Thunder Silenced by ‘Rocks

2010-07-01

The starting goaltenders were Joe Bell for the visitors and Nick Patterson for the ‘Rocks and it was Langley scoring first, before the crowd was seated, as Stephan Leblanc scored at the 31-second mark on the first shot of the contest.  Jeff Shattler got the Shamrocks on the board with an unassisted shorthanded marker at 3:56, putting on the afterburners to break in on the net.  At 4:51 Kory Kowalyk barreled in and gave the Shamrocks a lead they would not relinquish.  Kowalyk added his second at 7:14, scoring from the side of the crease and at 10:22 Shattler got his second, despite becoming a Shattler sandwich right in front of the net.  Dean Hill increased the Victoria lead to 4 goals with a hard shot from the dotted line at 11:33 and that spelled the end of Bell's evening as he was replaced by Kevin Croswell.  Kevin Dostie beat him with a hard low shot at 12:32 to give the hosts a 6-1 lead before special teams kicked in for both teams.  Langley's power play capitalized first, Leblanc getting his second at 14:07 on a shot that appeared to deflect over Patterson.  At 15:02 it was Hill on a Victoria power play restoring the 5-goal lead.  Just 50 seconds later Joel McCready got in close and found the back of the net for the visitors.  The teams exchanged goals to finish the period as Shattler collected his hat trick on another breakaway, again with his team playing a man short.  Alex Turner did manage a power play goal with 3 ticks left on the clock for the Thunder4 and the teams went to the dressing room with the Shamrocks holding an 8-4 lead. Shots on goal were even at 16 apiece in a fast-paced period in which each team took 3 penalties, each scored twice on the power play and the Shamrocks also notched a pair of shorthanded tallies.

The second period was a little sloppy and much slower, each team scoring twice allowing the Shamrocks to hold onto their 4-goal bulge.  A 3-man break down the floor and some quick passing led to Kowalyk's hat trick goal at the 59-second mark.  Mike Grimes replied for the visitors at 5:36 collecting a long pass from Kyle Belton and beating Patterson.  Only 1 penalty was called in the middle frame and after Victoria did a great job of ragging the ball to kill it off, Mike Pires scored at 9:29 to bring the crowd to its feet.  McCready replied for Langley at 11:02 with a hard low shot and that was it for second period scoring.  Shots on goal favoured the Thunder 16-12 but it was the Rocks still holding a 10-6 edge on the scoreboard.

The third period began with 2 unassisted goals, one by each team.  Shattler collected his 4^th of the contest just 11 seconds in, barreling in to beat Croswell.   Off the ensuing faceoff Joe Vetere returned the favour with an unassisted goal for Langley.  The teams traded goals again, Hill getting his hat trick at 2:43 from the side of the net and Turner replying for the Thunder at 7:46 from the slot, a shot that seemed to surprise Patterson who did not move.  Matt Lyons got in on the action for the Shamrocks, finishing off a series of quick passes at 9:59.  After some great work along the boards by Hill, he found Curt Morwick in front and he made no mistake at 11:39 and it was the Rocks ahead by 6.  Langley finished things off, scoring the last two goals of the game.  With the teams playing 4-on-4 Kyle McEwen got in close and buried one and at the 19:06 mark it was Kyle Belton beating Patterson over the shoulder on a Langley power play.  Again the visitors held the edge in shots on goal by a 14-12 margin but it was the Shamrocks picking up the much-needed 2 points.

Jeff Shattler and Dean Hill were named the game's first and second stars with 4 goals and 1 assist and 3 goals and 3 assists respectively.  Rookie Kory Kowalyk also chipped in with a hat trick and 1 helper.  Singles came from Curt Morwick who also contributed 3 helpers, Mike Pires and Matt Lyons, who also had a pair of assists each, and Kevin Dostie.  Ryan Benesch chipped in 5 assists.  Goaltender Nick Patterson kicked out 36 of the 46 shots he faced to record the victory.

For the Thunder it was third star Alex Turner leading the way with 2 goals and 3 assists.  Joel McCready and Stephan Leblanc also chipped in with a pair of goals with singles coming from Kyle McEwen, Kyle Belton, Mike Grimes and Joe Vetere while Garrett Billilngs had 4 assists.

Next action for the Shamrocks is next Friday at Bear Mountain when the Maple Ridge Burrards will be in town.  Game time is 7:45 pm.

-by Janice Huckin