Shawn Slaght, All Lacrosse All The Time – A Division of the Edge of Philly Sports Network
Desperately needing a win to stay in the playoff hunt, the New Westminster Salmonbellies pulled off an 11-7 upset over the Victoria Shamrocks on home floor on Thursday night.
New Westminster has now won two in a row and has drawn even with the Langley Thunder for fourth place. The Salmonbellies have a record of 6-8, while the Thunder are 6-5 and have three games in hand.
Neil Tyacke had a standout game for New Westminster. He stopped 48 of 55 shots in the win. Colin Jeffrey and Ryan Atkinson split the time in goal for the Shamrocks as they faced a total of 35 shots.
Salmonbellies jump out to huge lead in the first period
New Westminster jumped out to a big lead right off the hop. Anthony Malcom got the party started 30 seconds into the game. Ethan Forgrave scored 38 seconds later and added another at 2:53. Malcom’s shorthanded marker at 8:09 capped off an opening four-game run to make it 4-0 for the ‘Bellies.
The Shamrocks finally got on the board at 9:09 with a goal from Larson Sundown. Haiden Dickson replied at 12:06 to keep New Westminster ahead by four.
Chris Wardle found the back on the net 23 seconds later for Victoria. Malcom scored his hat trick goal at 12:54 to make it 7-2 for the ‘Bellies.
The two teams would exchange goals one more time. Ben McCullough scored for Victoria at 18:03 and Forgrave scored his third 36 seconds later to make the score 7-3 after the first quarter.
Shamrocks narrow the gap as tempers flare in the second
Silas Richmond opened the scoring in the second period for New Westminster 41 seconds into the frame. Jason Jones tallied a goal at 4:02 to finish off a three-goal run for the ‘Bellies to make it 9-3.
Momentum then swung in Victoria’s favour at 4:45 with a goal from Chris Wardle. Markers from Jake Foster, Nick Preston and another from Wardle capped a four-goal run by the Shamrocks to narrow the score to 9-7 for New Westminster.
Tempers also began to flare in the second period. At the 5:44 mark, Quinn Mackay for New Westminster and Sundown for Victoria dropped the gloves and received five minutes each for fighting.
With Brad McCulley in the box for Victoria for cross-checking at 17:32, Jordan McBride capitalized on the power play at 18:33 to make it 10-7 for the Salmonbellies.
Neither team budges in the third
Both teams were tough nuts to crack in a low-scoring third period. Marshal King took a holding penalty for the Victoria Shamrocks at 11:03 and Mitch Jones scored on the power play 17 seconds later to put the game away.
Connor Evens was 10 for 21 on faceoffs for the Salmonbellies on Thursday night against Tyler Burton on the other side of the dot.
Three Stars
- Neil Tyacke, New Westminster Salmonbellies
- Brad Kri, Victoria Shamrocks
- Mitch Jones, New Westminster Salmonbellies
Top Scorers
New Westminster Salmonbellies
Mitch Jones, 1g 4a
Jason Jones, 1g 3a
Ethan Forgrave, 3g 1a
Victoria Shamrocks
Chris Wardle, 3g 2a
Marshal King, 3a
Jake Foster, 1g 1a
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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.
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