Thunder advance after ‘Bellies back out of BCJALL series due to apparent lack of players
Langley Events Centre (Photo: Langley Thunder)
The British Columbia Junior A Lacrosse League has announced that the New Westminster Salmonbellies have dropped out of this year’s playoffs after an apparent lack of players and injuries to their light lineup.
The Salmonbellies were just a game into their first round, best-of-three series against the Langley Thunder, losing 26-2 at the Langley Events Centre this past Thursday evening. The 24-goal gap was one of the largest in league history.
This weekend’s Game 2 has been listed as being forfeited by New West and Langley sweeping the series 2-0. The BCJALL has confirmed that the Thunder will face the second-place Nanaimo Timbermen in the second round of the league’s playoffs.
New Westminster fielded 15 runners and two goalies to Langley’s full 20-man roster in their series opener and now closing contest last night.
At this year’s BCJALL trade deadline, the Thunder actually acquired three top players from the Salmonbellies in Benjamin Stewart (Wagner), Drew Andre (Lewis) and Noah Armitage (Stony Brook) for a handful of future draft picks.
In January, New Westminster drafted Aiden McDonald with the first overall selection in the 2022 BCJALL Entry Draft.
In the league’s other opening round series, the Coquitlam Adanacs own a 1-0 lead over the Burnaby Lakers. The winner will face the first-place Victoria Shamrocks, who currently sit second in The Lax Mag’s National Junior Rankings.