Shamrocks Can’t Count Out Coquitlam

Written by Ian McNaughton

July 27, 2018

Victoria, BC – It’s the start of an ultimate lacrosse weekend for the Victoria Shamrocks who host the Coquitlam Adanacs for the first and final time this season. This will be the third encounter with the Adanacs this season with the ‘Rocks going 1-1 in their previous two meetings. The ‘Rocks are coming off back to back wins last weekend including a 13-10 overtime win over Coquitlam last Saturday. Tonight is a chance for the ‘Rocks to secure another critical two points on their grind for top playoff spot in the WLA. 

The Adanacs have struggled for most of the 2018 WLA season. They walk into tonight’s matchup with just 2 wins and 4 points on the season. One of those wins, however, came against the Victoria Shamrocks on June 30th. In that Saturday night affair, at the Poirier Sports Complex, the Adanacs put up 6 third period goals to defeat the ‘Rocks 13-10. While it was a disappointing result, a lot has changed for both teams since then so it’s not a game that each team will put too much thought into as they face off tonight. 

Last Saturday’s game was a much more memorable game, at least from the Shamrocks perspective. After coming back from a 6-2 deficit, Ethan Garland popped in the tying goal with less than a minute to go to force the game into overtime. In overtime, Matt Yager got the first goal 33 seconds into the extra period and the Shamrocks never looked back. They secured the all-important 2 points and are in the hunt for the always desired first place. 

Coquitlam’s primary scorers of Dean Fairall and Mat Delmonico are the two players to keep an eye out on. Fairall and Delmonico roll in with 49 and 52 points on the season each respectively. Defense is not the reason for Coquitlam’s struggles this season as they give up an average of 10.5 goals per game. That total is 3rd from the bottom but is just half a goal worse than league average. It’s the scoring woes that have kept Coquitlam down for most of the season. In Coquitlam’s last game against Nanaimo, the Timbermen took down Coquitlam 11-6. That was after Coquitlam jumped out to a 5-2 lead after the 1st period. If the Adanacs can hold their leads, they are not a team you want to mess with. 

This isn’t the only game the ‘Rocks have on the schedule this weekend. The team will also host the New Westminster Salmonbellies on Sunday night at 6:00pm in the final regular season game of the year. It is Fan Appreciation Night sponsored by SLEGG Building Materials on Sunday which means there will be a pregame tailgate that starts at 3:30pm. Fans can purchase tickets here for the big game. Fans are reminded that ticket vouchers for regular season games will NOT be accepted during playoff games. Fans are also reminded to keep using #ShamrocksNation with all their Shamrocks related posts on social media! It’s the ultimate lacrosse weekend and it should be the ultimate experience for lacrosse fans!