Coquitlam Adanacs 5 @ Victoria Shamrocks 15 Game Recap

 July 9, 2016

Coquitlam Adanacs 5 @ Victoria Shamrocks 15

Game Recap

By: Lucas Wilson

Shamrocks Nation had to wait two long weeks for their team to return home for a game at the Q Centre. Fortunately, the team in green did not disappoint in their return on Friday night, and came ready to play against the fourth place Coquitlam Adanacs. After a tightly contested opening, the Shamrocks pulled away in this one. The home team rewarded the packed Q Centre with a 15-5 win.

The game had a relatively tight start with a close first period. The Shamrocks opened the scoring with goals from their superstars, Rhys Duch and Corey Small. The Adanacs would respond with goals from their top players, Reid Reinholdt and Ryan Johnson. Duch would add another late goal in the period to give the Shamrocks a one-goal lead heading into the second.

Small got the Shamrocks off to a strong start in the second by scoring just 29 seconds into the period. The play of the game occurred a few minutes later as Shamrocks goalie Adam Shute fired a terrific pass over the entire Adanacs defense that Chris Wardle scooped up and buried to restore the lead to two. Reinholdt would add another for Coquitlam, but after that, it was all Shamrocks. By the end of the second period Rhys Duch had added three more goals, and Wardle and Jeff Shattler scored late goals as well.  The Shamrocks took strong advantage of the fact that the Adanacs were playing in the second of back-to-back nights, and they seemed to have lost their legs at this point in the game. The constant pressure from the Shamrocks attack forced Adanacs coach Peter Tellis to pull goalie Dan Lewis, and bring in Josh Phillips to face the fire. More solid play by the Shamrocks back-end and Shute would hold the lead at 10-3 at the end of the period.

Thirty seconds into the third Rhys Duch would add on to his remarkable night with another goal, which gave him a double hat trick. Ian McShane contributed to the offence as well by tallying two goals in the third. The Adanacs added a couple of late goals, but this one was way out of reach for the visitors.

Friday night’s game marked the first home start for recently acquired goalie Adam Shute. The remarkable offensive output was the main story, but Shute certainly did not disappoint. He made 41 saves on 46 shots, and with the win, Shute became 2-0 as a starter for the Shamrocks. Another impressive performance came from the Shamrocks’ consistent set-up man Cory Conway. With seven assists, he extended his WLA league leading assist total to 47. With nine points for himself, Duch extended his league leading point total to 62, nine ahead of the second place Conway. Small sits in third with 46.

The New Westminster Salmonbellies also won on Friday night, which leaves them two points ahead of the Shamrocks for top spot in the WLA. The Shamrocks still have still two games in hand on the Salmonbellies, and will look to eventually take back the top spot in the standings. The Shamrocks have a full week off, and will return to action next Friday at home as they take on the Maple Ridge Burrards. Details on this game and to get tickets can be found at the tickets tab above.

For post-game comments from head coach Bob Heyes and Adam Shute, check out the Victoria Shamrocks on Soundcloud, or follow on Twitter, @WLAShamrocks

STATS

Complete game stats: http://www.victoriashamrocks.com/stats/game//307/league/61806

Shamrocks stats to date: http://www.victoriashamrocks.com/stats/team/62/307/league//8071

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

Video highlites:  https://youtu.be/jUoJu2oziNE

Game photos (credit Erich Eichhorn): https://www.dropbox.com/sh/5x96f8w60i4hqw2/AABwH3s2b2W32786qt5fpTNDa?dl=0

Next Game: Home, July 15 vs Maple Ridge, 7:45, The Q Centre presented by Western Speedway and Floyd’s/Borella