Shamrocks hold 3-2 playoff series lead despite Wednesdays loss

 August 18, 2016

 

Burnaby Lakers 11 @ Victoria Shamrocks 6 Game Recap

Shamrocks hold 3-2 playoff series lead

By Lucas Wilson

On Wednesday night, the Victoria Shamrocks had their second attempt at finishing off the Burnaby Lakers and advancing to the WLA finals.  The Lakers pulled ahead in the third period, and took Game Five by a score of 11-6. The series now sits at 3-2 in favour of the Shamrocks.

Much like Game Four, Game Five began with a defensive battle. Justin Salt opened the scoring for the Lakers with a shorthanded goal at the 14:32 mark in the first. Josh Byrne added another for Burnaby, ripping one past Adam Shute with a man advantage. Lakers goalie Zak Boychuk was sharp in the first, stopping the first 15 shots he faced. The Shamrocks finally got one past him with just three minutes left in the period, on a power play goal by Rhys Duch.

The second period opened up a bit more with the Shamrocks heavily outshooting the Lakers. Jeff Shattler tied the game in the first minute of the period to tie the game at two. Corey Small added another five minutes later to take a 3-2 lead. The lead was short lived as Salt tallied his second goal to tie the game. As the period progressed, the teams would trade goals twice, which made it a 5-5 tie late in the second. It was Salt once again who broke the tie for his hat trick goal to give the Lakers a 7-6 lead heading into the third. By the end of the period, the Shamrocks had outshot the Lakers 46-22, but Boychuk was remained sharp in goal and kept the home team from breaking the game open.

Small recorded his hat trick goal to open the third, which tied the game and sparked the home crowd at the Q Centre. Unfortunately for the Shamrocks, the Lakers responded in a big way. Burnaby’s offence clicked, and they completely took over in the period. After five unanswered goals, the Lakers came away with the convincing win in Game Five.

Despite allowing the Lakers back into the series, the Shamrocks still have the upper hand. With a 3-2 lead, the Shamrocks have two chances to win and advance to the WLA finals. Game Six goes on Friday in Burnaby at 6:00pm.

Fans can get tickets at our extended office hours by calling 250-478-ROCK or at victoriashamrocks.com for home games.

STATS

Complete game stats: http://www.victoriashamrocks.com/stats/game//307/league/83214

Game video highights: https://youtu.be/_tEQ1EKhKxw

Shamrocks playoff stats: http://www.wlalacrosse.com/stats/team/62/307/league//8071

WLA playoff leaders:http://www.wlalacrosse.com/stats/leaders?gametype=playoff

Next game (Away): Friday August 19, Victoria @ Burnaby, 6pm (Game 6 in best of 7 series)