It's been a long time gone.
Or so it seems, as the New Westminster junior Salmonbellies hit the floor Thursday in Langley for just their eighth game of the B.C. Junior A Lacrosse League season.
Fresh off an eight-day sabbatical, the junior 'Bellies look to extend their winning streak to four, and improve on their 4-3 record.
The team's last victory came last week in a 13-9 triumph over the same Thunder.
New West was in control most of the night, leading by 6-1 and 13-5 before the visiting Thunder closed out the game with four straight goals.
Tre Leclaire accounted for five of the 'Bellie markers, while Will Malcom tallied twice and set up seven others. Also in for a pair was Cam Garlin, while Drew Andre racked up a three-point game.
And while the team may have been inactive in game action, management was busy adding to the depth chart. On Thursday New West re-acquired forward Jacob Patterson in a move that completed an earlier swap with the PoCo Saints. Patterson, a third-year righthander, has gotten off to his best start in the junior ranks, tallying five goals and 20 assists over eight games with the struggling Saints.
He was traded by New West to PoCo after the 2017 season, where he racked up 15 goals and 21 assists as a rookie. Last year, Patterson netted 26 goals and 19 assists in 20 games with PoCo.
It completes a deal that saw PoCo ship Lucas Bradley to New West for the playing rights to Alex Nimmo.
Bradley had played just two games for the Saints this season as a junior B call-up.
New West heads to Victoria on Saturday, and hosts Burnaby on Tuesday, 8 p.m. at Queen's Park.
