’Rocks down to one game at home
It’s come down to this: A onegame shot for the right to move on. Game 7 between the host Victoria Shamrocks and Burnaby Lakers today at 6 at The Q Centre will determine the Western Lacrosse Association’s finalist to face the awaiting Maple Ridge Burrards in the league championship.
The Shamrocks could be the first team since 1980 to squander a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven WLA playoff series — a footnote head coach Bob Heyes and his banged-up troops don’t want any part of.
“Whatever, that’s not a concern to me,” said Heyes, whose Shamrocks are now tied 3-3 in the series. “We’re down to one game. This has been a long series with lots of different things happening.
“Give these guys credit. We’re battling, but at times, the mistakes are getting to us,” said Heyes, who is determined his team will compete to the end.
The New Westminster Salmonbellies rebounded to defeat the Coquitlam Adanacs 4-3 back in 1980, rattling off wins of 12-11, 13-12, 17-7 and 9-8 in overtime to bounce back off the canvas. New Westminster also blew a 3-0 series lead on the Brooklin Redmen in the 1985 Mann Cup as they represented the WLA in the national final.
Coincidentally, in 1992, the Lakers roared back from a 3-1 deficit to defeat Victoria Payless 4-3, winning the opener 8-7 before three straight losses (13-6, 12-10 and 9-3), followed by 10-8, 4-2 and 5-1 victories.
The good news is the Shamrocks have home-floor advantage.
“It comes down to one game at home,” said Heyes. “We’ll get the rest we need and then we don’t have the travel. Hopefully, that gets us where we need to be.”
They will definitely need the fan support as they try to advance to their fourth straight championship final and earn a chance to defend their 2015 Mann Cup crown.
On Friday, the Shamrocks benefited from the return of Cory Conway, who had a goal and six assists in an offensive performance that should have been more than enough, with 12 goals scored, including 10 by the 6:39 mark of the second period.
“He was a catalyst out there,” Heyes said of Conway. “Obviously, we scored more than enough goals and defensively we’re using everybody we can to battle through. At the end of the day, Game 7 is Game 7, and we just need to find that energy to come and play.
“Twelve [goals] should be enough to win a game, especially with how this team usually plays defensively. We ran out of gas. I don’t know, it’s tough to say,” Heyes said.
The Shamrocks will need a quick start, like they had on Friday, opening up a 2-0 advantage just 1:42 in, only to see it wiped out, but battling on to advantages of 4-2, 7-3, 9-5 and 10-6 before it all slipped away.