The Victoria Shamrocks know getting so many goals past Frank Scigliano, the Western Lacrosse Association goaltender of the year, was probably a freak occurrence.
“We’re not getting 17 goals next game,” said Shamrocks head coach Bob Heyes.
That was after the Shamrocks had rallied with seven unanswered third-period goals Tuesday at The Q Centre to defeat the Maple Ridge Burrards 17-14 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven WLA final series.
“It built confidence for us while giving them a bit of angst,” Heyes said.
The fourth game is Friday night at Cam Neely Arena in Maple Ridge.
“Cam Neely is a tough arena in which to get a win,” said Victoria sniper Jesse King, who had six goals and 11 points in Game 3.
“[But] we are a resilient team,” added the NLL pro champion with the Calgary Roughnecks, an NCAA graduate of the Ohio State Buckeyes.
“If we can go in there and win, it will really [affect] the outcome of the series.”
Heyes, meanwhile, made note of the Burrards’ apparent penchant for on-floor commentary: “They were chirping when they were feeling pretty good [when Maple Ridge had the lead Tuesday].”
There is certainly little love lost between these rivals. The Shamrocks are in the WLA final for the seventh consecutive year. The 2019 series, a rematch of last year’s WLA final won in five games by the Burrards, continues with Game 5 Sunday at The Q Centre. If needed, a sixth game would be played Tuesday at Cam Neely and a seventh game next Friday at The Q Centre.
The WLA champion will host the Ontario Major Series champion — either the defending national champion Peterborough Lakers or Six Nations Chiefs — in the best-of-seven Mann Cup national final next month. Second-seed Six Nations led the best-of-seven Ontario series 2-0 heading into Game 3 Thursday night against host and top-seed Peterborough.
