2024 WLA Playoff Preview: Shamrocks vs Salmonbellies

Perfect Shamrocks Dominate Regular Season Over Salmonbellies

(Photo: Media By Carson)

By Alex Scott

(1) Victoria Shamrocks vs. (4) New Westminster Salmonbellies

Best-of-five series

Shamrocks: 18-0, 36 points

Salmonbellies: 8-10, 16 points

Season series: VIC: 3-0-0, NW 0-3-0

Game 1: Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. at Victoria (Playoff Tickets)

The Victoria Shamrocks are poised to make a deep playoff run after dominating the regular season with a perfect 18-0 record. This marks the first perfect season in league history and the franchise's first regular-season title since 2018.

The Shamrocks will face the New Westminster Salmonbellies in the first round of the playoffs, a rematch of last year’s semifinal series. However, the roles have reversed, with Victoria entering as the top seed and New Westminster barely clinching the final playoff spot.

The Salmonbellies started the season strong with a 5-2 record but struggled with consistency throughout the year. Despite winning three of their final five games, they enter the playoffs on a two-game losing streak.

Victoria swept the season series against New Westminster, outscoring them 42-25 in three contests.

June 27: Shamrocks 16, Salmonbellies 7

July 5: Shamrocks 15, Salmonbellies 13

August 1: Shamrocks 11, Salmonbellies 5

While the Shamrocks’ 18-0 record is undoubtedly impressive, it’s important to remember that the playoffs are a different beast entirely. Both coaches will likely emphasize to their teams that the regular season is in the rearview mirror, and anything can happen in this best-of-five series.

Game breakers

Shamrocks: Jesse King's highly anticipated return to the Shamrocks did not disappoint. He finished the season with impressive numbers, tallying 24 goals and 41 assists for a total of 65 points in just 13 games. King led the Shamrocks in scoring and ranked second in the league in points per game with a remarkable average of 5.0.

Salmonbellies: Will Malcom dominated the WLA this season, capturing the league's scoring title with 52 goals and 60 assists for a total of 112 points. An incredible 58% of the Salmonbellies' total offence ran through Malcom. As the only player to reach both the 50-goal and 100-point milestones, Malcom's dominance was undeniable.

(Video: July 5th Highlights vs New Westminster)

Goaltending 

Shamrocks: Coach Simpson has split the goaltending duties evenly between Chris Origlieri and Cam Dunkerley throughout the season. Origlieri has emerged as the league's top netminder, leading in wins (10), goals against average (6.70), and save percentage (.842). Dunkerley has also excelled, ranking third in wins (8), second in GAA (7.93), and fifth in save percentage (.821). Dunkerley's only falter came against the Salmonbellies on July 5th where he was pulled in the first period after allowing four goals on 11 shots. Origlieri came in in relief and won the game, one of his three wins against the Salmonbellies this season. Who will start in net for Game 1 remains a mystery, as does Coach Simpson's decision on whether to continue the goaltending rotation. Both goaltenders have proven capable of leading the team to victory.

Salmonbellies: New West acquired starting goalie Justin Geddie from the Nanaimo Timbermen on June 15th. Since then, Geddie has started nearly every game for the Salmonbellies, finishing with a 4-4 record in 13 games played. His GAA stands at 11.05, and his save percentage is .775. Geddie's inconsistent play has mirrored the team's overall performance.

Numbers to know

Shamrocks: Victoria's depth was a key factor in their success this season. The team showcased a balanced attack with 10 different players recording at least 20 points. Jesse King (65), Marshal King (64), Tom Vaesen (48), Casey Wilson (44), Mathieu Gautier (39), Clarke Petterson (27), Patrick Dodds (25), Cole Pickup (23), Trent DiCicco (22), and Chris Wardle (21) were all capable of taking over a game and making a significant impact on the scoreboard. Remember these names, as any one of them could be the difference-maker in a playoff game.

Salmonbellies:Mike Messenger has been a game-changer since rejoining New West midway through the season. He has dominated faceoffs, winning an impressive 109 out of 156 draws for a 70% success rate. Messenger's impact was on full display in the team's final game, where they scored twice immediately following faceoff wins against the Shamrocks.

will win if...

Shamrocks: Stick to the formula that has propelled them to regular-season dominance. Continued offensive firepower, solid defensive play, and stellar goaltending will be key to their playoff success.

Salmonbellies: Tighten up defensively. New West has shown offensive prowess, finishing second in goals scored, but defensive struggles have plagued them all season. As the second-worst defensive team in the league, conceding fewer goals will be crucial to their playoff hopes.

The series begins Wednesday, August 7th at 6:30pm at The Q Centre. See below for full schedule. 

For playoff tickets, head to tickets.victoriashamrocks.com. Fans can also livestream all WLA playoff games at WLALacrosse.com/WLAtv