First Things First

Submitted by League Reporter, Jen Mutas

The last time the Thunder took the floor at home on May 18th they were rewarded with their first win of the season defeating the Port Coquitlam Saints 11-7, in a battle that was won in the last two periods for Langley. Over the weekend the Thunder were unsuccessful on their two game Island road trip, and were hoping the Langley Events Center held the luck it did just over a week earlier, as they faced the New Westminster Salmonbellies on Thursday.

The ‘Bellies on the other hand came into the game after a nine day rest, with their last game being a 9-4 win against Delta at Queens Park. Perhaps eager to get back on the floor the ‘Bellies wasted no time in their attack scoring four goals in the first five minutes of the game from all areas. New West didn’t take a break in the first, continuing their offensive blitz as Tyler Digby scored on their only power play opportunity of the period, and Leif Mydske converting a beautiful pass from Jeff Sproule to score short-handed. Putting the number one power play unit in the league to use, the Thunder did manage to get on the scoresheet as Caldwell Rohrbach was the only player to beat New West keeper Frank Scigliano in the first. Between the iron at the other end of the floor Graham Chandler would be replaced by Keenan Lambright halfway through the period after six goals against, and once he faced a few shots Lambright eased into the game nicely.

Enjoying a secure seven goal lead the ‘Bellies came into the second in more of a defensive mode, but penalties would be their downfall as the Thunder once again made use of their time with the extra man. Nick Stone did a good job to pick up a ball off the boards and bury it between Scigliano’s left arm and his body, and Rohrbach used the floor to his advantage as he bounced one in halfway through the period. Langley’s first regular strength goal would come at the hands of Zach Porter who had a great unassisted goal, but unfortunately for the Thunder it would be their last of the game. Mark Negrin completed his fifth hat trick of the season in the second period, and for good measure buried his fourth of the night unassisted with just a few minutes left in the second.

Langley played extremely disciplined ball in the second period with zero calls against, but their frustration at playing from behind would seep through in the final twenty minutes. Digby converted his third goal of the night on the power play as he made some impressive moves to beat three Langley defenders, and was followed closely by Daniel McQuade who converted his only shot of the night into a power play goal picking the top left corner of the net and burying it from the shooting circle. With just three minutes left in the game Langley captain Colten Hayes was called for roughing and was immediately followed by a technical against Jared Carvalho resulting in a two man advantage for the ‘Bellies for the final minutes of the game. The advantage was short-lived as Reid Mydske would get busted for a backcheck just a minute later, but the final score from the Events center wouldn’t change and see the ‘Bellies take the game by a score of 12-4. 

After eight goals in the opening frame, the ‘Bellies could afford to ‘only’ score four in the last two periods and protect their lead. Solid performances from New West’s usual suspects, and a solid game from Scigliano who stopped all seven shots he faced in the third period, gave the ‘Bellies their eleventh point of the season; just one behind Coquitlam who sit first overall in the BCJALL. Two players who stood out for the Thunder would be relieving goaltender Lambright who allowed six goals against just like Chandler, but faced double the shots and played for two and a half periods. Field player Caldwell Rohrbach from St. Lawrence University played an impressive sixty minutes for his new box team, scoring two of their four goals and getting a more active role in the faceoff circle where he took all draws for Langley, winning eleven and dropping seven.