Let it Roll, Baby, Roll!

Written by Ian McNaughton

July 21, 2018

Victoria, BC – It’s games like these that make lacrosse one of the most entertaining sports to watch. The Victoria Shamrocks found themselves behind 6-2 to the Coquitlam Adanacs halfway through the second period. The team was in the middle of their 3rd game in 4 days and needed a spark to get some momentum back for their team. After the 6th Adanacs goal, Coach Bob Heyes made the bold decision to pull the starting netminder Cody Hagedorn in favour of backup Adam Shute. It was that point onward that the team never looked back and it paid huge dividends. 

The Shamrocks proceeded to burst out offensively, outscoring Coquitlam 8-3 in the final half of  the game. With less than a minute to go, Ethan Garland picked a timely moment to score his first goal of the season and send the Shamrocks to overtime. The Shamrocks got 4 goals in overtime to defeat Coquitlam by a final score of 13-10 and send the Adanac fans home in shock. 

The ‘Rocks leading scorer on the evening was none other than Casey Jackson. Jackson had 3 goals and finished with 9 points on the night. Jackson has been one of the hottest players in the past month, scoring no less than 4 points in each of the last 7 ‘Rocks games. Rob Hellyer and Jesse King each managed to get 7 points with King’s overtime goal being the eventual game-winner.  As for Shute, he made 21 saves in his relief appearance and earns wins on back-to-back nights for the first time this season. 

 Saturday’s win put the Shamrocks just 2 points behind the New Westminster Salmonbellies for first in the WLA. The Shamrocks finished the season with a record of 5-4 in road games this season, one of only two teams with a winning road record. The ‘Rocks will try to use their favourable 6-1 home record to their advantage for the final two games of the regular season. Fortunately for the Shamrocks, they will also get some rest in between games after 3 games in 4 days and two trips to the mainland in the last week. 

The Victoria Shamrocks next game is on Friday, July 27th which will be Beach Night sponsored by Peninsula Co-op at The Q Centre against the Coquitlam Adanacs. The ‘Rocks final regular season home game will be Fan Appreciation Night sponsored by SLEGG Building Materials on Sunday, July 29th when they take on the New Westminster Salmonbellies. Tickets are selling quickly for each game! Fans can purchase their tickets for those games here. Make sure you’re using #ShamrocksNation on social media for all your favourite Victoria Shamrocks moments!