Saturday Night's Alright for Lacrosse

Written by Ian McNaughton

August 25, 2018 

Victoria, BC – It’s now or never in the provincial capital as the Victoria Shamrocks take on the Maple Ridge Burrards in Game #5 of the WLA Finals. With the Burrards ahead in the series 3 games to 1, the Shamrocks need to win tonight to survive and see another day. Coming back down 3-1 is very uncommon in sports but it can happen. The most notable occurrence of this happening is the Cleveland Cavaliers coming back from 3-1 to win the NBA championship over the Golden State Warriors in 2016. 

While many people would consider Curtis Dickson to be the Lebron James of lacrosse, the Shamrocks need to play with the toughness that has got them this far to stop Dickson. The Shamrocks limited Dickson to just one goal in Game #4 and will need to play him tough to stay alive in tonight’s game. A team effort on defense is what is expected, especially when matching up against Dickson and Ben McIntosh, who have been magnificent in the finals. 

It was an extraordinary performance by Steve Priolo in Game #4, who had 2 goals for the Shamrocks. It was his first two-goal game in over a calendar year so he will be looking to make more contributions tonight. It was another strong game for Jesse King as he had two goals and two assists. King has scored in every game in the finals against Maple Ridge, making him a threat every time he steps on the floor.

One could consider Game #4 a bounce-back game for Adam Shute. Shute was pulled in Game #3 and after giving up 4 straight goals, coach Bob Heyes stuck with his guns and left Shute in for the remainder of Game #4. He gave up 3 goals in the final 40+ minutes of the game, including overtime, and enters tonight looking for his first win since August 17th. Shute hasn’t given up more than 9 goals in a game which goes to show how impressive each team’s last line has been. 

Should the Shamrocks beat the Burrards tonight, Game #6 will be held Monday night in Maple Ridge at Cam Neely Arena at 6:30 pm. If the Shamrocks beat the Burrards on Monday night, Game #7 will be held at The Q Centre on Wednesday, August 29 at 6:30 pm. It’s all about how the team performs tonight though - with tonight being a do or die affair. If you haven’t got tickets for tonight’s game, you can purchase them here. We can’t wait to see you tonight Shamrocks Nation!