Thursday, August 7, 2014 - Submitted by Patrick McMillan
It’s the most exciting time of the year for many lacrosse fans. The Western Lacrosse Association playoffs began Wednesday night with a bang. As if you didn’t already know.
Game one in Series A featured the #1 Victoria Shamrocks vs. the #4 New Westminster Salmonbellies.
Starting goaltenders for the night: in net for the Victoria Shamrocks Matt Flindell who had been strong all season for the ‘Rocks. On the other side, the New Westminster Salmonbellies looked to super-rookie Alexis Buque (a legitimate contender for WLA Rookie of the Year) to hold down the fort for the ‘Bellies.
The Salmonbellies broke out to a tremendous start with captain Curtis Hodgson breaking up the floor with a teammate, cutting through the middle before blasting one through the five hole of Flindell. Jordan McBride followed up not long after with an absolute laser of a shot to the far side post and in. The ‘Bellies were off to a great start as the offence continued to whip the ball around the dotted lines, however, the Shamrocks showed the resiliency of an experienced playoff team. Jesse King started the comeback after stepping around a screen, planting his feet and blasting one to the top corner behind Buque. Corey Small wasn’t far behind with almost an identical set up as the first ‘Rocks goal as he stepped around another screen and simply fired one to the far-side corner. The ‘Bellies answered back as Junior ‘A’ call-up Josh Byrne picked up a loose ball in front of the net and bounced it through the wickets of Flindell to boost the ‘Bellies to a 3-2 lead. This is where the Victoria Shamrocks began to take control. Ethan Garland sprinting up the floor and drawing a defender which allowed Matt Yager to run down the middle of the floor and grab a pass from Garland before burying a beautiful corkscrew shot to the far corner. The next goal came from the stick of the ‘Rocks’ own super-rookie King who cut through the middle of the floor and, with a perfect feed from Dhane Smith, bounced one to the bottom corner. The ‘Rocks followed up with a power-play marker where Small was on the business end of a one-timer after an absolute beauty of a pass from the right side of the floor to find the lefty for his second of the game. Just like the beginning of this game showed, the ‘Bellies weren’t about to back down easily as Jordan McBride made it look oh-so-simple from the dotted lines, unleashing a rocket to the tippy-top corner of the Shamrocks’ net to tie the game back up. Logan Schuss closed out the first period with a wicked shot to the back of the net to give the ‘Bellies the lead at first intermission.
I’m not sure how to recap the rest of this game without using the name Corey Small over, and over, and over again. Corey Small. Corey Small. Corey Small. COREY. SMALL. If he wasn’t a legend before this game, he is after his absolutely legendary game last night. He had seven goals and two assists for nine points on the night. First,
Rhys Duch helped the ‘Rocks shoot out of the first intermission with a power-play snipe, classic Duch. Now, we get to Mr. Corey Small. Number 15 capped his hat trick goal with a cut down the boards before taking a pass from Dhane Smith and bouncing it behind Alexis Buque. Next, he followed up with a sneaky pick and roll, slipping through the seams of the New Westminster defense and taking a pass from King before sniping one to the far corner. Scott Ranger added to the onslaught with another pick-and-roll that found the captain alone in the middle of the floor where he planted his feet and scored before Small finished off the period with two more goals. For his fifth of the night, he took a pass from Ben McCullough before putting the Shamrocks up 10-6. Next, while on the power-play, the lefty faded backwards, unleashed a side-arm howitzer past Alexis Buque to increase the scoring gap to five goals. Though they’d started the period with a one-goal lead, the ‘Bellies were outscored 6-0 by their hosts in the second.
The Shamrocks’ domination continued into the third period with Small manning the bridge and smashing through the ‘Bellies’ defense shift after shift. To open the scoring in the final frame, Small cashed in his seventh goal on a b-e-a-utiful dip-and-dunk shot causing the ‘Bellies’ goaltender to fall backwards in disarray. What a night for the lefty. Tyler Burton would score the final goal for the Victoria Shamrocks while Colton Clark and Jordan McBride would each add one for the Salmonbellies. The final score from the Q Centre was 13-8 for the Victoria Shamrocks.
