Rocks Back in Win Column

 The Jr.Shamrocks got back into the win column Sunday, rebounding from a 17-16 defeatat the hands of the Langley Thunder Saturday to defeat the Burnaby Lakers 15-14.  A lot of goals scored and given up over two games but the Rocks will take the 2 points at this stage. 

The Rocks jumped out to a 3-0 lead with Will Kinnaird in goal, starting with Braylon Lumb’s goal at 4:06 as he went to the net and put the ball behind Burnaby goaltender Elijah Uema-Martin aka Bear.  Just 27seconds later, Cole Pickup made it 2-0 and at 5:01 Lumb picked up his second with a delayed penalty about to be called, scoring from just inside the dotted line.  If it looked like it would be a romp for the Rocks, they had another thought coming as Burnaby came back with 4 straight goals, the first two coming with the man advantage as a double minor was assessed to the Shamrocks.  At 8:53,Josh Dumont scored the Lakers’ first, a goal that Kinnaird got a piece of but couldn’t quite hold onto.  That was followed by Mason Pomeroy’s power play goal at 9:25 from outside the dotted line.  Tying the score at 12:01 was Jordan Gabriele with a quick stick from the edge of the crease.  Ryan Johansson gave the home team their firs tlead at 12:50 as he picked up a rebound in front.  That was the first of several lead changes in the course of the game and the next one came pretty quickly as Victoria first tied the score at 14:04 on Lumb’s hat trick marker and then took the lead at14:28, Marshal King getting in close and putting the ball over Bear.  Brad McCulley added another for the Shamrocks at 17:19 from outside the dotted line to make it 6-4 Shamrocks after the first period despite Burnaby having the edge in shots by a 19-15 margin. 

It was Burnaby’s turn to respond and they did with Connor Hill tallying just 1:18 into the middle frame, going on a run.  They tied the score on Dylan Kaminski’s goal at 3:03 as he almost seemed to dig the ball from under Kinnaird.  Victoria regained the lead at 5:20 with a power play goal, King getting his second with a hard low shot from outside the dotted line. The teams traded goals, Burnaby getting a power play goal at 6:36 from Pearson Willis and Victoria newcomer Cameron Garlin replying with a shorthanded marker at 7:27, getting in close to knot the score at 8.  Kaminski came back with a pair at 9:51 and12:20 giving him the hat trick, both from close in.  The Burnaby lead held up for a few minutes before McCulley got a power play goal for the Shamrocks with a hard shot from well out.  Burnaby responded with a shorthanded marker from Pomeroy at 16:07 although how he should find himself alone in front of Kinnaird with his team a man short is a puzzle.  Victoria managed to tie the score at 18:22 on Pickup’s second of the night on the power play and regained the lead on Nick Murray’s goal at 19:17.  Victoria outshot Burnaby 12-11 in the period and had the slim 11-10 lead on the scoreboard heading to the dressing room after 40 minutes. 

The Shamrocks opened third period scoring, Nick Preston scoring at 2:16 from the dotted line but Burnaby bounced back to tie the score with goals from Kaminski and Pomeroy, the latter a buzzer beater from just inside the rag line at 5:28.  Some power play goals put the Shamrocks into the driver’s seat as they scored 3 straight, the first 2 with the man advantage.  McCulley picked up his hat trick marker at 6:37 from the dotted line and Griffin Wilson followed up at 8:15 as he intercepted a ball and took off down the floor.  Brian Robb added an unassisted goal into an empty net at 18:57 as Burnaby pulled the goaltender for the extra attacker and got caught.  That made it 15-12 for the Shamrocks but the Lakers didn’t quit, scoring twice in the last minute of the period with the extra attacker on the floor. Johansson and Dumont both picking up their second goals of the game.  The home team was unable to complete the comeback, dropping the 1-goal decision. 

Cole Pickup had 2 goals and 7 helpers for the Shamrocks while Brad McCulley and Braylon Lumb each had the hat trick and 1 assist.  Marshal King scored twice, added 4 assists and Nick Preston also had a 6-point night with 1 goal and 5 helpers.  Singles came from Cameron Garlin, Griffin Wilson, Nick Murray and Brian Robb while Will Kinnaird stopped 31 shots to pick up the win. 

The Shamrocks sit in fourth place in the standings with 18 points, 2 ahead of the Port Coquitlam Saints who hold 2 games in hand and just 2 behind the Langley Thunder.  Just 3 games remain for the Rocks in the regular season.  Two of those are against their island rivals, the Nanaimo Timbermen who will visit the Q Centre this Tuesday, June 27 at 8:00 pm and again the following Tuesday before they wrap up the season at home on Saturday, July 8