It was all-Delta Islanders in the opening and closing minutes of their Sunday afternoon tilt with the Nanaimo Timbermen. It’s what happened in between that resulted in a stinging defeat.
The Islanders concluded a tough week with a 13-12 loss to the visiting Timbermen that leaves them with a 1-3-0-1 record in the B.C. Junior “A” Lacrosse League. An impressive season-opening win over Port Coquitlam has been followed by home floor losses to Burnaby and Nanaimo, teams they simply need to take care of to challenge for a playoff spot.
Nanaimo came into Ladner with a 0-6-0-0 record and dropped a 20-13 decision to PoCo 24 hours later. The winless streak looked certain to continue when the hosts jumped out to a 5-1 lead with the game not even eight minutes old. That’s when the T-men called a timeout and regrouped to close out the opening frame with four unanswered goals.
They added three more to start the second before Delta finally ended a near 20-minute goalless drought. It was then catch-up lacrosse the rest of the way and Nanaimo hung on for the win despite surrendering three straight goals to close out the game.
Special teams played a big part in the outcome with the pair combining for 16 power play or shorthanded goals. The result overshadowed a big outing for veteran Riley Phillips who produced nine points, including four goals. Rookie Sekawnee Baker also scored four times, while Ryan Jones, had two goals and three assists.
A tough three games in six days stretch began with an encouraging 12-10 overtime loss to the New West Salmonbellies at Queen’s Park Arena. Rookie standout Haiden Dickson salvaged a point by netting the equalizer with just four seconds remaining. New West earned the victory thanks to a pair of goals in the 10-minute extra session including former Islander Tre LeClaire netting his second of the night.
Jake Canlton added a hat trick for the visitors while goaltender Brody Harris was terrific in a relief role.
Two nights later, the Islanders dropped a 13-8 road decision to the Langley Thunder behind the season debut of Calgary Roughnecks rookie Ryan Martel who finished with seven points.
Dickson had a hat trick for Delta and Dawson Trimble chipped in with three assists.
Defending champion Coquitlam Adanacs visit the Ladner Leisure Centre on Wednesday at 8 p.m.
