Timbermen use all 60 Minutes to top Lakers

Dominic Abassi

It was a hot and humid night inside and out in Burnaby. The temperature seemed to weigh on both teams, as it was a sluggish start to a game with all the implications of a playoff match up. Cayle Ratcliff and Callum Crawford had the Tmen off to a good start, but a four goal Laker run swung the momentum. Kaleb Toth, in his first action since returning from a knee injury, dished a great pass to set up a Joel Henry power play marker, and Lewis Ratcliff added one to make it 5-4 at the 1st break.

The second stanza was dominated by the netminders, as Drew Dickie and Matt King were stellar, stopping a combined 30 of 33 shots. Burnaby had the only two goals of the period, until once again, Lewis Ratcliff notched a huge marker, fittingly set up by a Matt King stretch pass. Ratcliff had 4 points through the first two periods, but his best was yet to come.

Henry, once again set up by Toth, and Ratcliff opened the 3rd period with goals, making it a 7-7 tie and setting the table for a tense finish. Cam Bergman scored the only Burnaby goal in the final 37 minutes of the game with a little over 6 left on the clock to leave the Tmen facing desperate times. Cue the league's reigning MVP. With the final minute ticking away, Matt King headed for the bench and Lewis Ratcliff took control of the offense. Henry dished the ball from the wing to the top of the set and Ratcliff wired a seeing eye shot right through the legs of Dickie to tie the game at 8-8. Off the ensuing face off Scott Ranger chased a loose ball into the corner and, despite being mugged by two Laker players, was able to gain possession and call a time out. Burnaby had their chance at a break but Lewis Ratcliff wasn't done yet. He knocked down the break out pass, scooped the ball and promptly deposited it into the Laker net for the game winning tally with just 17 seconds left on the clock.

Notes: Burnaby is in Nanaimo July 10th for a rematch. With a Tmen win and a Coquitlam loss, Nanaimo will take possession of 3rd place in the standings. Ratcliff finished the game with 5-2-7 while Joel Henry had 3-2-5. Toth had 2 assists in his return to the line up. The next webcast will be July 30th, live video from Bear Mountain Arena.