King's Four-Goal Night Not Enough as Adanacs Take 3-1 Series Lead

Marshal King scored four goals, including a shorthanded marker and a late tally with the extra attacker, but Coquitlam had an answer for everything Victoria threw at them Friday night. The Adanacs closed out an 8-6 win at the Poirier Sports Complex to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the WLA Championship Series. The Shamrocks now face elimination, needing a win Sunday at The Q Centre just to keep their season alive.

Coquitlam came out fast. Jalen Chaster opened the scoring at 2:58 off a Kean Moon and Conner Stroup feed, and Nathan Chalmers doubled the lead less than three minutes later, assisted by Chaster. Luke Pilcher got Victoria on the board at 7:28, with goaltender Chris Origlieri picking up the secondary assist from his own end, and King tied it up at 8:21 off a Mathieu Gautier feed. But Coquitlam closed out the period with three unanswered goals in the final five minutes. Riley Isaacs scored twice around an Adam Noakes marker, picking up an assist of his own on Noakes' goal, and Coquitlam took a 5-2 lead into the first intermission.

Victoria's only goal of the second period came shorthanded, King finishing a Nick Preston feed at 14:24 to cut the deficit to 5-3, and the middle frame stayed that way. The Shamrocks came out with jump in the third, Kyle Pepper trimming the lead to 5-4 on a Zach Manns assist just 33 seconds in and prompting a Victoria timeout to try to carry the momentum. Thomas Semple restored Coquitlam's two-goal cushion at 5:12 off helpers from Isaacs and Eli Salama. King scored again at 16:37, assisted by Chris Wardle and Brodie Wade, to make it 6-5, but David Charney answered just eight seconds later, assisted by Brian Simmons, to push it back to 7-5.

With time running out, Victoria pulled Origlieri for an extra attacker, and it paid off almost immediately. King's fourth of the night, assisted by Patrick Dodds and Manns, got the Shamrocks back within one at 7-6. Playing the final stretch without a goaltender caught up to Victoria, though, as Kean Moon found the empty net at 19:31, assisted by Noakes and Del Bianco, to make it 8-6 and put the game away. The two sides traded roughing penalties after the final horn to punctuate a physical night.

King's four-goal effort earned him first-star honours despite the loss. Christian Del Bianco was named the game's second star after stopping 41 of 47 shots for Coquitlam, while Isaacs rounded out the stars with two goals and two assists. Origlieri finished with 38 saves on 46 shots at the other end for Victoria.

Game five goes Sunday at The Q Centre, with an earlier 5pm start and Victoria's season on the line. Tickets are available now at VictoriaShamrocks.com.