The Coquitlam Adanacs defeated the Victoria Shamrocks 11-6 in a first-place showdown to close out the WLA regular season on Saturday night.
Coquitlam’s win secures the first overall seed heading into the playoffs, giving them home-floor advantage throughout. They will face the fourth-place Maple Ridge Burrards in the opening round.
For Victoria, it was a missed opportunity. A victory would have put them in first place, but because of an earlier tie, the Shamrocks finish third, one point out of second. They will meet the New Westminster Salmonbellies in the first round, with New Westminster holding home-floor advantage.
Saturday’s game was tight early, with just a one-goal difference heading into the third period. However, Coquitlam’s Christian Del Bianco shut the door, stopping all 14 shots he faced in the final frame, while the Adanacs scored four unanswered goals.
Dennon Armstrong led Coquitlam with a hat trick and four points. David Charney added two goals, and Del Bianco made 40 saves on 46 shots.
For the Shamrocks, Clarke Petterson posted six points (1G, 5A), while Zach Manns recorded a hat trick. Chris Origlieri started in goal for Victoria, stopping 35 of 45 shots.
Adanacs Open with a Slight Lead
The first period stayed scoreless for more than 10 minutes before Jacob Saunders broke the ice for Coquitlam at 10:52.
Victoria answered with two goals from Manns at 12:03 and 13:47 to take a 2-1 lead. Armstrong tied the game at 14:14 and then scored again at 15:46, giving the Adanacs a 3-2 lead after one.
Shamrocks Keep It Close
Noakes extended the Adanacs’ lead to 4-2 just 1:53 into the second period. Charney added another at 5:16 to make it 5-2.
Petterson responded for Victoria at 8:47, but Armstrong completed his hat trick at 11:11.
The Shamrocks rallied with a three-goal run to tie the game. Andrew Kew scored at 11:32, Manns added his third at 13:05, and Marshal King knotted it at 6-6 at 17:25.
Rahe restored Coquitlam’s lead just 24 seconds later, making it 7-6 heading into the third.
Del Bianco Shuts the Door
Del Bianco was flawless in the third, and Coquitlam pulled away in the first-place showdown.
Charney scored at 6:22, followed by Kean Moon at 10:44. McIntyre made it 10-6 at 16:20, and Schenato added an empty-netter with 2:31 remaining win the first-place showdown 11-6.
Top Scorers
Coquitlam Adanacs
- Dennon Armstrong: 3G, 1A
- Adam Noakes: 1G, 2A
- Remo Schenato: 1G, 2A
Victoria Shamrocks
- Clarke Petterson: 1G, 5A
- Zach Manns: 3G, 1A
- Andrew Kew: 1G, 1A
- Marshal King: 1G, 1A
Three Stars
- Dennon Armstrong, Coquitlam Adanacs
- Clarke Petterson, Victoria Shamrocks
- Christian Del Bianco, Coquitlam Adanacs
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