Head coach Bob Heyes knows his Victoria Shamrocks will be on hallowed ground tonight — the famous wooden floor — for Game 1 of the 2017 Western Lacrosse Association final against the host New Westminster Salmonbellies.
“Queen’s Park Arena is the Montreal Forum and Yankee Stadium rolled into one for lacrosse fans,” said Heyes.
“There are so many ghosts there of Shamrocks games from the past, and of course, all the great Salmonbellies players who have played there.”
Those New Westminster stars led the Salmonbellies to 24 Mann Cup national titles since 1913, although the ’Bellies have not won lacrosse’s holy grail since 1991. New Westminster last won the WLA title in 2010, the last of a three-year run as league champions.
The Shamrocks are in their fifth consecutive WLA final, having won the league crown in 2013, 2014 and 2015, before losing to the Maple Ridge Burrards in last year’s final.
Victoria and New Westminster also have a recent history, with the Shamrocks sweeping the Salmonbellies 4-0 in the 2015 WLA playoff final en route to winning the 2015 Mann Cup. The teams met in the first round of the 2014 playoffs, too, with Victoria also sweeping.
The fourth-seed Shamrocks advanced to the 2017 final after staving off the regular-season champion and top-seed Burnaby Lakers with an 8-7 victory in the deciding Game 7 of their semifinal series.
The third-seed Salmonbellies’ journey to the final was even more dramatically tense as they rallied from a 3-1 games deficit to edge the second-seed Burrards 9-8 in double overtime Wednesday of the deciding Game 7 of their semifinal series.
Mitch Jones, who won a Mann Cup with the Shamrocks in 2015, scored four goals, including the winner in the second OT frame, for New Westminster while set-up man Kevin Crowley added four assists. Those are the two players who Heyes worries about the most on the Salmonbellies’ offence.
On defence, it’s ’Bellies goaltender Alexis Buque, who faced an incredible 72 shots from Maple Ridge in Game 7 and stopped 64 of them.
“Buque was terrific. He is the reason they are in the final,” said Heyes.
The same can be said of the Shamrocks, who owe much of their extension of the post season to goaltender Aaron Bold, who stood up big against the Lakers.
It sets up a classic goaltenders duel in the final between the NLL pros Buque and Bold.
Meanwhile, Heyes said he is hopeful to have injured star sniper Rhys Duch back for the final series, but no definitive decision has been made. Junior call-up Danny Smith, however, will be available only for the first part of the series before he leaves for NCAA Div. 1 field-lacrosse play at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh.
“Danny was a factor in the semifinal series in all seven games,” said Heyes.
The second game of the WLA final series is Sunday a 6 p.m. in The Q Centre. The third game is Tuesday at Queen’s Park Arena, which was also home to the Memorial Cup-champion New Westminster Bruins of the Western Hockey League, and used in the movie Miracle about the 1980 Olympic gold-medallist U.S. hockey team. The fourth game is next Friday at The Q Centre. If necessary, the Games 5, 6, and 7 will be played Aug. 27, 29 and Sept. 1.
The WLA champion will host the best-of-seven Mann Cup against the Ontario Major Lacrosse champions. The Peterborough Lakers and Six Nations Chiefs are meeting in the best-of-seven Ontario final for the fourth consecutive year.
Twitter.com/tc_vicsports
