Shamrocks battle Burnaby in final home game

BURNABY 14 VICTORIA 8

With no drive for five alive, the goal for the Victoria Shamrocks was simply not to fizzle to fourth in a funk.

With hopes of a fifth-consecutive Western Lacrosse Association regular-season championship officially snuffed the night before with a humbling 19-8 hammering at the hands of the Salmonbellies in New Westminster, the Shamrocks entered Friday night’s season finale 14-8 loss against the Burnaby Lakers, with anything from a second- to fourth-place seeding possible for the playoffs.

It will be fourth with the Shamrocks opening the best-ofseven first-round semifinal on the road against the top seed — either New Westminster, Maple Ridge or Burnaby — on Thursday. The second game will be at The Q Centre next Saturday evening.

It scarcely seemed possible to believe the Shamrocks (10-7-1) entered the week with their destiny in their own hands and could have taken a fifth straight league regular-season crown by winning out against New Westminster and Burnaby. Fourth can be considered a relative disaster.

“It was a frustrating week. It felt like the wheels came off a bit,” said Corey Small, who led Victoria with two goals and three assists Friday.

There seemed a sluggish lack of urgency by the Shamrocks, surprising considering the stakes.

“We were working hard,” added Small. “It’s the mental aspects that did us in — turnovers, transition goals and discipline. We played hard both games this week. It was the lack of smart play.”

Small has pretty much sewn up the league triple crown with 38 goals, 50 assists and 88 points, but it seemed like small consolation on this night.

“I never care about the individual stuff,” he said. “That’s not as important as us doing well as a team in the playoffs.”

It didn’t start well with the Lakers victimizing Victoria goaltender Aaron Bold for three goals on their first six shots of the game. The Lakers, utilizing their swift ball movement, jumped that to 8-2 midway through the second period before the Shamrocks brought it to 8-6. But a series of Victoria penalties in the third period, resulting in three consecutive Lakers powerplay goals, decided it easily for Burnaby (10-5-1).

“They put us on our heels early and we had to play catch up all night,” said Victoria coach Bob Heyes.

“We don’t quite have playoff focus. But that’s not like a light switch that goes on and off. That only comes with hard work.”

Rookie Evan Messanger scored twice for Victoria, while Robert Church had two goals and an eight-point night for Burnaby and Eli McLaughlin three goals and three assists.