With the Langley Thunder advancing to the WLA final last week there is only one question on their mind who are they going to face. Coquitlam and Victoria are still battling to advance to the finals. Coquitlam looked like they were on their way to a sweep by winning the first two games of the series but Victoria has come back to tie up the series. So let’s take a look at the different scenario’s we could have in the WLA final this year.
The first final scenario that will be analyzed is Langley vs Victoria. This series would be a fans dream as you would have two of the best offenses in the league going head to head. Langley and Victoria have met twice this year with each gaining a win so there is no clear defined favorite in this series as they have been even so far this season. In this series the winner would be decided on which team’s defense could find a way to shut down the others offense. These two teams both rely on their offense to win games and both rely on playing a fast pace game in order to spread opposing teams defenses. Langleys greatest edge in this series is their offensive depth as Langley can attack in many different ways whether it be Athan Ianucci, Shayne Jackson, Lewis Ratcliff, Kyle Shusheski, or Garrett Billings among others. Victoria’s offense while strong relies a lot on Corey Small, Jeff Shattler and Ryan Benesch and would be easier for Langley’s defense to stop if they can lock down Small or Shattler. Victoria would be in trouble in this series as Langley also has an edge in goal tending as Steven Fryer has been great all season while Matt Flindell has struggled all year for Victoria. In the end Langley would win this series as they are the all around better team and would have the edge over Victoria.
The second final scenario is the more interesting of the two as Coquitlam vs Langley would be a battle of offense vs defense. These two teams have met three times this season with Coquitlam winning the season series 2-1. Coquitlam’s most impressive win against Langley though was beating them 12-4 this year and showing that they can hold off Langley’s offensive assault. Coquitlam’s biggest edge in this series would be their goaltending as Nick Rose is the top goalie in the league and will frustrate Langley’s offense. Coquitlam also had the best defense in the league this season which should allow them to slow down Langley’s offense and hold them in check. Coquitlam’s biggest weakness is their offense as it relies heavily on Dane Dobbie and Daryl Veltman. In this series Langley would need to score early and often because if they allow Coquitlam to build an early lead they will have a hard time coming back in a game. In this series the edge would go to Coquitlam as their defense would take away Langley’s greatest strength. Langley would have their hands full with Coquitlam and this would be a series that would come down to game 7.
We will know soon know the WLA final but either way it should be a great one.
