Longacre hat trick leads comeback victory

Six goals in the final 23 minutes helped the Langley Junior Tier 1 Thunder earn a fourth straight victory.

Facing a multi-goal deficit for the first time in the young BC Junior Tier 1 Lacrosse League season, the T1 Thunder rallied from 5-2 down to defeat the host Port Coquitlam Saints 8-6 on Thursday night at the Poco Rec Centre.

Langley improved to 4-0 with the Saints falling to 1-2.

The teams each scored twice in the opening 20 minutes before Port Coquitlam opened a three-goal advantage in the latter stages of the middle frame. Brayden Longacre would score twice before intermission – including a power-play goal just ahead of the buzzer – making it 5-4 with 20 minutes to play before Dallas Kilpatrick struck 22 seconds into the third.

The Saints again pulled ahead by one with under 12 minutes remaining, but Cashton Hemsworth tied it up before Longacre completed the hat trick with 70 seconds to go and Madden Bakatsis added an insurance marker.

Five Langley players had three-point games led by Longacre’s hat trick with Bakatsis and Jacob Glass both finishing with a goal and two assists while Owen Van Ryn and Mason Eastgate each had three helpers. Hemsworth (1-1), Kilpatrick and Jameson Reed added a goal apiece.

In net, Jackson Hastings finished with 32 saves on 38 shots, while Mason Weir stopped 40 of 48 shots in the Port Coquitlam goal. Chase Hemmerling-MacLean (2-2) and Liam Miletech (2-1) both scored twice for the T1 Saints.

Following three straight road games, the T1 Thunder are back at the Langley Events Centre for their next two games, May 11 (2:00pm) against the Victoria Junior T1 Shamrocks and May 13 (7:30pm) versus Port Coquitlam.

For tickets to either game, please click here.