Jr. B Shamrocks – Playoff Preview

Hold onto your hat – the Jr. B Tier 1 Shamrocks are about to begin their playoffs. The Rocks had an outstanding regular season, compiling a 16-2 record to finish atop the standings and get a bye into the best-of-three semi-finals. They will take on the Langley Thunder who finished the regular season in fourth place at 10-8 and sent the Delta Islanders home in the best-of-three preliminary round.

Overall Jax Heavenor led the Shamrocks in scoring with 63 points on 26 goals and 37 assists. Jordan Alexander had 30 goals and 31 helpers for 61 points in 16 games. Matthew Denis finished the regular season with a 6.5 goals against average and a .824 save percentage. He had a 9-1 record.

On Langley’s side of the ledger Logan Claxon amassed 80 points on 30 goals and 50 assists to lead the league. He played all 18 games. Dallas Kilpatrick and Cam Smith each had 50 points. In goal Jensen McGregor had a 7-3 record and sported a goals against average of 7.4 and a save percentage of .835.

How did the teams match up head to head in the regular season? Well, Victoria won both games. On May 2 the score was 13-4 at the Q Center. Anthony Chevalier and Jordan Alexander each had a hat trick and 2 assists. Matthew Denis had 24 saves to pick up the win. On May 17 at the Langley Events Center, the Shamrocks again triumphed but by a closer score of 14-9. Dane Kinney led the offense with 6 points on a goal and 5 assists. Alexander and Landon Lockwood each had 3 goals and added 2 and 1 assists respectively. Denis again picked up the win with 34 saves.

Going into playoffs, the Shamrocks picked up goaltender Aaron Price from Maple Ridge who, despite his original team having a losing record, boasts decent numbers with a goals against average of 8.31 and a save percentage of .841. They also added James Kitsch from the Burrards who picked up an assist in his sole game with the Rocks and acquired from the Richmond Roadrunners transition player Caleb Jang. Langley also dipped into the pool and picked up a couple of Maple Ridge players - Ayden Goodall and Jeremy Dybwad.

While a 12-point difference in the standings might make this seem like a bit of a mismatch, this is not necessarily the case. Anything can happen in playoffs, especially in a short series, and it often does. Special teams can also figure prominently and Victoria was the second most penalized team in the league (behind – ahem – Maple Ridge). It should be noted, however, they had a 66% penalty kill average. It might still be best to try and stay out of the box. Faceoffs can often kickstart the offense and down the stretch Benson Hunt was very good for Victoria.

The other semi-final series will see the Coquitlam Adanacs who finished third and bested the New Westminster Salmonbellies in their preliminary match-up against the second place Port Coquitlam Saints who also had a bye through the first round.

The Tier 1 Junior B Shamrocks’ first game is this Saturday, July 11 at 12:30 pm at the Q Center.

Meanwhile the Junior A Shamrocks will wrap up the home portion of their regular season schedule also on Saturday. They will host the Port Coquitlam Saints at 3:30 pm at the Q Center. It is worth noting that the Rocks currently lead the Saints by 2 points but the Saints have 2 games in hand. They have split the two head-to-had games so far. The Shamrocks finish the season on the road Monday, July 13 in Delta.

- Janice Huckin