Shamrocks Clinch Third Place

It was a win the Shamrocks needed to clinch third place and they pulled it out with 5 unanswered third period goals to beat the visiting Burnaby Lakers 10-5 at the Q Centre Saturday evening. They needed at least 1 win in the final two regular games to secure third place because Langley won their final regular season game over Langley Saturday as well. The prize is a first round match-up against second place Coquitlam.

Ryley Brown got the start in goal for Victoria with David Mather guarding the crease at the other end of the floor. The first of what became a string of penalties came just 41 seconds into the game as Ryan Lewis of Victoria and Nick Kapusty of the Lakers and combined for 82 minutes in penalties including 3 game misconducts each. Early showers for those boys. The Shamrocks got behind early, Clayton Fenney scoring a power play goal for the Lakers at 2:55, getting in close. Jake Cullen got the home team even at 7:21, working his way around the defense to get inside. Before the period ended, Justin Appels restored the visitors’ lead, picking up a rebound in close at 14:18. That was how the period ended, with the Lakers ahead 2-1. They also had the slight edge in shots on goal 18-17.

The Rocks owned the middle frame, outscoring the visitors 4-2 starting with Cole Pickup’s goal at 1:19 as he held the ball, held it and then let it go from in close. Evan Hunt got that one back at 4:43 with the teams playing 4-on-4 but then the Shamrocks put the pedal to the metal and notched 3 straight to take a lead they would not relinquish. Pickup got his second of the night at 8:35 from well out at 8:35. Matt Hamilton then fired a bullet to the back of the net at 10:08 and Dallas Wade made it 5-3 at 13:06 with a hard, low shot. Burnaby did manage one more less than a minute later, Corey Wong scoring on a bouncer at 13:52. The Shamrocks fired 26 shots at Burnaby’s Mather while Brown faced just 11 at the other end of the floor in period 2 and they had the 5-4 lead on the board. The period ended with another ejection for each team, this time Cole Pickup and Peyton Lupul combining for 82 penalty minutes.

The final period was all Shamrocks as they connected for 5 unanswered goals. Newcomer Brendan Mykle-Winkler got his first goal as a Shamrock since being acquired at the trade deadline from Langley as he bulldozed his way to the front of the net to beat Mather at 9:01. At 10:44, Nate Wade collected a pass as he went to the net to make it 7-4 Shamrocks. Jake Cullen picked up his second of the night at 11:32, an unassisted tally. Karver Everson added another at 12:28, a shot that trickled through but it counts just the same. Max Cullen picked up the final goal of the game at 19:14 on a quick stick from the edge of the crease and that was all she wrote. Well, except for another major get-together at the 13:20 mark which saw Victoria’s Jake Carder get a major and a minor, McLean Chicquen a minor and Burnaby’s Austin Iredale acquiring another 40 minutes in penalties. I’m sure the on-floor officials were glad to see time run out on this contest.

Jake Cullen led the Shamrocks with 2 goals and 4 assists while Cole Pickup kept up his strong play over 40 minutes with 2 goals and 3 helpers. Matt Hamilton, Dallas Wade and newcomer Brendan Mykle-Winkler each had a goal and 2 assists with other goals coming from Max Cullen, Nate Wade, and Karver Everson.

The Jr. Shamrocks wrap up the regular season Sunday on the road against the first-place New Westminster Salmonbellies and will start the playoffs on the road against Coquitlam next weekend. Game 1 will be at the Coquitlam Sports Centre at 5:00 Saturday with game 2 at the Westhills Arena Sunday. Game time is 5:00 pm – please note the change of venue necessary due to the Rock the Shores event taking place on the Juan de Fuca grounds.

Janice Huckin