Rocks Move 1 Step Closer to Final

The Tier 1 Shamrocks took a step closer to a showdown with the Coquitlam Adanacs in the league final, winning game 1 of their semi-final series, 17-10 against the Port Coquitlam Saints at the Q Centre Saturday. The Shamrocks held period leads of 6-5 and 12-9 on their way to the victory.

Ryan Atkinson got the start in goal for Victoria while Calvin Hafner got the nod for the visitors.  Victoria got on the board first, Casey Wilson getting in close just 47 seconds into the opening period.  The Saints tied the score at 5:08, Jacob Dunbar getting the ball behind Atkinson who got a piece but couldn’t hold on.  It took just a little over a minute for the Rocks to take the lead, Wilson getting his second at 6:24 with a quick stick in close and at 7:33, Isaac Swan made it 3-1 for the home team, going to the net.  PoCo got that one back at 10:02 Evan Wray getting in close.  Patrick Dodds restored the 2-goal lead for the Rocks at 10:58, with a couple of fakes and a bouncer.  Once again the visitors replied with a pair, the first from Wray at 11:28 and then he added his hat trick goal at 12:42 shorthanded to make it 4-4. Victoria would answer back with a power play goal at 4:07, Wilson collecting his third of the game, collecting a pass from behind the net and Jonathan Boyd would open up another 2-goal Victoria lead at 16:16 from the dotted line.  It didn’t last until the period end, Dunbar getting his second for the Saints at 18:46 to wrap up the scoring.  After 20 minutes, the Rocks held the slim 6-5 lead.

Early in period 2, Swan picked up his second for the Shamrocks on a run off a turnoverat 1:39 to regain the 2-goal lead.  Once again, PoCo answered back with a pair, the first on the power play from Wray at 4:09 and another off the stick of Reese Hyrcan at 4:31.  That was the end of the night for Atkinson as he was replaced in the Victoria net by Nolan Dalep and the Rocks seemed to get some momentum as first Brody Black tallied at 7:15, finding the top corner from the dotted line and then Brayden McQuarrie went on a run to score an unassisted goal at 7:37.  With the score 9-7, Port Coquitlam pulled Hafner in favour of Connor Ramage.  The Saints got a power play goal, the third of the game for Dunbar at 10:02 and the teams traded goals,  Dodds picking up an unassisted goal at 14:18 off a steal, going in alone.  Ryan McBeth replied for the Saints at 16:20 but the Shamrocks added 2 more to increase their lead.  Swan got the hat trick at 17:07 with a hard shot from the dotted line, that goal coming with the man advantage and Wilson added his 4^th of the contest at 18:14, finishing off some quick passing inside the dotted line.

The third period was all Shamrocks as they outscored the visitors 5-1 starting with Liam Phillips’ unassisted shorthanded goal at 1:27 following up on a rebound right in front.  Wray got one back for the Saints at 7:27 but the Rocks added 4 unanswered, beginning with Black’s second of the game at 8:07 from outside the dotted line.  Dodds added a power play goal at the 15-minute mark, followed by another from Wilson, also on the power play at 16:46 from the side of the crease.  Black made it a hattrick at 18:13 to wrap up the game which had become a parade to the penalty box.

Casey Wilson led the Shamrocks offensively with 5 goals and 7 assists.  Patrick Dodds added 3 goals and 7 helpers.  Isaac Swan and Brody Black also had the hat trick each with 4 and 1 assist respectively.  Singles came from Brayden McQuarrie, Jonathan Boyd and Liam Phillips.  Nolan Dalep was outstanding in relief between the pipes, allowing just 3 goals through 35 plus minutes.  The Shamrocks also got some great penalty killing work from Colton Gnecht and Garrett Wicks, along with Wilson.  

Game 2 in the series is Sunday in Port Coquitlam with a third game, if necessary, scheduledfor the Q Centre on Tuesday, July 31 at 5:00 pm.  The Coquitlam Adanacs await the series winner, having swept their best 2-of-3 series against the Maple Ridge Burrards.