'Rocks Drop Second Straight

By Janice Huckin - In what was really a ‘must win’ on the road Saturday, the Jr. Shamrocks fell 13-8 to the Delta Islanders, their second loss of the week and looking to rebound when the Islanders pay a return visit to the Q Centre on Sunday. 

Going into the contest, things were pretty tight in the standings with Delta and Nanaimo both riding 2-game winning streaks – make that 3 for both teams with the other Saturday result, a Nanaimo victory over Burnaby. 

Ryley Brown got the start in goal for the Shamrocks with Ryland Hood suiting up at the other end. The teams exchanged early goals, Evan Messenger scoring for Delta at 1:08 and Karver Everson replying for Victoria at 2:28. Things fell apart a bit for the boys in green after that as the Islanders notched 3 straight to open up a 4-1 lead by the halfway mark of the period. Delta was making good use of their speed, making good set-ups and also playing tougher defensively. Goals in the 3-goal run came from Chase Fraser, Eli McLaughlin and Reece Callies. Derek Lecky managed to get one back for the visitors using tranny speed to get right in front, that goal coming at 14:06. Unfortunately, McLaughlin re-gained the 3-goal lead with a power play marker at 16:39, again getting in close to beat Brown. Delta held the 5-2 lead on the scoreboard and also a 21-14 edge in shots in goal after the first 20 minutes. 

It looked like the Shamrocks had found their connection with the first two goals of the middle frame, Max fredrickson tallying at 1:05 after some good ball movement and McLean Chicquen picking up a power play goal at 2:11 off a loose ball pickup. That momentum was checked at 9:06 when Brad Hoffmann scored for Delta, once again all alone in front. Cody Nass added two more to end the period, the first at 15:56 and the other less than a minute later, at 16:47. That made it 8-4 for the home team, again holding a hefty edge in shots on goal, 20-11. 

Victoria is a team still trying to connect internally. They seem to score goals in bunches but by the same token, allow them in bunches. As in period 2, they started off on a streak in the final frame, scoring the first 3 goals to narrow the gap to a single goal. Nate Wade fired a bullet from well out to capitalize at 1:21. Adam Jay got on a run and found the back of he net at 5:41 and Wade picked up his second of the night at 6:06 from the side of the crease. Well, that was the Rocks scoring in bunches. Then came Delta scoring in a bunch as they rattled off 3 unanswered to open up yet another 4-goal lead. Goals came from Sam Klingsporn, Cody Nass and Tyler Nett between 9:18 and 15:02. Chicquen picked up his second of the night at 15:16 but Eli McLaughlin notched another pair to end the period and put the game out of reach. 

Nate Wade and McLean Chicquen each contributed a pair of goals for the Shamrocks with singles coming from Max Fredrickson, Derek Lecky, Karver Everson and Adam Jay. Darren Bourret had a solid outing with 3 assists while Mat Hamilton and Brock Thompson-Marshall contributed 2 helpers each. Ryley Brown faced 65 shots, making 52 saves. 

The loss, coupled with Nanaimo’s win, drops the Shamrocks into fifth spot in the standings, one point behind the Timbermen and 5 points behind Delta, who they will face again tomorrow in the so far not that friendly confines of the Q Centre. The Shamrocks will look to turn things around and get their first home win of the season. The action starts at 5:00PM.