Game #3 Tonight for Island Rivalry

Written by Ian McNaughton

August 5, 2018

Victoria, BC – It’s game day for the Victoria Shamrocks as they host the Nanaimo Timbermen in Game #3 of their WLA semi-final series. The road team has won each game so far making the series even at 1 game apiece. The last time the Shamrocks played at The Q Centre, they were on the wrong end of a 12-11 sudden death overtime loss to Nanaimo. There was nowhere to go but up for the Shamrocks. Their win on Saturday at Frank Crane Arena in Nanaimo was a dominant performance as they doubled up the Timbermen 8-4.

Rhys Duch had a hat-trick with 2 of his goals coming on the power play and had an assist as well. ‘Rocks forward Rob Hellyer had 5 assists and enters tonight in first place of the WLA scoring race with 12 points. The Shamrocks also witnessed an outstanding performance from goalie Adam Shute, who stopped 34 of Nanaimo’s 38 shots and earned the third star for his terrific game. 

There are concerns coming into tonight’s game about the health of Nanaimo’s Chase Fraser. Fraser went down with an injury early in Game #2 and was held to just 1 assist on the night. After scoring a hat-trick in Game #1 and resting up on Saturday everyone is wondering, will he be as effective tonight? The Timbermen will also need Brody Eastwood to step up after going scoreless in Game #2 and being limited to just 3 shots. Nanaimo’s captain had 2 goals and 2 assists on Wednesday and will need more of those numbers to continue their success. 

The return of both Chris Wardle and Ryan Fournier has made an impact for the Shamrocks through the first two games. Wardle has scored 3 goals and while Fournier has won just 3 of 5 faceoffs - that number should increase as Fournier gets more playing time in the next few games. The Shamrocks should also get Steve Priolo back after he was unavailable for Game #2. Priolo had a breakaway goal in Game #1 and had 5 goals in the regular season for Victoria. 

Adam Shute will likely get the start between the pipes for the ‘Rocks tonight. He has started the first two games and has given up an average of 7 goals per game in the postseason so far. He also has a .849 save percentage coming into the game and will look to improve on the numbers tonight. His counterpart, Charles Claxton, has a goal against average of 7.30 per game with a save percentage .830 in Games #1 and #2. 

Game #3 will be played at The Q Centre. Fans can buy tickets for Game #3 and Game #5  here. Just a friendly reminder, doors open at 6:30pm for both games. The Shamrocks travel to Nanaimo for Game #4 on Tuesday before hosting the Timbermen on Friday, August 10th in Game #5. Games #6 and #7 will be played only if necessary with each game starting at 7:30pm in both Victoria and Nanaimo. Come out to support your Shamrocks and help the ‘Rocks take the rock! This is Our Tradition. Our Team. Our Time.