Declan and Deklan lead Thunder to victory

Deklan Morrison makes a save during a game against the Coquitlam Adanacs earlier this season in BC Junior A Lacrosse League action. Morrison made 37 saves on 41 shots on Saturday night as the Thunder defeated the Delta Islanders at the Ladner Leisure Centre. Gary Ahuja file photo

One Declan led the offence while the other Deklan held the fort at the other end of the floor on Saturday night.

Declan Fitzpatrick registered a point on every goal, scoring four times and setting up a pair, while goaltender Deklan Morrison stopped 37 of 41 shots (.902)  as the Langley Thunder defeated the Delta Islanders 6-4.

The BC Junior A Lacrosse League game was played at Delta's Ladner Leisure Centre with the win improving Langley to 5-11-1 and 11 points. The Thunder's slim playoff hopes remain alive as they need to win their remaining four games and hope the teams they are chasing lose all of their remaining games.

Against Delta on Saturday night, the teams were tied at two following 20 minutes as Braiden Struss and Fitzpatrick staked the Thunder to a 2-0 lead before the Islanders' Kade Hoogstraten and Chase Miller scored 29 seconds apart to even the score.

Langley seized control in the second period as after Fitzpatrick and Jake Young traded goals, Fitzpatrick scored twice more and Cody Malawsky made it 6-3 through 40 minutes.

Calum Munro had the only goal of the third period, making it 6-4, but it came with less than two minutes to play as Morrison was nearly lights out over the final 40 minutes, finishing with 26 saves on 28 shots in those two periods.

Morrison -- a first-year junior player -- also played the final two periods in the team's last game, where he stopped 35 of 40 shots against the first-place Coquitlam Adanacs. In his last five periods of action, Morrison has a 5.42 goals against average and an .889 save percentage.

While Fitzpatrick led the team with his six-point game, both Jonathan Grywacheski and Luke Pisani registered three assists apiece. 

The Islanders (4-13-0) and Thunder will complete the home-and-home series on Thursday (June 29) at Langley Events Centre. Game time is 7:00pm.

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