Shamrocks earn place in Minto Cup best-of-five series after weekend success

The Victoria Shamrocks know how to play hard and they didn’t disappoint at the 2019 Minto Cup Junior A Championship.

After losing their first two round-robin games, the team needed some help to make sure they had a shot in the final game. The local lacrosse team had to not only win that match but also have the math work out in their favour.

The Shamrocks did just that though, earning them a spot in Monday night’s semifinal game at the Langley Events Centre, taking on the Okotoks Raiders — a team which had already beaten them once.

Going into overtime the Shamrocks scored goals 10 seconds apart in the 10-minute period, then taking a pair of empty-net goals to defeat the Raiders 12-8.

READ ALSO: Victoria Shamrocks sweep Nanaimo Timbermen to advance to WLA finals

This victory earns Victoria a shot at the Orangeville Northmen in the best-of-five championship series which begins on Wednesday night. Games two and three are set for Aug. 22 and 23. If necessary, games four and five would be Aug. 25 and 26. All the games have a 7 p.m. start time.

Terry Dennett, Shamrock’s coach, says while the Minto Cup was a bit of an unknown challenge — Shamrocks haven’t been to the championship since 2008 — along with not having won a playoff series in a few years, the team was ready to for it.

“I think it was just getting adjusted, getting ready for the big stage,” he said. “Having our backs against the wall is kind of where we have played our best.”

READ ALSO: Victoria Shamrocks open WLA finals at Q Centre in Colwood

Austin Madronic, Brian Robb, Zach Manns and Patrick Dodds each had a pair of goals to lead the offense. Singles came from Ben Preston, Jackson Boyd, Teioshontathe McComber and Liam Phillips while Brayden Brown chipped in with four assists. Cam Dunkerley made 41 saves to pick up the win in goal and Kyle Pepper was masterful in the face-off circle. All teams will enjoy a day off before the Shamrocks and the Orangeville Northman play game 1 in the best-of-five final series beginning Wednesday.

For tickets to the best-of-five series visit www.bcjall.com/minto-cup-tickets, or to watch the games online visit portal.stretchinternet.com/tfsetv/. For more information visit www.mintocup2019.com.

Junior B Tier 1 take provincials

Taking on the South Okanagan Flames on Aug. 10, the Junior B Shamrocks took home a win 11-6 and then again on Aug. 11 scoring 16-4. The team is now the provincial champions.

Over the course of the two games almost every Shamrocks player made it onto the scoresheet. Jonathan Boyd finished with a 12-point weekend, Cameron Lumb and Davis McCulley finished up with eight points each, while Brodie Wade, Graham Goodfellow and Rhys Macdonald ended the weekend with five points each.