The New Westminster Salmonbellies are once again tied for first place in the Western Lacrosse Association after a big win against the Langley Thunder on Thursday night.
The top two teams in the WLA took to the floor at Queen’s Park Arena on July 6, a game that would determine if the Bellies moved into a first-place tie with the Thunder or allow Langley, coming into the game two points ahead of the Bellies, to move four points ahead in the standings.
With their 15-13 win, the Salmonbellies moved into tie for first place with the Thunder.
The Salmonbellies jumped out to an early lead, putting three goals past Langley goaltender Frank Scigliano in the first four minutes of the game. Langley pulled Scigliano and put Aden Walsh into net, but Scigliano, a former Junior Salmonbellie, would return later in the game.
The Bellies 7-2 led after the first period.
But the Thunder roared back in the second, scoring just seconds into the period and putting six consecutive goals past Bellies’ goalie Zach Higgins. The rivals traded goals for the rest of the period, with the Bellies scoring one with just one second on the clock, good for a 10-8 lead after two periods.
The Thunder opened the third period with four straight goals to take the lead, before the Bellies answered with three of their own. The Thunder notched another goal, but the Bellies answered with two more to take the win.
It was the Salmonbellies first win in three outings against the Thunder this season.
Leading the way for the Salmonbellies was Haiden Dickson, with seven goals and one assist. Keegan Bal had three goals, while Ryan Martel scored twice, and Jason Jones, Will Malcom and Jordan McBride added singles for the hometown team. Malcom had seven assists in the game
Connor Robinson, who played his Junior A career with the New Westminster Salmonbellies, had five goals and two assists for the Langley Thunder.
Thursday’s game put the Salmonbellies and the Thunder in a two-way tie for first place with 20 points, both teams having 10 wins and two losses. Trailing behind the league-leading Bellies and Thunder are: the Nanaimo Timberman (14 points in 11 games); the Victoria Shamrocks (nine points in 11 games); the Maple Ridge Burrarrds (seven points in 10 games); the Burnaby Lakers (four points in 10 games); and the Coquitlam Adanacs (two points in 10 games).
The Bellies have a couple of games on the road (Tuesday, July 11 in Maple Ridge and Friday, July 14 in Victoria) before returning home to Queen’s Park Arena on Thursday, July 20 for a 7 p.m. game against the Victoria Shamrocks. Their final regular-season home game is on Thursday, July 27 at 7:30 p.m. against the Maple Ridge Burrards.
