The Nanaimo Timbermen completed a third-period comeback to defeat the Langley Thunder 6-5 on Wednesday night in the WLA season opener.
Langley held a 3-0 lead through two periods of play. However, Nanaimo scored four straight goals to open the third period.
After the Thunder scored a pair of goals, Nanaimo’s Noah Manning scored twice late in the game to secure the win.
Manning led the Timbermen with two goals and two assists, while Jeremy Wudrick added two goals and one assist. Colby Bowman got the start in goal and stopped 36 of 41 shots in the win.
For Langley, Nathaniel Kozevnikov and Jon Phillips each finished with a goal and an assist. Keegan Okino got the start in goal for the Thunder and stopped 46 of 52 shots in the loss.
First Period
Langley got on the board first with Kozevnikov finding the back of the net 6:07 into the game.
The Thunder then made it 2-0 with 4:37 left on the clock. On the power play with an extra attacker on the floor, Kozevnikov found Dante Kulas for the goal.
Okino was outstanding for Langley in goal, stopping all 18 shots he faced in the first period.
Second Period
Okino continued to pitch a shutout, stopping all 16 shots he faced in the second period for a total of 34 saves through 40 minutes.
The lone goal of the second period came from Phillips, who scored shorthanded and unassisted with 1:54 left on the clock as the Thunder took a 3-0 lead.
Third Period
Nanaimo came to life in the third period, scoring four goals in less than three minutes to take the lead.
Wudrick found the back of the net 3:53 into the third period to get the Timbermen on the board. Josh Adey scored 38 seconds later to make it a 3-2 game.
With an extra attacker on the floor, Logan Schmidt scored for Nanaimo at the 5:02 mark to tie the game 3-3.
Wudrick gave the Timbermen their first lead of the game at the 6:38 mark of the third period on the power play.
The Thunder responded to regain the lead. Alex Lemieux scored unassisted at 9:19 to tie the game 4-4.
Bailey Vanichuk then gave Langley a 5-4 lead at the 12:43 mark.
Enter Noah Manning, who took over late in the game to lift the Timbermen to victory.
He scored with 2:10 left to tie the game 5-5. Ryan Sheridan then found Manning, who scored with 17 seconds remaining to give Nanaimo a 6-5 win in the WLA season opener.
Top Scorers
Nanaimo Timbermen
- Noah Manning, 2g 2a
- Jeremy Wudrick, 2g 1a
- Ryan Sheridan, 2a
- Tristan Kirkham, 2a
- Josh Adey, 1g 1a
Langley Thunder
- Nathaniel Kozevnikov, 1g 1a
- Jon Phillips, 1g 1a
Three Stars
- Noah Manning, Nanaimo Timbermen
- Keegan Okino, Langley Thunder
- Colby Bowman, Nanaimo Timbermen
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