Thunder strike it big as veterans Dobbie, Billings return to the WLA
The good old days might be back for the Langley Thunder.
High-scoring veterans Garrett Billings and Dane Dobbie played their first Western Lacrosse Association games since 2013 Wednesday and helped the Thunder register an 8-7 win over the Coquitlam Adanacs at the Langley Events Centre.
Billings, 32, had one goal and three assists, while Dobbie, 31, scored four goals and added a helper as Langley (2-4) outscored the Adanacs (1-5) by a 6-2 margin in the third period to secure the victory.
The Thunder has struggled the past two seasons, finishing last in the seven-team Senior A boxla loop both campaigns. Coach Rod Jensen, who guided Langley to league championships in 2011 and 2012, returned to the fold this winter after a two-year absence. Billings admits that was part of the draw that brought him back.
Billings was also quick to praise WLA commissioner Paul Dal Monte, who’s trying to improve the player experience by doing things like partnering with Vancouver-based concussion-testing software company HeadCheck Health on new concussion protocol. Dal Monte is in his second year at the helm.
“There’s a lot to like where the WLA is heading,” Billings, a Langley native, said.
Billings didn’t offer up too much about just where he might be heading lacrosse-wise, though.
Dobbie has remained front and centre for fans since his last WLA outings. The five-foot-nine, 204-pound left-hander had 36 goals and 85 points in 17 regularseason games this winter for the National Lacrosse League’s Calgary Roughnecks.
It was his fifth season of at least 35 goals in the past six NLL campaigns. He’s regarded as one of the game’s clutch finishers.
The crafty Billings has been one of the sport’s better setup men in recent memory, but he didn’t play in the NLL this past winter. He’s a relative newcomer to the Surrey Fire Department and was focused on that.
That said, he battled various injuries in the 2017 campaign with the Vancouver Stealth and never seemed to fit in the Langleybased team’s offence when he was healthy.
He had come over from the New England Black Wolves in a trade before the 2016 campaign. A threetime 100-point man in the NLL, he had four goals and 14 points in four games with the Stealth in 2017.
He danced around questions about whether he might be returning to the NLL. He’s an unrestricted free agent. The league is adding two clubs next season with the expansion San Diego Seals and Philadelphia Wings making it an 11-team circuit.
“Guys on the (Langley) team were even asking what the plan was and, honestly, I’m just thinking about the next game and that’s it,” said Billings, a six-foot, 195-pound right-hander, who also maintains he’s healthy now.
“That’s the mindset. I’m not really looking past next week right now. I started practising a few weeks ago and I’m taking lacrosse one day at a time. I’m happy with how the first game went.”
The reigning league champion New Westminster Salmonbellies carried a 5-0 record into a Thursday meeting at home against the Victoria Shamrocks (3-2).
The Maple Ridge Burrards (41) are at Victoria Friday and the Salmonbellies visit the Burnaby Lakers (2-3).
Langley returns to action Sunday when they visit the Nanaimo Timbermen (2-4).