Shamrocks Split Weekend Games

The Jr. Shamrocks split a pair of weekend of games. After beating the Nanaimo Timbermen Friday in the Hub City, they fell just a bit short, suffering an 18-16 home loss to the Delta Islanders Saturday.
The Islanders held period leads of 8-2 and 14-7 on the way to the victory. The Shamrocks were back on the heels right from the opening whistle as Delta tallied just 1:17 into the contest and dominated throughout. Cole Pickup and Guy Cullen were the Victoria scorers.

The second period was more of a game as the Shamrocks kept pace with the visitors, however, they still found themselves down by 7 after 40 minutes. Picking up the pace for the Shamrocks in the middle frame The Rocks were inspired by a heavyweight battle between Rees Cullen and Mitch Winter. There was no clear winner although Cullen seemed to have the upper hand and both were banished for their actions.
The third period was all Shamrocks as their offense kicked into overdrive. Down 18-10 with a little over 5 minutes left, the Rocks put the pedal to the metal and rattled off 6 straight goals. They all came in the last 2:53 of the period as they just ran out of time. Brad McCulley scored 3 of those, finishing the game with 4 while Matt Hamilton, Cole Pickup and Guy Cullen had the others in that 6-goal explosion, the last coming with just 2 ticks left on the clock.

The Shamrocks were led by Brad McCulley with a 10-point night, adding 6 helpers to his 4 goals. Cole Pickup and Colten Merilainen each had the hat trick while Matt Hamilton and Guy Cullen had a pair each. Ryan Lewis had a goal and 4 assists with Intermediate Shamrocks call-up Ben Preston adding the other. As was to be expected, this was an early-season learning experience and many players will be returning to the team following their educational commitments in the coming days and weeks. Next up for the Jr. Shamrocks is a home game next Saturday, May 7 when the defending league champion Coquitlam Adanacs will be in town.

- Janice Huckin