NLL Insider

In the Western Lacrosse Association (WLA), the same four teams - New Westminster, Coquitlam, Victoria and Burnaby -have sat at the top of the standings since the season started back in the middle of May.

The Coquitlam Adanacs pulled off a 7-6 OT victory over first place New Westminster last Sunday and will look to continue their winning ways against two clubs on the rise, looking to crack into that top four set. Nanaimo and Maple Ridge sit in fifth and sixth-place out West, respectively, four and five points back of Burnaby.

Nanaimo defeated Maple Ridge last week, 14-9, with balanced scoring attack led by NLL pros Scott Ranger and Kaleb Toth’s three and two-goal performances. The T-Men play in Victoria tonight and at Coquitlam on Saturday – two tough opponents and an opportunity to inch closer to a playoff spot. Toth is expected to play Saturday.

Maple Ridge is at Langley tonight and then host to Coquitlam on Sunday. Although they dropped their second of two games last week, they beat Victoria by a 9-7 score. NLL Edmonton’s newly acquired defenseman Greg Hinman had the game winner at the 11 minute mark of the third period, and Jay Preece shut the door at the other end – making 49 stops in the victory.

Victoria has played much of this season without NLL and Major League Lacrosse (MLL) star Lewis Ratcliff, who still leads the team in goals and is second in team points with 27 in six games. He’ll likely not suit up again for this week’s big Friday night game against Burnaby but see time against Maple Ridge tonight.

The Burnaby Lakers sit just one point back of Victoria having played 11 games to Victoria’s 10. The lone Friday night match-up is also Burnaby’s only game this week, after coming off of a 14-10 win last week over Langley; the Thunder remain at the bottom of the CLA standings.

The Lakers have been led this season by NLL Swarm forward Rory McDade who’s now totaled 42 points in 11 games. Cam Sedgwick, last year’s WLA MVP and NLL San Jose Stealth forward, has thrown in 25 points in six games since joining the club in June.

New Westminster’s loss is no cause to panic. They have bigger plans this year, and that includes taking a run at the Mann Cup. New West defeated Coquitlam twice and tied their other game against Coquitlam last regular season, but they were swept in the WLA final. They remain in first-place and host last-place Langley on Thursday.

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