Brodie Wade scored the game-winning goal late in the third period as the Victoria Shamrocks edged the Nanaimo Timbermen 9-8 on Wednesday night in WLA action.
Victoria overcame an early three-goal deficit before surviving a wild third period to pick up the win.
With Coquitlam’s win over Maple Ridge on Saturday, Victoria has clinched first place in the WLA standings. Victoria sits with a record of 14-2 with two games left to play.
Nanaimo currently sits in the fourth and final playoff spot at 8-9. New Westminster is chasing the Timbermen in fifth place at 5-9 but has three games in hand and four games remaining.
The Shamrocks were led by Wednesday night’s heroics from Wade and Chris Wardle, who each finished with two goals and one assist. Meanwhile, Zach Manns had a goal and an assist, while Patrick Dodds recorded two assists.
Frank Scigliano got the start for the Shamrocks and allowed four goals on 11 shots before being pulled in favour of Chris Origlieri just 8:30 into the game. Origlieri stopped 36 of 40 shots to earn the win.
The Timbermen were led by Ryan Sheridan, who finished with a hat trick and two assists, while Andrew Bowman had a goal and two assists.
In goal, Colby Bowman faced a barrage of shots, stopping 56 of 65 in the loss.
First Period
Nanaimo couldn’t have scripted a better start, scoring three goals in the opening 1:42.
Gord Phillips opened the scoring just 28 seconds into the game before Andrew Bowman and Ryan Sheridan struck 49 seconds apart to give the Timbermen a quick 3-0 advantage.
The Shamrocks replied with three of the next four goals.
Wardle and Elijah Gash pulled Victoria within one before Griffin Hall restored Nanaimo’s two-goal lead at 4-2.
Eli McLaughlin scored with 10 minutes remaining in the period to trim the deficit to 4-3 heading into the first intermission.
Second Period
Victoria carried its momentum into the middle frame.
Brodie Wade tied the game 4-4 just over three minutes into the period before Wardle gave the Shamrocks their first lead at the 11:38 mark.
The period also featured some fireworks as Logan Schmidt and Grayson Peskett dropped the gloves at 15:22, with both players receiving fighting majors and game misconducts.
Kyle Pepper added another goal late in the period as Victoria scored all three goals in the second to take a 6-4 advantage. Origlieri stopped all 18 shots he faced.
Third Period
The Timbermen refused to go away, as Matt Boas and Sheridan scored to erase the two-goal deficit and tie the game at 6-6.
Nick Preston restored the Shamrocks’ lead before Sheridan completed his hat trick at 15:04 to tie the game once again.
The frantic finish featured three goals in just over a minute. Manns put Victoria ahead 8-7 only 20 seconds after Sheridan’s goal, but Phillips answered just seven seconds later to tie it once again.
The decisive moment came with 3:21 remaining when Brodie Wade scored his second goal of the game off a setup from Manns and Dodds, lifting the Shamrocks to a 9-8 victory.
Top Scorers
Victoria Shamrocks
- Brodie Wade, 2g 1a
- Chris Wardle, 2g 1a
- Zach Manns, 1g 1a
- Patrick Dodds, 2a
Nanaimo Timbermen
- Ryan Sheridan, 3g 2a
- Andrew Bowman, 1g 2a
- Gord Phillips, 2g
- Matt Boas, 1g 1a
- Noah Manning, 2a
- Josh Gabriele, 2a
Three Stars
- Chris Origlieri, Victoria Shamrocks
- Ryan Sheridan, Nanaimo Timbermen
- Denton MacDonald, Victoria Shamrocks
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