Thunder roll Roadrunners 19-3

Langley Tier 1 Thunder captain Logan Claxton gets past the check of his Richmond defender during the Thunder's victory over the visiting Roadrunners on May 26 at Langley Events Centre. Ryan Molag photo

The Langley Tier 1 Thunder made it back-to-back victories with a dominant display on their home floor.

Hosting the Richmond Roadrunners in BC Junior Tier 1 Lacrosse League action on Tuesday night at Langley Events Centre, the Thunder were full value for the win, rolling past the visitors 19-3.

The result improved the Thunder to 4-5 as they reached the midway mark of the 18-game regular season.

A half dozen Langley players had five or more points with a pair of brothers – captain Logan Claxton (2-7) and 15-year-old call-up Cohen Claxton (1-7) – finishing with nine and eight points, respectively.

Another call-up, Grayson Pinchin, potted five goals while Dallas Kilpatrick (2-5), Owen Van Ryn (1-5)  and Brett Billings (3-2) also delivered big offensive performances.

Dylan Massa added two goals and two helpers while Dreyton Goeson, Colten Lifton and Greyson Hayes chipped in with a goal apiece.

Jensen McGregor saved 26 of 29 shots in the Thunder net.

“It was a tough stretch. We faced a lot of talented teams with older rosters, and with us being a younger team, those are some of the growing pains we’ve had to deal with,” said Langley coach Connar Abrams while assessing the team’s first half of the season.

“But the guys are coming out every day, giving everything they have in practice, and we are starting to turn things around.”

“The goal is to work our way back into a playoff spot and establish ourselves as a playoff team.”

At the start of the year, Abrams knew there would be growing pains with such a young roster, which featured just six returnees from 2025 and only one third-year player.

“From an IQ standpoint, some of them are even further ahead than we expected,” Abrams said. “Some guys are really stepping up, learning the systems and the way we want to play. A lot of that is a credit to the Junior A players and the older guys who have taken them under their wing early in training camp.”

The Thunder are now off until next week (June 2) when they host the Burnaby Lakers at Langley Events Centre with a 7:30 p.m. start time.

And Abrams knows the team needs to stay focused and ready ahead of a big second half.

“A week off is a long time for some of these younger players, and some of them might not be prepared for that break,” he admitted. “So, it is important we keep working and stay true to what we are doing in practice.”

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