Shawn Slaght, All Lacrosse All The Time – A Division of the Edge of Philly Sports Network
The Langley Thunder continue to have the Victoria Shamrocks’ number, taking a 15-10 win Sunday evening to take a 2-0 series lead in their WLA semifinal series at The Q Centre in Victoria.
Robert Church and Dane Dobbie were once again forces to be reckoned with, as both picked up eight points for Langley. Meanwhile, Curtis Dickson put up six points in the victory.
Like Game one, Victoria had their chances, putting 58 shots on net. However, Frank Scigliano stood tall again with 48 saves.
Credit to the Thunder defence for quieting Victoria’s strongest weapons in the King brothers. Jesse finished with one goal and five assists, and Marshal was held to two goals and three assists.
Langley gets off to another strong start
The tone was set early in this one. Brad Kri for Victoria and Reece Callies for Langley were sent off for roughing 1:26 into the game. Kri was assessed a double-minor, putting Langley on an early power play. The Thunder would make no mistake 12 seconds into the man-advantage with Connor Robinson finding the back of the net.
Chase Scanlan added to the tally at 3:11 and Robert Church rounded out the three-goal run at 7:51 to give the Thunder a quick 3-0 lead.
Marshal King got the Shamrocks on the board at 10:45 and Chris Wardle added to the tally from close range 13 seconds later to get the Shamrocks within one 3-2.
Langley would not allow the Shamrocks to gain momentum. Dickson scored at the 12:55 mark and Church had a power play marker at 14:22 to put the Thunder back up by three, 5-2.
Brad McCulley scored for Victoria at 16:35, but the celebrations would be short-lived. Erik Maas replied right back for Langley 23 seconds later to start a four-goal run.
Church rounded out the first-period scoring with 1:25 left in the frame to make it 7-3 for the Thunder heading into the first intermission.
Thunder in control
Langley rounded out the four-goal run in the second period with markers from Dickson at 4:18 and Dobbie at 10:13.
Jesse King got in on the scoring action at 13:15, followed by an individual effort from Dallas Wade. The two goals narrowed the gap to 9-5 for the Thunder.
Church put the Thunder back up by five goals at 16:18, but Jake Foster replied 27 seconds later for Victoria.
A pair of late goals helped bolster Langley’s lead. Dickson found the back of the net with 15 seconds left in the period. On the power play, Robinson shot a buzzer-beater to put the Thunder up 12-6 heading into the third.
Bringing series lead to two games
To Victoria’s credit, they fought back early in the third. Thirty-five seconds into the frame, McCulley scored his second of the game. Jake Foster narrowed the lead to 12-8 before Marshal King rounded out the three-goal run on the power play at 4:19.
Both offences went silent for 6:16 until Kri took a slashing penalty at 9:17. Robinson scored 1:17 into the power play to make it 13-9 for Langley.
Tempers flared a bit midway through the third. Trent Kellner was called for roughing at 10:02. Twenty seconds later there was more pushing and shoving that saw Cal Slade sent off for roughing and McCulley was given two minors for roughing.
With nine minutes left in the game, Colin Munro found himself in the box for Langley for holding the stick. Despite the adversity, Dickson scored shorthanded at 12:25 to extend the lead to 14-9.
Munro was still in the box when Foster scored on the power play at 12:44, but Victoria was trailing by four with time running down. Dylan Kinnear rounded out the scoring for Langley at 14:15 to make the final 15-10.
Victoria will look to narrow Langley’s series lead when the series shifts to the Langley Events Centre on Tuesday for Game 3.
Three Stars
- Curtis Dickson, Langley Thunder
- Dane Dobbie, Langley Thunder
- Jake Foster, Victoria Shamrocks
Top Scorers
Victoria Shamrocks
Jesse King, 1g 5a
Marshal King, 2g 3a
Jake Foster, 3g 2a
Langley Thunder
Robert Church, 4g 4a
Dane Dobbie, 1g 7a
Curtis Dickson, 4g 2a
Don’t forget to check us out every Sunday night at 9 pm (ET)
Shawn Slaght has been a sports reporter across the Canadian prairies for over 10 years and has experience covering everything from junior hockey to World Cup skiing to all levels of lacrosse. He is the Saskatchewan correspondent for All Lacrosse All The Time.
