Special Teams Pace Thunder Past Timbermen

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Special teams and goaltending are two things commonly mentioned when teams talk about what it takes to win in the postseason. The Langley Thunder displayed both in what felt like a playoff game on Sunday afternoon at Langley Events Centre.

Hosting the Nanaimo Timbermen in BC Junior A Lacrosse League action, the Thunder scored six times on the power play while also surviving playing more than half (10:26) of the second period short-handed, allowing just two goals (only one was officially a power-play goal as the Thunder player had just stepped out of the box as the ball went into the net) during that time in a 10-9 victory.

Officially, the Timbermen power play was three-for-nine on the game while Langley was a lights-out six-for-eight.

“Our penalty kill has been good all year and it bailed us out,” said Langley head coach Dane Dobbie. “And I thought Torin (Van Rheenen) was playing great in the second period. It definitely gave us a little spark there.”

Van Rheenen made 15 of his 39 saves in that middle stanza.

Buoyed by their penalty kill and goaltending in the period, which forced the offensive guys to concentrate more on running down the shot clock to get their defenders some much needed rest, the Thunder offence was razor sharp in the third period, going a perfect 4-for-4 with the man advantage.

“That was a must-win. Season series are very important and we are tied 1-1 now,” Dobbie said of the team’s head-to-head record with the Timbermen. They will play the rubber match in Nanaimo on June 22.

For more, head to the Langley Thunder team website: http://thunder.bcjall.com/news/power-play-powers-thunder-past-timbermen