Jr. Rocks Take Road Win

May 17, 2015

The Shamrocks improved their record to 4-2 with an impressive 8-4 road win Sunday against the Langley Thunder.

Charles Claxton got the start in goal for the Shamrocks with Jake Sundar starting for the home team. It was Victoria’s offense jumping early as they jumped out to a 3-0 first period lead. Cole Pickup got the first on a long hard shot, just 38 seconds into the game. Matt Hamilton made it 2-0 with a shot from well out late in the 30 second clock, that goal coming at 12:57. Intermediate ‘A’ Shamrock call-up gave the Rocks the 3-0 lead just 30 seconds later, getting his first goal as a Jr. ‘A’ player when he picked the corner. That score held up to the end of the period with the Shamrocks having the edge in shots on goal by a small margin, 14-11.

The middle frame saw the Shamrocks keep their offense in high gear, Ryan Lewis tallying on a power play at 4:28 as the transition used their great speed to get up the floor. Team captain Max Fredrickson picked up a short-handed marker at 8:41 reaping the benefits of some great ball control on the penalty kill. That made it 5-0 for the boys in green. Langley finally broke Claxton’s shutout streak at 15:24, Bryce Brochu getting a breakaway and he added a second at 16:45 going over top. Pickup broke the Thunder’s momentum with a quick stick from the side of the crease at 18:13 but Langley’s Christian Bosa got that one back just 19 seconds later with a hard shot from outside the dotted line. Fredrickson collected his second with a picture-perfect over the shoulder shot with just 33 ticks left on the clock and that gave the Shamrocks a 7-3 lead after 40 minutes. Langley outshot the Shamrocks 20-15 in the period.

Period 3 had just a pair of goals, one by each team. Hamilton picked up his second for the Shamrocks at 14:32 and Thomas Moffat picked a top corner for Langley with the goaltender on the bench for the extra attacker at 16:02. Langley tried on every possession in the final 5 minutes to pull closer as they sent Sundar to the bench for the extra man but Claxton and Victoria’s offense held on for the 8-4 victory.

Leading the way for the Shamrocks were Max Fredrickson, Matt Hamilton and Cole Pickup each with a pair of goals and adding 3, 4 and 1 assist respectively. Ryan Lewis and Dylan Rehman had the other Shamrocks goals with Nick Preston chipping in a pair of helpers.

Next up for the Jr. Shamrocks is another road game as they travel north to the Hub City to take on the Nanaimo Timbermen Tuesday, May 19. Game time is 7:00 pm at the Frank Crane Arena.

Janice Huckin