PREVIEW: Timbermen Look to Continue Cinderella Story

GAME 5 - SERIES TIED 2-2

FRIDAY - 6:30 PM - COQUITLAM SPORTS CENTRE

GAME 1 - NAN 7 COQ 5

GAME 2 - COQ 15 NAN 7

GAME 3 - COQ 10 NAN 9 

GAME 4 - NAN 10 COQ 5

If a lacrosse fan who hadn't paid attention to the BCJALL this season took a look at the current playoff picture, they would undoubtedly be amazed to see Nanaimo in the dance, let alone two wins away from a Minto Cup berth. But both the Nanaimo Timbermen and its fans would beg to differ that this is any surprise at all. It's the cumulation of years of building and fighting through incredible adversity for the T-Men, who have proven time and time again to be the real deal this season. Win or lose, to go toe-to-toe with the defending Minto Cup champions, is such an impressive achievement and shows the league is much more competitive than even the last few seasons.

That's not to say that the Coquitlam Adanacs haven't looked like their normal selves for parts of this series; look no further than its 15-7 win in Game 2 as evidence of that. However, they are in a scenario they've only faced a few times in recent seasons, and that's being pushed to the limit by a team hungry to make a statement. The A's have been good, but good doesn't get you to a National Championship, and Head Coach Pat Coyle will no doubt be relaying that message in some way to his troops before tonight's contest. 

Much like the Victoria-New West series, Coquitlam needs to do a better job of not allowing Nanaimo to build too much momentum by scoring goals in bunches. Lacrosse will always be an ebb-and-flow game like basketball, but letting a team dominate a game the way the Timbermen did in Game 4 is a losing recipe. They need to also find a way to stifle Nanaimo's Big 4 - Ryan Sheridan, Thomas Vaesen, Arthur Miller and Colton Lidstone - from dictating play on the offensive end. Those four figured in on all of Nanaimo's seven-straight goals that gave them a commanding 9-2 game, but it may be easier said than done. Even so, you can be sure Coyle and his coaching staff have been searching for ways to make that happen. 

Avoiding going to Nanaimo two more times in the next three games may also be a sigh of relief for Coquitlam. They haven't fared well at all there this season, going 1-3 in the Harbour City dating back to the regular season when the T-Men first put themselves on the national radar. Nanaimo can take solace in the fact that virtually all of the pressure is on Coquitlam to perform like they're expected to. Dave Bremner will be reminding his boys to not get caught up in the moment too much and to take it a goal at a time, knowing the A's can score them in bunches. 

Goaltending will also be big for Nanaimo if they want to complete the upset. Justin Geddie was fantastic in last Sunday's win, allowing just five goals on 55 shots, and stopping all 25 shots in the second period to help them get over the finish line. He's stopped a lot of rubber so far, but the Timbermen will need him to keep playing well as he has been.