Photo Credit: Barbara Adamski
Tonight the Langley Thunder will travel to Coquitlam to renew their rivalry with the Adanacs. The Thunder, after getting off to a slow start this season, have been able to get back to their winning ways recently. The Adanacs on the other hand have been struggling, winning only one of their last four games. The Thunder and Adanacs have faced off twice this season with each team picking up a win. The Adanacs will be desperate for a win in order to right their season while the Thunder will try to keep pace with the league leaders in the WLA.
The Thunder have found success this season due to the strong play of Athan Iannucci and Alex Turner who have been powering the Langley offense. The Thunder have also received secondary scoring from Brett Baron and Tyler Melynk. Langley’s ability to create offense has been able to cover their defensive flaws. The Thunder have allowed the second most goals in the WLA and need to tighten up their defense. The Thunder will want to play up tempo against the Adanacs and keep them off balance. If Langley can get their run and gun offense going the Adanacs will be in for a long night.
The key for the Adanacs in this game is to find a way to get Brett Hickey space. Hickey has been the only true offensive threat for the Adanacs this year notching 28 points while his closest team mate has 8 points. The Thunder will be playing tight defense on Hickey and the Adanacs will either need to find secondary scoring or they need to set picks to open up space for Hickey to shoot. The Adanacs will also need Adam Shute to stand tall in net as he will be under pressure all game long and if he cracks it will open the floodgates for Langley. The Adanacs will be in for an uphill battle but they have proven they can beat the Thunder this year.
In the end Langley’s offensive depth will shine through and overpower the Adanacs defense allowing the Thunder to walk away with the victory.
