Shamrocks Get 3 of 4 Weekend Points

June 28, 2015

The Jr. Shamrocks picked up 3 of a possible 4 points over the weekend as they followed up a 9-9 tie at home against the Langley Thunder with a resounding 17-7 thrashing of the Burnaby Lakers at the Bill Copeland Arena.

Liam Reid got the nod in goal for the Shamrocks with Graham Husick his counterpart at the other end of the floor. The Rocks jumped out to a 4-0 first period lead, Max Fredrickson tallying just 32 seconds into the opening frame from the dotted line. At 1:52 Jake Cullen made it 2-0 and there was no other scoring until 12:44 when Dallas Wade got in close to beat Husick with the teams playing 4 aside. A shorthanded goal by Cole Pickup made it 4-0 at 15:44 and that was the score after 20 minutes with the shots on goal even at 14-14.

If Shamrocks fans thought the game was over at that point, well they were wrong as Burnaby got the first 3 goals of the middle period, all from Tyler Vogrig, 2 of those on the power play. Victoria responded with 4 straight, to take an 8-3 lead and really never looked back, although Burnaby did have another 3-goal lead to close within a single goal. The Rocks then rattled off 4 straight to end the period and then the game was pretty much over as they also dominated in shots on goal.

Period 3 was more of the same as the Shamrocks rattled off 5 straight goals, including one short handed and one on the power play by the middle of the period. Victoria put Nate Clark in goal – I don’t know if Nate has played goal before, but he handled himself pretty well, making 5 saves and allowing just 1 goal in the final 9 minutes or so.

Lots of players contributed to Victoria’s offense. Matt Hamilton, Max Fredrickson and Cole Pickup each had the hat trick with Pickup also adding 7 assists for a 10-point night. Ryan Lewis and Jake Cullen each had 2 goals and 1 assist, Dallas Wade a goal and 3 assists with other goals coming from Bradon Senft, Danny Smith and Colin Bashford. Rookie Zac Christianson chipped in 3 assists in a strong two-way performance.

The result leaves the Shamrocks in fourth place with 23 points, 1 point behind the Delta Islanders and New Westminster Salmonbellies, all teams with 3 games remaining in the season. Next up for the Jr. Rocks is a battle against their island rivals, the Nanaimo Timbermen on Tuesday, June 30. Game time at the Q Centre is 8:00 and they will wrap up the regular season with a home-and-away series against the Port Coquitlam Saints July 4 and 5.

-Janice Huckin