Thunder double up Lakers to move to 5-1

12  6

Coming off their first defeat of the season, the Langley Junior Thunder made sure the losing streak didn’t stretch to two games.

The Thunder doubled up the visiting Burnaby Lakers 12-6 on Thursday night at Langley Events Centre, improving to 5-1 in the BC Junior A Lacrosse League. The Lakers saw their struggles continue as they now sit at 1-5.

Langley’s victory saw them put up four goals in each of the three periods as they showcased their depth with eight players scoring one goal and no on netting more than a pair.

Connor Watson led the attack with two goals and seven points while Nathaniel Kozevnikov had two goals and five points. Matthew Abbott and Junior Tier 1 call-up Trevayne Hunter also got into the act with a pair of goals apiece while Kyle Nichols and Ryan Martel each set up three goals, with Martel notching one goal as well. Bobby Kidd III, Kyle Brunsch and Nick Scott rounded out the scoring with a goal apiece with Scott also registering a pair of helpers.

Up 4-2 after one period, the Thunder led 8-3 following 40 minutes and were leading 10-3 with just over 13 minutes remaining when the Lakers outscored them 3-2.

“I thought we pushed the ball well and I thought our offence moved it around and took care of the ball. And then we had Torin back there, a good game all around,” explained the Thunder’s Nick Scott, who sparked the team’s transition game with a goal and two helpers.

Coach Matt Leveque liked his team’s effort, minus a few defensive letdowns.

“When we stopped playing physical for a couple of minutes there, they capitalized,” he said.

Torin Van Rheenen made 40 saves as he improved to 5-0 on the season for Langley.

Marcus Klarich led the Lakers with three goals and one assist while Ty Yanko had one goal and three helpers and Sam La Roue (the top pick in the BCJALL Draft this past winter) had a goal and two assists.

The victory comes in between a pair of big games for Langley with the Victoria Shamrocks.

The Thunder won in the season’s second game, 11-9, but the Shamrocks took the rematch over the weekend, 13-8. The two teams will play for the third and final time this regular season on Sunday (May 19, 5 p.m.) at Langley Events Centre.

Victoria sits at 3-2 and the winner of this game will take the season series would could become crucial should it come down to a tiebreaker at the end of the regular season.

“We got a couple of guys back from school, so it was nice for us to play together and get ready for that big one against Victoria on Sunday,” Scott said.