Shamrocks Drop a Pair

After dropping a 17-9 home game to the undefeated Coquitlam Adanacs Saturday, the Shamrocks went to the Langley Events Centre to face the Thunder Sunday. Unfortunately, taking a 4-goal lead into the final frame, they gave up 5 unanswered goals to drop a 9-8 decision, thus giving the Thunder the tie-breaker in the season series between the two teams. Both are fighting for the final playoff spot.

Nathan McKeigan opened the scoring for Langley at 9:23 as he jumped and put the ball behind Victoria starting goalie Mitch Gurney. Adam Jay got the Rocks even with a power play marker at 16:14 on a breakaway off a loose ball pickup. The Thunder regained the lead at 17:30 as Christian Bosa put a shot off of Gurney that went behind him. Once again the boys in green tied things up, Brock Thompson-Marshall scoring at 18:07 on a shot that Langley goaltender Torin VanRheenan got a piece of but couldn’t quite corral. Victoria took the lead at 19:42 when Eddie Smith tallied with a quick stick from the side of the crease to give the visitors the 3-2 lead heading into the dressing room.

The second period belonged to the Shamrocks as they outscored the home team by a 5-2 margin. Nick Preston got things started at 2:35 with a shot from the dotted line. Zac Christianson put the Rocks up by 3 when he gathered in a pass right in front on a run at 4:49. Cole Pickup added a power play goal at 7:45 to make it 6-2 Shamrocks but Ryan Martel, an Intermediate ‘A’ call-up, scored shorthanded at 10:49 with numerous fakes before the shot that beat Gurney. The Rocks came back with a pair, Braylon Lumb scoring at 12:50 with a screened shot and Matt Hamilton coming off the bench on a change to get in alone at 13:21. Martel would get one more back for Langley before the period ended, getting in close at 19:36. Looking pretty sharp, the Shamrocks took an 8-4 lead into the second break.

Unfortunately, some penalty trouble allowed Langley a pair of shorthanded goals to start period 3. First it was Dylan Lacroix converting a pass with a quick stick at 1:18. Nathaniel Kozevnikov, yet another Intermediate ‘A’ call-up, pulled the Thunder within a pair at 5:47, cutting to the front of the net. Off the ensuing faceoff, Martel picked up his hat trick marker at 5:57, barging through Victoria’s defense and Victoria’s lead was down to a single goal. Not for long, though, as Langley scored their third goal in 42 seconds, Trevor Chernoff finding twine at 6:29 with a bouncer. At 8:02 Martel added what would turn out to be the winner, getting in close as they managed to kill off much of the clock and come away with the 1-goal victory.

Eight different players scored for the Shamrocks, Nick Preston leading the offense with a goal and 2 helpers. The Rocks have 3 games remaining in their regular season. Wednesday, they travel to Frank Crane Arena for a game against their island rivals, the Nanaimo Timbermen who are still looking for their first on-floor win. Saturday they return to the Q Centre for a 5:00 match-up against the Burnaby Lakers before finishing the season on the road against the Delta Islanders July 3, also a 5:00 start.
- Janice Huckin