Sr. B Timbermen load up for title run

Nanaimo enters second half of WCSLA season tied for first, add Nick Patterson and Russel Thomas

BY JOSH ALDRICH, DAILY NEWS JUNE 13, 2013

The Nanaimo Acme Painting Timbermen are not satisfied with simply having a good first half of the season.

Their goals are far loftier.

Sitting tied for first at the midway point of the West Coast Senior B Association season, the T-Men (6-1-0) have bolstered their goaltending and offence as they head into this weekend's action.

In net, they have added veteran goalie, and Victoria Sr. A Shamrocks hold out, Nick Patterson. And up front veteran forward Russel Thomas, who led the team in scoring in the playoffs last season, has returned.

Despite the Timbermen's hot start, general manager Shawn Swanson is not resting on his laurels.

"Definitely happy with the record, but we definitely have some room to improve with our play on the floor," he said.

The Timbermen are tied with the Ladner Pioneers (6-0-0) with 12 points, while the Tri-City Bandits (5- 1-0) are right behind them with 10 points.

Goaltending has not been an issue to this point for the Timbermen, but Swanson says if they have the opportunity to get even better at a position, they are going to do it.

Danny Walters and Pat Mallough have split time in net this year. Mallough carried a 0.819 save percentage and a 8.18 goals against average in 198 minutes played, while Walters carries a 0.794 save percentage and a 7.30 goals against average.

Patterson, 30, a Victoria native, has spent 10 years in the NLL with the , and finished last season with the Washington Stealth. The five-foot-11, 185-pounder carries a career NLL mark of 40-35 with a 12.16 GAA and a .757 save percentage and has twice played in the NLL All-star game.

In the Western Lacrosse Association, he has a 28-18-3 record, a 9.91 G.A.A. and a 0.786 save percentage, all with the Shamrocks, but hasn't played with them since 2011.

"I've been after Nick now for two years and to get him is pretty huge for our team," said Swanson. "We're always looking to upgrade every position, no one's set for good and we wanted to go into the playoffs with three goalies so we always have that availability.

"Ideally he will be the starter, but he's got to earn it."

Thomas, 26, adds some more depth up front.

Nanaimo got caught last year with not a whole lot behind Jon Diplock, but have already been better this year with big years from leading scorer Kyle Noble, Cody Keating, Joey Fendick and the recently signed Blair Pinnock.

Thomas came on strong at the end of last year, finishing with 27 points (16 goals, 11 assists) in nine games before leading the T-Men with 12 points (5-7-12) in three playoff games.

The six-foot, 170-pounder, adds another weapon to the left side of the floor.

Commitments out east had Nanaimo thinking they were not going to get the Nanoose Bay product back this year.

The key now is going to be integrating them into the team, but that will be helped by Thomas' experience with them last year.

"He's a really laid back personality, but he gets along with the guys really well and that makes it easier," head coach Mike Maughan.

"Plus, he's already played with a lot of the guys and has known a lot of the guys for quite a few years, so I see him transitioning pretty seamlessly into the lineup."

Swanson also says the Timber-men are not finished tinkering with five games to go before the roster deadline of July 1.

Ideally, they would like to add another shutdown defender to the lineup.

This weekend they host the North Shore Royals on Saturday at 6: 30 p.m. and the Langley Warriors on Sunday at 5 p.m., both games are at the Nanaimo Ice Centre.

Expectations are very high for the second half as they eye a run at a national championship.

"We're looking to win the league and make a run at the President's Cup," said Maughan. "We look at the roster we had last year, and we're two one-goal games against Tri-City from going to the finals and doing some damage there. And we look at our roster this year and we feel as good, if not better about the way we look. We definitely think we can do some damage, it's just a matter of performing at the right time."

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