Shamrocks Go 3-For-3 in Week

The Jr. Shamrocks made it 3-for-3 this week and two in a row against the Burnaby Lakers as they took a 17-8 victory from the Lakers on the mainland Sunday after a 12-7 win on Saturday at home. The streak also includes a mid-week win on the road in Nanaimo. 

The Rocks held period leads of 7-3 and 12-8 before outscoring the Lakers 5-0 in period 3. Ryley Brown got the nod in goal for the Shamrocks while Aiden Yorke stood between the pipes at the Burnaby end of the floor. Victoria jumped out to an early lead, Ryan Lewis connecting from right in front at 2:08. Derek Leckie made it 2-0 for the visitors at 4:19 with a bouncer from out front. Burnaby came back with a pair of their own, the first coming from Anthony Quatrano just 2,12 seconds after Leckie’s 2-0 goal, a shot that Brown got a piece of but couldn’t quite corral. Tyler Vogrig tied things up at 6:02, faking low and putting the ball over top into the net. A couple of power play goals restored Victoria’s lead and started a 4-goal run for the Irish. First it was Nate Wade capitalizing from right in front at 6:50. McLean Chicquen made ot 4-2 at 8:20 off a rebound. The Rocks kept rolling with Lewis picked up his second of the game, from well outside the dotted line at 9:22 and Jake Cullen put a bullet in the back of the net at 12:51, that shot also from well out. A shorthanded goal from Burnaby’s Vogrig narrowed the gap to 3 goals at 15:43 but before the period ended, Max Fredrickson notched yet another Shamrocks power play goal with a little dipsy-doodle in close, that goal coming at 18:21 to give the visitors a 7-3 lead after the first period. 

Chicquen got the Shamrocks going again early in the middle frame, scoring just 1:09. Quatrano replied for the Lakers at 2:39, that goal coming shorthanded as he got in close to beat Brown. Chicquen picked up his hat trick marker in close at 7:55 to make it 9-4 but Burnaby went on a 4-goal run to get back into the game after that, all 4 goals coming off the stick of Randy Jones, including one shorthanded and one on the power play. With the score 9-8 in favour of the Shamrocks, Victoria’s special teams came up with some scoring of their own. Fredrickson picked up his second of the game at 15:46, a shorthanded marker as he went to the net on a run. Lewis picked up his hat trick goal 20 seconds later, also shorthanded as he sent a bouncer to the back of the net. Brock Thompson-Marshall added an even strength goal at 17:16 as he was driven to the floor, giving the Shamrocks a 12-8 lead after 40 minutes. 

The third period was all Victoria on the scoreboard. Intermediate ‘A’ Shamrocks call-up Taylor Martin scored at 1:32 on the power play. Chicquen got his 4th of the game, also with the man advantage making some great ball movement pay off with a shot from the dotted line at 3:35. Mason Pynn made it 15-8 at 7:22 going over top of Yorke as he was almost behind the goal line. The Shamrocks added a power play goal at 16:16 when Yorke came out to play the ball and Lewis had an empty net to shoot at, netting his fourth goal of the game. Another power play goal from Jake Carder on a quick stick from the corner of the crease with just 2 ticks left on the clock provided the margin of victory. 

Some ill will must have carried over from Saturday’s game as there were several skirmishes in the final 2 periods of the game with a few game misconducts administered to both teams. 

Leading the Shamrocks offensively with 4 goals each were Ryan Lewis and McLean Chicquen. Max Fredrickson added 2 goals and 3 helpers for a 5-point nigh. Jake Cullen contributed a goal and 2 assists with other singles coming from Jake Carder, Derek Lecky, Nate Wade, Taylor Martin, Brock Thompson-Marshall and Mason Pynn who also had 2 helpers. Ryley Brown was strong in net, kicking out 38 shots to get the “W” and adding one assist on the offensive side of the ledger. 

It was a busy week for the Shamrocks but the 3 wins moves them 1 point ahead of Delta, into third place in the league standings and still holdilng 2 games in hand over the Islanders. Nanaimo’s loss drops them further into 5th, 7 points behind Delta and 8 points behind the Rocks. Remembering only the top 4 teams make playoffs this year in a new league and Minto format, the Shamrocks are looking good and hopefully will keep rolling as they play host to the Langley Thunder next week at the Q Centre. Game time on Saturday, June 21 is 5:00 pm 

Janice Huckin