Timbermen halt five-game losing streak

Michael Briones of The Nanaimo Daily News

June 8, 2010

It wasn't easy and it wasn't their best game but the Nanaimo Timbermen will take it. The Timbermen ended their five-game losing skid when they scraped past Maple Ridge Burrards 4-3 in front of a packed gallery at the Nanaimo Ice Centre on Sunday. There were a lot of shots generated by both sides but solid defence and stellar goalkeeping were the highlight of the Western Lacrosse Association clash.

The Timbermen didn't have a strong first period, coughing up the ball and at times were in disarray offensively. Burrards took the lead with two goals and shut out the Timbermen while outshooting them 19-9.In the second period, the Timbermen finally tightened up their game on both ends and had more territorial advantage and scoring opportunities.Lewis Ratcliff got the ball rolling for the Timbermen as Joel Henry and Callum Crawford followed it up with goals that turned the tide in their favour 3-2.

In the third, Crawford gave the Timbermen a slight cushion when he scored on a power play just past the midway mark. The Timbermen held on to their lead and allowed the Burrards to score one last time with less than two minutes left to play. The Timbermen improved their record to 2-5 and are in fifth place in the standings.

Boxla Banter: Prior to the game, the players who helped Washington Stealth win the National Lacrosse League Cup that was on display at the NIC were honored. From the Timbermen they were Lewis Ratcliff, Chris O*Dougherty, Jamison Koesterer and coach Art Webster. The Maple Ridge players were Tyler Codron, Joel Dalgarno and Sam Cook. This will be great for the fans and everybody,* said Webster. I think it will be an inspiration to some of the players. This trophy is hard to win. It's not easy because of the way the whole thing is set up.

The Tmen hit the road for a pair this weekend. The game in Coquitlam on Saturday, June 12th will be available on PPV Webcast via www.theboxrocks.com. Sunday night, June 13th you can watch the Timbermen clash with the Maple Ridge Burrards on the FREE video webcast, right here on tmen.ca!