Shamrocks Chalk Up Another (but it wasn’t easy)

2010-07-03

Maple Ridge scored at the 45-second mark, Andrew Murphy connecting on the first shot on Victoria goaltender Nick Patterson.  A 5-minute charging penalty to the Rocks' Paul Dawson at 1:57 proved costly when Randy Daly put the visitors up by a pair, getting in close to beat Patterson at the 4:30 mark.  Mike Pires replied for the Irish just 20 seconds later, picking up a rebound in front and beating Burrards' goalie Ron Schibild, a short-handed marker for the home team.  Before the expiry of the major, however, Murphy notched his second of the contest to restore the 2-goal lead.  The Burrards increased their lead to 3 with Daly's second goal at 9:51, another power play goal which came after Patterson had made some great saves.  The visitors were full credit for their lead, Victoria being guilty of several giveaways and some lackadaisical play on loose balls.  Suddenly the alarm went off and the Shamrocks woke up, exploding for 4 straight goals in a span of a little over 4 minutes.  Jeff Shattler got things going, breaking in and picking up a pass from Dean Hill to find twine at 11:29.  At 13:32 it was big Kory Kowalyk getting in front and beating Schibild with a shot not so much hard as tricky.  Rhys Duch tallied at 15:11 with a bouncer in close and at 15:38 Matt Lyons found the back of the net with a hard low shot to give the Shamrocks the lead.  It took only 1:16 for the Burrards' leading scorer Jarrett Davis to tie things up as he was able to come right to the front of the net unchecked at 16:54.  The home team closed out the period with a pair of goals as Kowalyk got a quick pass from Shattler to score his second at 18:54 and Duch got his second from center floor at 19:58 with Schibild on the bench for an extra attacker.  Maple Ridge outshot Victoria 20-13 in the period but found themselves on the short end of a 7-5 score.

The second period was all Maple Ridge as they outscored the Shamrocks 4-1.  They started out with 2 goals, finished with 2 goals and Victoria's single was the filling in that sandwich.  Special teams were again prominent with two of the Burrards' goals coming on the power play and the Shamrocks' goal also coming with the man advantage.  Maple Ridge captain Peter Tellis got in close to score a power play marker at 6:07.  They followed up with a rare goal from Kevin Reid, Reid known more for his penalties than his goal scoring prowess, at 6:43.  Two minutes later, a Victoria power play resulted in a goal from the stick of Dean Hill, a shot that beat Schibild just inside the post.  The Burrards bounced back with Tellis' second goal at 9:25 and another off the stick of Curtis Dickson at 12:24.  That was all the scoring in the middle frame and shots favoured the Shamrocks by a narrow 13-11 margin.

The visitors got another quick start in period three as Andrew Murphy tallied his hat trick marker just 44 seconds in.  Jeff Shattler replied for the ‘Rocks at 4:01 getting his shot away as he was being thrown to the floor.  Once again the Burrards replied quickly, Dickson getting his second, putting the ball over top of Victoria goaltender Patterson at 5:57.  Now it was time for Shamrocks special teams to kick into high gear.  At the 9-minute mark, Lyons got in close to score his second on the power play.  Duch came up with his hat trick goal at 12:03, sending a low shot to the back of the net on another Victoria power play.  It was a night for hat tricks as rookie Kowalyk hit for his third at 12:12, doing what he does best and fighting to the front of the net to beat Schibild.  There are very few things more exciting in lacrosse than a great penalty kill and Matt Lyons had the Victoria fans on their feet as he ragged the ball for the majority of a 2-minute penalty kill before surrendering it to teammate Duch who found Pires in front for a goal at 17:40.  That put the home team up by a pair.  The Burrards tried to fight back and Davis connected with his second at 18:56 with a shot over Patterson's shoulder.  They were unable to get any closer and Duch, with his fourth of the game, fired a high hard shot to the top corner to put the icing on the win at 19:24. 

The fans, although the crowd was relatively small, certainly got their money's worth in a game with a few peaks and valleys but ultimately a victory and that's what makes the fans happy.  There's no telling if head coach Walt Christianson shares that sense of euphoria but I'm sure he'll take the two points.

Dean Hill was named the game's first star and led the Shamrocks with a goal and 6 assists.  Jeff Shattler contributed 2 goals and 4 assists to be named second star while Rhys Duch had 4 goals and 2 helpers.  Kory Kowalyk kicked in 3 goals while Mike Pires had a goal and 3 assists, Matt Lyons a pair of each and Kevin Dostie kicked in with 5 helpers.  Nick Patterson kicked out 32 of 44 shots to record the victory.

For the Burrards it was Andrew Murphy with the big offensive output bagging 3 goals and adding 5 assists.  Curtis Dickson and Jarrett Davis each had a pair of goals and 4 helpers while Peter Tellis and Randy Daly each contributed 2 goals and 2 assists.  Kevin Reid had the other Maple Ridge goal.

The victory pulls the Shamrocks back into a 2-point lead atop the WLA standings with 18 points and New Westminster right behind,  holding a game in hand.  The result also drops the Burrards below .500 to a record of 6-7 good enough for third spot, 2 points ahead of the Coquitlam Adanacs.

The Shamrocks get right back into action Saturday as they travel to Coquitlam to face those Adanacs.  Next home action is next Friday, July 9 when the Adanacs make their only regular season visit to Bear Mountain Arena.  Game time is 7:45 pm.

by Janice Huckin