Rocks Beat T'Men, Make Some Deals

June 30, 2015

 

 

The Jr. Shamrocks made it 3-for-3 in their season series against their island rivals, the Nanaimo Timbermen Tuesday at the Q Centre as they defeated the T’Men 13-5.

 

Charles Claxton started in goal for The Shamrocks while Jerryd Jensen got the nod for Nanaimo. Although it took almost half a period for the scoring to commence, Victoria ran up a 5-0 first period lead, starting with Jake Cullen picking the top corner at 9:19. Matt Hamilton notched a power play marker at 11:01 and that was followed by yet another power play goal off the stick of Cole Pickup at 14:46, as he gathered in a long outlet pass from Claxton to get in alone. Ryan Lewis made it 4-0 at 16:51 with a hard shot from outside the dotted line and rookie Nick Preston made it 5-0, finishing off some nice passing with 55 ticks left on the clock. Shots heavily favoured the Shamrocks 23-7 in the opening frame.

 

Nanaimo finally hit the scoreboard early in the middle period, Alec Molander scoring just 47 seconds in with a power play goal, getting in alone off a loose ball battle. The Rocks rattled off the next 5 to take a 10-1 lead after 40 minutes. Scoring for the Shamrocks were Jake Cullen with a pair to get the hat trick, Lewis and Hamilton each with their second and Colin Bashford adding the other.

 

Victoria replaced Claxton in goal with rookie Liam Reid to commence period 3 and Nanaimo responded with 3 goals by the 5:58 mark, one of those on the power play, before he found his ‘groove’. The Shamrocks got a shorthander from McLean Chicquen at 6:39 on a run, Preston picked up his second of the game at 10:53 before the teams traded goals to finish the contest. Jake Mickelson doing the honours for the Timbermen and Chicquen picking up his second of the game for the Shamrocks.

 

The result, coupled with a tie between Delta and New Westminster on the mainland, leave Victoria, New Westminster and Delta all tied with 25 points in 18 games, well behind the league-leading Coquitlam Adanacs and well ahead of the Langley Thunder sitting in 5th place. It’s pretty certain which 4 teams will play in the post-season but of course every game important in determining final positions and match-ups.

 

Leading the Shamrocks in scoring was Jake Cullen with 3 goals and 2 helpers. McLean Chicquen and Matt Hamilton finished with 2 goals and 4 and 3 assists respectively while Nick Preston and Ryan Lewis also had a pair of goals. Cole Pickup had a goal and 3 assists with the other goal coming from Colin Bashford. Jamie Jensen also had a good game with a couple of helpers.

 

In other news, Shamrocks GM Rod Wood announced some deadline trades which will bring 3 players to the Shamrocks for the final couple of regular season games and playoffs. Obtained from the Langley Thunder were Connar Abrams a 6’1” defender out of Aldergrove and Thomas Moffat, a 6’5” 220 lb righthander who comes to the team second in scoring for the Thunder. Also coming to the Shamrocks is goaltender Matt Zeller from the Nanaimo Timbermen, who hails from Campbell River

 

The Jr. Rocks finish the regular season this weekend with a pair of games against the Port Coquitlam Saints. The Saints will be here Sunday at the Q Centre for a 5:00 start and the Shamrocks return the favour for a return match in PoCo Sunday. Playoffs for the Shamrocks will begin the weekend of July 18-19. Stay tuned for details as they become available.

-Janice Huckin