Burnaby Lakers @ Victoria Shamrocks Preview, Friday July 29th @ 7:45, The Q Centre

 Burnaby Lakers @ Victoria Shamrocks Preview

Friday July 29^th @ 7:45, The Q Centre in Colwood

Family day with mini carnival activities presented by Wilson’s Transportation

Written by: Lucas Wilson

It has been two weeks since Shamrocks Nation last got to see their team at the Q Centre. That game was a dominant 14-8 win over the Maple Ridge Burrards, which was the third game in a row that the Shamrocks had scored 14 or more goals. Since that contest, the Shamrocks have hit the road twice, losing one game and winning the other. Last Friday, the Shamrocks played the Burnaby Lakers at Bill Copeland Arena. Some travel problems resulted in the Shamrocks arriving to the game 15 minutes late, and had virtually no warm-up before the opening face-off. The Shamrocks struggled to find their legs until the third period.  After being down by five, the Shamrocks crawled back to make it a one-goal game, but the Lakers eventually found a way to sneak away with a 12-10 win. This past Wednesday, the Shamrocks travelled to the LEC for a game against the Langley Thunder. The last-place Thunder put up a solid fight, but the Shamrocks eventually pulled away with an 11-8 win. Cody Hagedorn was impressive in goal, making 35 saves on 43 shots. Nine players tallied goals for the Shamrocks, including two each from Rhys Duch and Jesse King. With this win, the Shamrocks clinched a spot in the WLA playoffs, but they still have plenty to play for as they fight for home floor advantage

The Shamrocks have continued to produce goals at a spectacular rate. As of Thursday night, the Shamrocks have played two less games than every other team in the WLA, yet they lead the league in goals by a margin of eight. This is heavily reflected in the WLA offensive leaderboards, as three of the top four point producers are Shamrocks. Rhys Duch leads the way with 76, Cory Conway sits in second with 64, and Corey Small is tied for fourth with 53.  Duch also has a five-goal lead in the goal-scoring race with 34 goals, which averages out to almost a hat trick per game.

On Friday night, the Shamrocks have a chance at redemption against the Burnaby Lakers. The Shamrocks won the first contest between these teams, which means that this matchup will decide the season series between these teams. In this game, the Shamrocks will have the luxury of having a warm-up longer than five minutes before the face-off. It is expected that Victoria’s Jesse King will make his home debut for the Shamrocks in Friday night’s game.

Lakers Scouting Report

The Lakers currently sit in third place with 19 points, just one point back of the Shamrocks. Although, they have played two more games than the Shamrocks, a win on Friday night would move them into second place in the WLA. The Lakers are led up front by Robert Church and Scott Jones, who sit sixth and eighth in league scoring respectively. The Lakers have allowed a league low 115 goals, led by goalie Zak Boychuck, who leads the league in both goals against average and save percentage.

CLOVER POINTS: Family night presented by Wilson’s Transportation with a mini carnival outside before the game with; Judys Snack Shack food truck, face painting, mini Wilson’s buses for kids under 12, O’Canada sung by Al Ferraby of CFAX 1070 and first 200 families through receive a Family Fun Travel Pack coupon good for services on either the Westshore Express, YYJ Airport Shuttle or the Gray Line Sightseeing Victoria.Get tickets at the tab above, call 250-478-7625 or visit 967 Langford Parkway.

Live game stats: http://www.victoriashamrocks.com/stats/game//307/league/61823

Regular season Shamrocks stats : http://www.victoriashamrocks.com/stats/team/62/307/league//8071

WLA stat leaders: http://www.victoriashamrocks.com/stats/leaders

Pay Per View link: http://www.playfullscreen.com/player.php?mediaid=18576

Game Day Lineups (July 29^th, 2016) in Victoria, BC