The Senior A Timbermen made playoffs for the second year in a row, while the Senior B's went to the WCSLA final, and the Junior Tmen made playoffs for the first time since 2011 (Gary Johansen)

By Dan Marshall

Lacrosse Teams Impress

Nanaimo’s top box lacrosse teams all playoff contenders

Aug 15, 2019 | 11:52 AM

NANAIMO — There were no championships for any of the top box lacrosse teams in the city this summer, but 2019 did bring a lot of success.

The Senior A, Senior B, and Junior A Timbermen all made playoffs with the Senior B’s having the deepest run, going to the WCSLA Final.

Success is nothing new for the Senior B squad, they just hosted the 2018 President’s Cup winning a national silver medal and the WCSLA title.

But to have all three teams in league playoffs is rare.

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The Senior A Tmen finished fourth in the WLA to get their second straight post season berth, while the Junior A squad made the playoffs for the first time since 2011.

The best story of the lacrosse season was the most unlikely one.

The Junior A Timbermen finished 14-7 and pushed the defending national champion Coquitlam Adanacs to six games in the BCJALL semi final.

From 2016 to 2018 Nanaimo had a combined seven victories, so the jump to a top four contender caught the lacrosse community off guard.

Coach Dave Bremner took over the team in 2018 and was thrilled to see the team go from three wins to 14 and a playoff berth in just one season.

“Now that we’ve had a taste of the playoffs, we know we can compete with the best teams in BC and possibly the nation. Now our players know they’re here and they’re going to be for a couple of years.”

At the end of the season Bremner was recognized as BCJALL Coach of the Year, goaltenders Justin Geddie won Rookie of the Year, while Ryan Sheridan and Thomas Vaesen were named to the Second All-Star team.

The Senior A squad had an identical regular season in 2018 and 2019, a record of 10-7-1.

Their last regular season game would decide their playoff fate.

They needed a win or a tie against the Burnaby Lakers to get into the post season and they earned an 8-8 tie on the road. That point put the Tmen in and knocked the Lakers out.

For the second year in a row Nanaimo played Victoria in the opening round.

The Shamrocks won the series in four straight to send Nanaimo home early.

Coach Kaleb Toth was disappointed that he didn’t have some of his best players in the lineup.

The Timbermen were missing all-stars Chase Fraser, Drew Belgrave and several others for much of the regular season and playoffs.

“It’s unfortunate but that’s a part of sports. We had a lot of injuries to key players this year and we felt the wrath of it going into playoffs.”

From 2005 to 2017 the WLA Timbermen only made the playoffs once.

Toth believes the club is moving in the right direction and that more players will want to be drafted and developed in Nanaimo.

The Senior B Timbermen continue to set the bar for lacrosse success in the city.

They finished third in the WCSLA standings with a record of 11-6-1.

They easily beat Royal City 2-0 in the opening round of the playoffs, and took out Coquitlam 3-1 in the league semifinals.

For the second straight year it was the Timbermen against Ladner in the final series but this time the Pioneers won in three straight games.

Considering the amount of roster changes from the 2018 President’s Cup squad and the number of nights Nanaimo was undermanned due to injuries and other commitments, their 2019 results were very impressive.

Team president Shawn Swanson acknowledged the efforts of his team in his end of season address.

“The players battled every shift, every game. They never quit and got us as far as their tanks would take them. These guys were absolute warriors.”

Swanson hinted there will a major announcement regarding the team sometime in the off season.

Nanaimo has sometimes been overlooked as one of the true hotbeds of lacrosse in BC but the lacrosse world took notice of the success that local teams had in 2019.

Ultimate success is measured in championships and in local box lacrosse that’s the Mann Cup, Minto Cup, and President’s Cup.

It’s been fifty years since the last major championship, when the Nanaimo Luckies won the 1969 President’s Cup.

With the Timbermen teams trending in the right direction, Nanaimo may once again be hoisting a trophy in the near future.

dan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On twitter: @danmarshall77