Shamrocks survive scare from Lakers
Victoria to battle Maple Ridge in WLA final
The Victoria Shamrocks are off to their fourth straight Western Lacrosse Association championship final.
Cory Conway scored three goals — including one into an empty net — and added five assists as the three-time defending league champion Shamrocks averted elimination by way of a solid 14-11 victory over the Burnaby Lakers in the pivotal Game 7 on Sunday night.
Up 3-0 in the series, a loss would have made Victoria the first WLA team since 1980 to lose four straight after opening the series with three wins.
Instead, the injury-riddled club dug down deep in front of about 1,700 fans at The Q Centre to advance to face the Maple Ridge Burrards in the league championship best-of-seven that begins Wednesday at 7:45 p.m. at the Colwood facility. Those two teams met in the 2014 final, with Victoria winning in five games.
“Our fans deserve what we put out there tonight,” Conway said following Sunday’s win. “There was no way we were going to lose Game 7 in our barn in front of our family and friends. We’re a team that plays with a lot of pride and tradition in this locker-room and this community and, hopefully, that came across in our play tonight.”
Did it ever. Victoria opened up period leads of 6-3 and 11-4 before the pesky Lakers began yet another come back. Burnaby scored three straight goals with goalie Zak Boychuk pulled for an extra attacker to cut it to 12-9 over a 1:30 stretch.
But unlike Game 6, in which the Shamrocks let a 10-6 lead turn into a loss, this time they closed the deal.
Corey Small, Rhys Duch, Jeff Shattler and Braylon Lumb all scored a pair each for the victors. Duch and Small also had three assists apiece. Chris Wardle, Tyler Burton and Ethan Garland also scored for the Shamrocks.
Lumb and Cole Pickup (who had three assists) turned in solid efforts for Victoria as junior callups, paying the price inside the Lakers’ defence.
“It was a big win, absolutely,” said an elated Lumb, who also had an assist. “I love playing with the boys. They’ve been my idols growing up. It’s been an awesome experience and I can’t wait until the next series. It’s been surreal really, playing in front of these huge crowds. The atmosphere has been everything I hoped it to be.”
Asked what the youngsters brought to the table, Shamrocks head coach Bob Heyes said: “I’d say healthy bodies, that’s the first thing,”
“Those two kids contributed tonight. It’s nice to be able to rely on that. These kids all want to be Shamrocks and it’s a great audition for them,” he added of Lumb and Pickup, who battled inside on Sunday.
“They don’t know any better so don’t tell them anything,” a relieved Heyes said with a chuckle.
Goalie Adam Shute made 28 stops for the win, including some key saves at critical times.
Eli McLaughlin recorded a hat-trick while Scott Jones and Robert Church had a pair each for Burnaby. Josh Byrne had a goal and six helpers while Matt Beers, Tyler Digby and Shane O’Dougherty also scored for the Lakers, who battled back yet again.
“It was nerve-racking, even when we had them by six, they kept scoring,” said Shattler. “Shute played unreal — he shut the door when we needed him to.
“We answered the bell, that’s what championship teams do,” added Shattler. “They find a way to win. When the time came to put everything we had on the floor, we did it.”
At a most critical time, as well. The last time the Shamrocks were in a Game 7 was 2006, when Dan Dawson finally scored in double overtime to defeat the Coquitlam Adanacs 3-2.
“They gave us a run for our money and for us, a team that hasn’t played a full seven-game series in a few years out west, it was good for us to get into those deep games and get us ready for the finals,” said Small, the Shamrocks’ captain.
“There was no tomorrow so there was more urgency to start the game, which helped us out.”