaltending 

Frank Scigliano has a 9.08 goals against average and .823 save percentage, ranking second among eligible goaltenders in both categories.. He is also fourth in total saves with 396. Steve Fryer has made one appearance this season and boasts a 7.00 GAA and .860 save percentage.

For New Westminster, Zach Higgins is third in the WLA with an .812 save percentage but Tyacke has played the last two games – winning both – with a 6.02 GAA and .872 save percentage.

Special Teams

The game will feature a battle of the top-ranked power play against the league’s No. 1 penalty kill as the Thunder have cashed in on half of their power-play chances (32-for-64) while the Salmonbellies penalty kill is a league-best .754, allowing just 16 goals on 65 chances.

And on the other side of the equation, it will be Langley’s third-ranked penalty kill (24 goals allowed on 59 chances, .593) against New Westminster’s seventh-ranked power play (20-for-59, .339).

Head-to-Head

The first meeting of the season was on June 22 with the Salmonbellies scoring the 9-6 victory as Higgins stopped 59 of 65 shots. Jordan McBride and Tomas Jeck both scored two goals in the victory while Dickson had a hat trick and four points for Langley.

The teams then met again on July 9, this time a 9-7 Thunder victory as Dobbie had five goals and seven points while Fryer made his season debut and stopped 43 of 50 shots. Jones led New Westminster with a goal and five points.

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