Timbermen Feeling Confident After First Win of Season

Nanaimo Timbermen head coach Dave Bremner thinks his club is on the upswing after picking up its first win of the BCJALL regular season in Sunday's 13-12 road win over the Delta Islanders.

It pushed the team's record to 1-6-0-0, a record Bremner doesn't believe reflects the T-Men's true performance through the first third of the season.

"The first seven games are always critical and we were unfortunate not to have a better record," Bremner told Dan Marshall of Nanaimo Now News. "We've probably been deserving of a couple wins by now, but unless you get them you don't have them. 

"A lot of things were implemented with a whole bunch of new personnel this year."

 Penalty Box Parade

The Timbermen lead the league in penalty minutes with 176. Some of that is skewed by things like game misconducts, but it's clear Nanaimo spends too much time in the box. That's a concern for any team in the BCJALL, but the short man has been in for a rough go, killing penalties at just a 54 per cent clip. While that's actually good for fifth in the league it doesn't spell good prospects for the long-term. 

It's not the volume of penalties the Timbermen are taking but when they are taking them. They took eight penalties (two coincidentally) in the second period of Sunday's win and paid for it with the Islanders putting three of those in the back of the night. They were lucky by scoring three goals short-handed but can't lean on that on a game-by-game basis. Delta took further advantage of the man up situation by scoring three goals, two on the power play and one on a delayed call, but couldn't find a tying goal. 

Learning The Ropes in Junior A 

It has been baptism by fire for some Timbermen who are making the transition from playing Midget lacrosse under the new Junior structure. With only two players expected to be returning to the Timbermen from school or work, that means the roster largely is what it is, unless tweaks are made through trades or free agent signings in the coming weeks. Bremner says it's a solid opportunity for those young players to develop

"Not so much about having players away as opposed to having our players actually getting used to the league," he said. "A lot of first-year guys who haven't played junior a ball before." 

He singles out players like Reid Matthews, Ryan Sheridan and 2018 BCJALL Draft No. 1 selection Arthur Miller as guys who have helped transform the culture in Nanaimo. 

The T-Men get Adam Fulton back in the coming weeks as he completes his Freshman year at Delaware. He appeared in 12 games and started one for the Blue Hens, scoring a goal and five points. Fulton is dynamic and put the ball in the net a lot for the then-Intermediate A club, but this will be his first full year in Junior A and even he will need a transition.

Nanaimo is back on the road again this Sunday in Coquitlam, looking to put together back-to-back wins. 

You can listen to the full Dave Bremner interview here: https://soundcloud.com/nanaimo-sports/may-23-dave-bremner

Photo above by Greg Sakaki, Nanaimo Bulletin Sports