When the 2012 Mann Cup came to an end the Langley Thunder found themselves on the losing end in six games. But more damage came five months following as Thunder Head Coach Rod Jensen was suspended for the first ten games of the 2013 season after being found to have committed four violations of the CLA code of conduct.
Two weeks prior on March 13, 2013, The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport has announced that Langley Thunder forward Lewis Ratcliffhas been suspended from domestic and international competition for two years as a sanction for testing positive for three banned substances at the 2012 Mann Cup. Ratcliff tested positive for two steroids and a prohibited narcotic pain medicine, according to the CCES report. The ban took effect November 10, 2012 and runs until November 9, 2014. It means he will not be eligible for international competition or the Western Lacrosse Association, and that his scoring statistics from the 2012 Mann Cup will be stricken from the record books. (Stephen Stamp, ilindoor.com)
With this happening just two months before the start of the 2013 WLA season; it seemed that Langley’s chance of three-peating as WLA Champions may not happen, but more importantly another shot at the Mann Cup may be in jeopardy.
The 2013 regular season has been completed, and the Thunder rolled to the top spot once again finishing 11-5-2- 24 pts. There toughest competitor was the Victoria Shamrocks who finished with 22 points after acquiring goaltender Matt Vinc. But the Thunder made some huge moves of their own.
June 28th Transfer Deadline: Acquire Mark Matthews, Jamie Noble, Adam Jones
June 30th Trade Deadline just minutes before the deadline was reached the following trade happened: the Coquitlam Adanacs sent Dane Dobbie, Damon Edwards and Nick Rose to the Langley Thunder in exchange for Brandon Goodwin, MattMacGrotty and the Thunder’s 3rd round pick in 2015. The trade also includes a conditional pick. If Dane Dobbie plays more than four games for the Thunder in 2014, the Adanacs will receive Langley’s 1st round pick in 2015.
These two transactions have really given the Thunder the extra scoring punch needed. Thunder top three goal scorers Iannucci(27), Jackson(21), Turner(17). Now add Dane Dobbie and Mark Matthews into the mix with their speed and size, and it will put opposing defense and goalies on their heels. Now lets add Nick Rose between the pipes and you have a very lethal 1-2 combo in the net with MacDonald and Rose.
Thunder are facing off against the Coquitlam Adanacs in round one. Langley is up 1-0 in series with game two tonight in Coquitlam. The winner of this series will face the winner of the Victoria Shamrocks and the Burnaby Lakers (Victoria leads 1-0).
The Mann Cup this year will be played in the arena of the WLA Champions. Could third time be a charm for the Thunder? Will the Mann Cup finally be won by the WLA Champion (first time since 2005).
