Nanaimo Timbermen @ Victoria Shamrocks Friday night Game Preview

Nanaimo Timbermen @ Victoria Shamrocks Game Preview

Casino Night presented by View Royal Casino

Friday June 30th @ 7:30pm, The Q Centre

Shamrocks look to bounce back against island rival Timbermen

Written by Justis Doucet

Victoria - The last time the Victoria Shamrocks and Nanaimo Timbermen shared the floor, one man put on a show. The Shamrocks doubled up Nanaimo 8-4 in the middle stanza, outshooting the hosts 25-15 on route to a dominant 16-9 win. Casey Jackson entered the game with nine goals on the season, scored once in the first, three times in the second, and four more times in the third for an eight-goal performance. Even more impressive than the eight-goal performance was the efficiency, as he only took sixteen shots.

Look for Victoria to come out with a chip on their shoulder, falling in such close fashion twice can drive a team to peak performance. So far Victoria’s first game against Nanaimo was their peak performance offensively, the sixteen goals are the most the ‘Rocks have scored this season, and it ties the most from a regular season game this year. Victoria is now officially into the second half of their season, playing in their eleventh game of eighteen, they will see Nanaimo once more, Langley and Burnaby twice, and Coquitlam and New Westminster once more.

ALSO: The Victoria firefighters will be hosting a tailgate party prior to Friday's (June 30th) home game against our island rival, the Nanaimo Timbermen. The tailgate will include a food trailer to purchase hamburgers along with beverages and the Firefighters will also be bringing one of their trucks for kids to sit and get pictures taken. The proceeds from the event will go towards the firefighters Ride to Conquer Cancer in memory of their late fire chief Doug Angrove. This year, Victoria Fire's fundraising goal is $100,000, so Shamrocks Nation, come out and support your local firefighters, then come inside and cheer on the Rocks!  The tilgate starts at 5 pm, with arena doors opening at 6:30, and ball drop at 7:30 as the Shamrocks look to take the first two games from Nanaimo this season after a 16-9 road win up island two weeks ago. 

In January, we lost a very important member of the Shamrocks family as longtime volunteer Lawrie Smith passed away. Lawrie always had time to help out, volunteering to coach baseball, hockey and lacrosse. Smith’s biggest passion was lacrosse, as he worked as an usher, and ticket taker, before working as the Shamrocks head of security for more than fifty years. Lawrie’s family will be in attendance for the ceremonial face-off, and there will be a moment of silence in his honour along with an award announcement in the 2nd intermission.

Nanaimo Timbermen Scouting Report

Look for Victoria to come out strong early, if they can grab a couple quick goals, Nanaimo’s chances take a big hit. The Timbermen average just under eight and a half goals per game but have reached double digits just once. One area where Nanaimo is dominant is the face-off circle, sitting tops in the league winning 57% of their draws. Chase Fraser takes draws for them and leads the team in points with twenty-two in ten games. Although he doesn’t lead the team, Ryan Lee may be their most dangerous weapon up front, as the rookie has nine goals and eighteen points in just five games, including a hat-trick vs Victoria. Lee has points in every game this season and enters off a two-goal performance vs New Westminster with both tallies coming on the power play. Peter Dubenski has taken on the bulk of the work in the Nanaimo goal, with a 2-5-1 record in eight games, however backup Mike DeGirolamo has appeared in six games playing one hundred ninety-two minutes, and has appeared in relief the last three games.

Tickets: victoriashamrocks.com, 250-478-7625, or at The Q Centre on Game day starting at noon

Pay Per View: http://www.playfullscreen.com/player.php?mediaid=20526

Live game stats: http://westernlacrosse.wttstats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=3102271

Regular season stats to date: http://westernlacrosse.wttstats.pointstreak.com/scoringleaders.html?leagueid=258

Shamrocks stats: http://westernlacrosse.wttstats.pointstreak.com/teamplayerstats.html?teamid=31984&seasonid=17042

Next game: (AWAY) Wednesday July 5th, Victoria Shamrocks at Langley Thunder, 7:00pm, Langley Events Centre

Next HOME game: Friday July 7th vs Langley Thunder, 7:30pm at The Q centre. Fill the Cupboard Night (bring a non-perishable food item) presented by Island Savings, Tickets HERE or 250-478-7625.