Victoria Rebounds to Beat Nanaimo

By Janice Huckin - The Jr. Shamrocks rebounded from a tough loss on the road Sunday to beat the visiting Nanaimo Timbermen in a rare mid-week game on Tuesday at the Q Centre. The Rocks jumped out to a 6-1 first period lead but saw that slip away in a second period in which the T’Men outshot them 24-13 and outscore them 7-4. They managed to pull away again in the final period to come away with the 16-13 win which moves them 2 points ahead of their island rivals and holding a game in hand. 

The starting goaltenders were Charles Claxton for the Shamrocks and Pete Dubensky for the visitors and it was Victoria getting on the scoreboard first when Matt Hamilton picked up a power play goal at 2:05 after some prolonged possession. Karver Everson made it 2-0 at 5:52 and at 12:06 Hamilton picked up his second of the game, again on a power play, this one coming on a bouncer. McLean Chicquen got in close to bury one at 15:36 and Matt Baxter added another at 17:59, picking up a rebound and shooting low. Hamilton collected his hat trick marker at 18:55 with a delayed penalty about to be called making it 6-0, scoring from the edge of the crease. Claxton’s goose egg was broken when Brett Hawrys scored a power play goal for Nanaimo with just 20 seconds remaining in the period. 

I don’t know what was said in the intermission but whatever it was, the Timbermen came out on fire in the middle frame, Cole Kryworuchka tallying just 28 seconds in. Corey Shires followed up with another for the visitors at 1:04 on a hard shot from the dotted line. Chicquen replied at 2:49 for the Shamrocks getting in close and making the score 7-3 but once again the visitors just seemed to be using their speed on transition to get around the defense as Shires scored his second at 3:08 and Mitch Parkr followed up at 4:47, on the power play, closing the gap to just a pair of goals. A shorthanded goal by Ryan Lewis at 6:45 restored a 3-goal lead but the Rocks were unable to get any momentum and gave up the next 2 goals to narrow the lead to a single goal. Parker picked up his second at 8:28 on the power play and Hawrys got his second of the night at 11:13. Suddenly it was 8-7 for the home team. Chicquen got his third at 11:40 and Cole Pickup added a power play goal at 12:55, firing a howitzer from the side of the net. Nanaimo’s Taylor Raiche answered at 15:29 for Nanaimo sending the Timbermen to the dressing room after 40 minutes down by a 10-8 score. 

The goals kept coming in period 3, Nanaimo getting a second goal from Kryworuchka at 2:04 before the Shamrocks went on a 3-goal run. Pickup grabbed his second, getting in close at 3:21 followed by Max Fredrickson from the side of the crease at 4:48 and Chicquen at 6:15 with a quick stick right in front. That was the end of Dubenski’s night as he was replaced in the Nanaimo goal by Matt Zeller who came up with a huge save right off the bat. The visitors got a goal from Parker at 7:41 when the ball squeezed by Claxton. Pickup replied with his 3rd of the game at 10:40 getting a pass in alone from Intermediate ‘A’ Shamrocks call-up Zac Christianson and Derek Lecky increased Victoria’s lead to 5 goals, scoring from just outside the crease at 11:04. Nanaimo continued to apply some pressure and went on a 3-goal run of their own, including a couple with their goaltender on the bench for the extra attacker but Nate Wade put the exclamation mark on the game, scoring for the Shamrocks with just 4 ticks left on the clock to salt away the victory. 

McLean Chicquen had 4 goals and 4 assists to lead the Shamrocks while Cole Pickup and Matt Hamilton each had a hat-trick and 1 and 4 assists respectively. Singles came from Matt Baxter, Derek Lecky, Nate Wade, Ryan Lewis, Karver Everson who also had 3 assists and captain Max Fredrickson who added 5 assists for a 6-point night. Jake Cullen chipped in 5 helpers and the call-up Zac Christianson contributed 4 assists. Charles Claxton kicked out 38 of the 51 shots he faced and also contributed to the offense with 2 assists. 

The victory moves the Shamrocks 2 points ahead of Nanaimo in the standings, into 4th place and holding a game in hand. The Rocks play a rare home double-header this weekend, hosting the Port Coquitlam Saints on Saturday and the Delta Islanders Sunday, both games beginning at 5:00 pm at the Q Centre.