Jr. A Rocks Topped by New Westminster

The Junior A Shamrocks dropped to fourth place in the standings as they lost a hard-fought battle Saturday at the Q Center against the now third place New Westminster Salmonbellies. Down 2-1 and 6-5 by period the Rocks tied things up in the third only to have a couple of late power play goals put the bow on a 9-7 New West win.

Boris Maksimenko got the start between the pipes for the visitors and Angus Snow for the Rocks. The ‘Bellies got on the board first, Brady Schmuurr fiding the top corner at the 5-minute mark late in the 30-second clock. Scott Williams made it 2-0 at 11:17 with a power play goal in close. Ronin London got the home team within a goal at 12:16 with a bullet from outside the dotted lie and that was all the scoring in period 1. Shots were 20-10 in Victoria’s favour.

The middle frame saw each team score 4 goals, the visitors once again tallying first, Cam Downey getting on a run in close at 4:15. Victoria responded with a pair to even the score at 3, London picking up his second at 6:11 off a rebound in front and Ben Pawluk getting the equalizer at 6:50. Just 12 seconds later Riley Alexander pulled the ‘Bellies ahead once more getting in close. At 7:12, Marcelo Carreiro got the Rocks even again, capping off a run of 4 combined goals in 1:01. Victoria took the lead for the first and only time of the game at 10:48, Pawluk with his second and the extra attacker on a delayed penalty call. Unfortunately the lead was short-lived as a double minor to Victoria at 16:55 afforded New West the chance to capitalize and they scored twice on that power play, Linkin Twamley scoring at 18:08 from outside the dotted line and Keegan Laity finding the top corner at 18:39 giving the visitors a 6-5 lead going into period 3.

For the third time the visitors opened the scoring Downey picking up his second just 37 seconds in. Victoria battled back with a pair to once again knot the score. First Carreiro tallied his second of the game at 4:26 with a pick up in front then Dylan Anderson followed up at 10:32. That was all for the Shamrocks as the visitors picked up two more power play goals for the Victoria, penalties and special teams playing a huge role in the game.

Leading the way for Victoria offensively was Marcelo Carreiro with 2 goals and 2 assists while Ronin London and Ben Pawluk chipped in 2 goals apiece. Ryan Lowe, Carter Quested and Greysen Thompson added 2 helpers and Dylan Anderson a goal. Shots favoured Victoria 48-29 overall.

The Shamrocks will look to get a weekend split as they travel to Langley Sunday for a 1:30 pm contest. They return to the Q Center next Saturday, June 6 at 5 pm when Langley will make the return visit. If you are looking for more lacrosse action the Tier 1 Junior B Shamrocks are home to Nanaimo Tuesday, June 2 at 7:30 pm and you can make it a double-header next Saturday as they host the Delta Islanders at 2 pm.

- Janice Huckin