The Campbell River Ravens started Tuesday’s Junior B lacrosse match against the Nanaimo Timbermen in control and they ended that way, but in between things looked doubtful.
The Ravens’ Kyle Robinson scored in the first minute of play and Zach Lontayao added a marker less than half a minute later. Before the halfway mark of the period though, Nanaimo tied things up.
Robinson added his second of the night to break the tie, marking the only other scoring in the first. Defensively, the Ravens’ killed off a four-minute penalty by running guys high and low to retrain possession in the offensive zone in a game that looked like it might be low-scoring.
In the second period, Robinson earned the hat trick on the power-play while Blake Doherty scored to give the Ravens a 5-2 lead. Nanaimo fired back two more, then looked to tie it up but the goal was called off. Shortly after, Campbell River’s Heydon Campbell scored to extend the margin.
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The scoreboard can change quickly in lacrosse though, and midway through the second period Nanaimo erased the deficit. In one span of 35 seconds they went from trailing by one to leading by one.
Early in the third period, Campbell River was stuck in its own zone defending, even during a lengthy power-play during which they gave up a short-handed goal. Nanaimo then added an eighth to lead by two.
The Ravens kept the score close, with the help of some timely saves by goalkeeper Coulton Darnel. Doherty added a second goal to bring the home team to within one while Lontayao tied it up with 12:39 to play.
The decisive goal came on a penalty shot from Will McLerun who shot high to beat the Timbermen goalie and make the score 9-8 near the midway mark of the third.
From there, Campbell River did not look back. As the game neared its conclusion, Nanaimo lost its composure and sent a steady stream of players to the penalty box, or in one case, to the locker room because of a game misconduct. The Ravens managed to extend the lead with three more goals, ending the night with a 12-8 win.
The Ravens play their next three games on the road starting May 22 and are back at the Brind’Amour Arena on Tuesday, May 28 once again against Nanaimo. Game time is 8 p.m.
