Despite last night’s lopsided 13-4 loss in Game 3, the Victoria Shamrocks have to be feeling pretty good about their first round series with the Burnaby Lakers.
The Shamrocks took the opening two games of the series, including a 9-6 comeback win on Saturday at The Q Centre in Game 2. That thriller included a stunning six-goal run to close out the third period as the Shamrocks erased a three-goal Lakers lead.
The Lakers, who finished the season with the best record in the WLA, shook off the shaky final frame, jumping out to a 5-2 lead in the first period of Game 3.
They were even better in the game’s final 40 minutes, scoring eight more to the Shamrocks’ two.
The series shifts back to The Q Centre for Game 4, where the Shamrocks will look to take a 3-1 stranglehold in the best-of-seven series.
Through three games both clubs are having trouble slowing down the other team’s best players. Regular season scoring leader Corey Small has four goals and 11 assists for the Shamrocks while Burnaby’s Robert Church has nine goals and eight assists for a league-high 17 playoff points.
Casey Jackson leads all Shamrocks forwards with five goals, while Joe Resetarits has six points despite missing Game 1.
Burnaby’s Eric Penney and Victoria’s Aaron Bold have been even in net, posting save percentages of .821 and .819 respectively.
It has been an even battle on special teams, with both teams’ power plays firing at a 33.3 per cent clip.
Wednesday’s game gets underway at 6:00 p.m.
