Rocks 2-for-2 on Father's Day Weekend

The Jr. Shamrocks had a big weekend, picking up a pair of wins. After defeating the Langley Thunder Saturday, they defeated the visiting second-place Delta Islanders at Westhills Arena Father’s Day by a 16-8 score.

Mitch Gurney got his second consecutive start and, after a strong performance in Langley, came up stellar again at home. At the other end, Ryland Hood got the nod. Almost before the crowd got seated following the national anthem, Cole Pickup got the Shamrocks on the board with an unassisted tally just 11 seconds into the contest. Delta replied 14 seconds later, Jayden Campbell blasting a shot from the dotted line. The Rocks got on a 3-goal run, Nick Preston finding the back of the net at 2:25 with a roller from right in front. Matt Hamilton made it 3-1 at 2:43 with a bullet from the dotted line and at 3:36 Marshall King increased the lead to 3 with a shot that Hood got a piece of. That sent Hood to the bench in favour of Matt Keith and the Islanders got a couple of goals back. At 5:40 Cody Nass scored but appeared to be in the crease and at the 6-minute mark, Riley Phillips closed the gap to 4-3. No worries. Victoria went on another 3-goal run as Braylon Lumb got in close at 6:43 and Pickup got his second of the night at 7:11, faking high and shooting low. At 10:26 Brad McCulley rifled a shot from the dotted line and that was good-bye for Keith and back into the fray went Hood for Delta. The visitors picked up a couple of goals before the period ended, Spencer Bromley and Chase Fraser scoring at 18:18 and 19:43. Delta held the edge in shots on goal by a 26-11 margin but Gurney was solid and even at times spectacular between the pipes for the Shamrocks. Somewhat unusual for a game featuring the Delta Islanders, there was only 1 penalty in the first 20 minutes as the Shamrocks took a 7-5 lead to the dressing room.

Things were a little less hectic in period 2 with only 5 goals scored but a few more penalties. Victoria’s Eddie Smith scored a highlight reel goal at 5:57 of the middle frame, flipping a nonchalant looking shot over his shoulder into the back of the net. Pickup collected his hat trick marker at 6:57 off a rebound in front to make the score 9-5. Bromley replied for the Islanders at 10:27 on the power play and Evan Messenger tallying shorthanded at 15:31. Victoria got a power play goal from Hamilton, his second of the game, at 16:26 and that was how the second period ended, the Shamrocks holding a 10-7 lead and outshooting the visitors 21-13 in the middle 20 minutes.

The Rocks once again got things going early, Pickup scoring a shorthanded marker at 1:20 from right in front. Delta replied at 7:02, that goal coming from the stick of Javier Tudela and that was all the visitors would get as Victoria dominated the remainder of the period and the game. Preston picked up his 2nd of the game just 38 seconds later with a hard shot from outside the dotted line and 32 seconds after that, Lumb got his second from the side of the net. McCulley got his second at 10:55, in close. Pickup was on a rampage, picking up his 5th goal of the game at 13:36, coming out of the penalty box to pick up a pass from Nate Wade and go in alone. The defense, which shone all night, picked up some points on offense as Zac Christianson collected a long outlet pass from Dylan Rehman to score the final goal of the contest at 17:47.

It was a big win for the boys in green but, perhaps more importantly, a second straight well-played game in picking up 4 points over the weekend. Leading the offense with 5 goals was Cole Pickup but Marshall King had a 6-point night with a goal and 5 helpers. Brad McCulley, Nick Preston, Matt Hamilton, Braylon Lumb each chipped in a pair of goals. Brock Thompson-Marshall had 4 assists and Zac Christianson came up with a goal and 2 helpers. Overall a very strong team performance and Mitch Gurney with another outstanding performance, stopping 44 of the 52 shots he faced and helping out with a pair of assists.

The result leaves the Shamrocks tied with the Langley Thunder, still fighting for a playoff spot. The next home game for the Shamrocks is next Saturday at 5:00 back at the Q Centre. They will be taking on the as-yet undefeated Coquitlam Adanacs and will also be celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1976 Minto Cup winning Victoria McDonald’s Bread team. Some players from that team, including Kevin Alexander, Gerry Cadwallader, Bob Cool, Rick Parent will be in attendance for a special pre-game ceremony.

- Janice Huckin