Last night the WLA season kicked off as the Langley Thunder visited the Coquitlam Adanacs. Both of these teams went through major changes in the offseason and were looking to start the 2014 season with a victory.
The Thunder stuck early as Athan Iannucci scored just 33 seconds into the game to give the Thunder the 1-0 lead. The Adanacs would quickly respond as Brett Hickey scored to tie the game at 1-1. The Adanacs would build on their momentum as Tyler Garrison scored to give the Adanacs a 2-1 lead. Langley would not be down for long as Ian Poole tied the game just a minute later. Both offenses were held in check for the most part during the first period as the Thunder only managed 10 shots on net while the Adanacs had nine shots on net respectively. The first period ended with the score tied 2-2.
In the second period Jesse Guerin took control of this game as he scored a hat trick within the first six minutes of the second period and put the Adanacs in front 5-2. Athan Iannucci would get the Thunder back in this game as he scored to pull the game within two. The Adanacs continued to push the pace and keep their momentum going as Ryan Johnson and Ryan Keith scored for the Adanacs to extend their lead to 7-3. Langley would not back down as they would score a pair of goals to pull the game back within two goals as the score stood at 7-5. Jeff Zywicki would once again extend the Adanacs lead as he would score to make it 8-5 which is the where the score would remain at the end of the second period of play.
In the third period Langley would not back off as Alex Turner and Brett Baron would score to make it 8-7 with 10 minutes left in the game. The Thunder continued to push to tie the game but Adam Shute stood firm as he made 13 of his 31 saves in the third period. With a minute left the Adanacs would seal the victory as Brett Hickey scored on the power play to give the Adanacs the 9-7 victory.
This was a big win for the Adanacs as they proved that they still are a formidable team without the like of Nick Rose and Dane Dobbie. The Adanacs will look to build on their win next Sunday as they face the Nanaimo Timbermen.
