Both Nanaimo Timbermen senior box lacrosse teams have championship aspirations for the 2023 season. (Nanaimo Senior B Timbermen)

By Dan Marshall

Box Lacrosse

Nanaimo’s two senior lacrosse teams back on the floor in 2023

May 22, 2023 | 5:29 AM

NANAIMO — The Harbour City was without any senior box lacrosse for two seasons but this year the Senior A and Senior B Timbermen will both have full schedules.

The Senior A Tmen got back on the floor in 2022 and had their best season ever with a 12-6 regular season and a trip to the Western Lacrosse Association (WLA) finals.

There were questions about the Senior B team continuing to play in the West Coast Senior Lacrosse Association (WCSLA). The Timbermen took two years off for COVID-19 and then were unable to return to normal operations last year, but several long-time players and members got it going.

The club’s leading scorer Doug Langlois said he and a core group of players were determined to save the franchise.

“We’re calling companies for sponsorship and doing everything behind the scenes. It was pretty important to do it for this year because after being off for three years if it wasn’t going to happen this year it might not have happened at all,” Langlois said, who’s part of the management team.

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The Senior B’s were one of the best teams in the WCSLA when they had to shut things down.

Nanaimo won the playoff title in 2018 and finished second in the national championship, which they hosted.

In their last season in 2019, the Tmen finished second to the Ladner Pioneers in the WCSLA finals.

Ladner are the defending national champions but after an early season 12-5 Nanaimo win over the Pioneers, Langlois said the Timbermen want to make a push to be the top club in the province.

“Our goal is to make the finals and push Ladner. We’re a long way from that but coming back we want to be competitive.”

The Senior B team started their season on May 13 and off to a 2-1 start. Their next game is on Wednesday, May 24 in Victoria.

Nanaimo’s other Senior team, the WLA Timbermen, have aspirations for a Mann Cup national championship.

After losing to the Langley Thunder in the BC finals last year, the Senior A squad is expected to be strong again.

President Chris Bowman said the team will return most of the 2022 roster, emphasizing those players are hungry for a championship.

“With some of the draft picks we’ve added this year, and having everybody back plus a few others I think we’re loaded again. We could be even better this year and go even further.”

The Senior A Tmen kick off their season with road games Thursday, May 25 in New Westminster and May 27 at Coquitlam.

Nanaimo’s WLA home opener is a 2022 finals rematch with Langley on June 3 at Frank Crane Arena.

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