The Victoria Shamrocks picked up a 10-6 win over the Burnaby Lakers on Tuesday night to force a showdown for first place in the final game of the regular season.
The Coquitlam Adanacs currently sit atop the standings with a record of 14-2-1, two points ahead of Victoria at 13-3-1.
These two teams will meet on Saturday in the regular-season finale. The winner will claim first place, home-floor advantage throughout the playoffs, and a first-round matchup against the Maple Ridge Burrards. The loser will face the third-place New Westminster Salmonbellies in the opening round.
The Burnaby Lakers have already been eliminated from playoff contention.
On Tuesday, Victoria built a commanding 10-2 lead after two periods. Burnaby shut the Shamrocks out in the third, but could only manage four goals as their comeback fell short.
Ben McDonald scored five of Burnaby’s six goals, while Marc Russell Rippberger and Keegan Melenychuk split time in goal.
Andrew Kew led the Shamrocks with four goals, while Zach Manns added a hat trick. Cam Dunkerley got the start for Victoria and stopped 45 of 51 shots in the win.
Big First Period For The Shamrocks
Cole Pickup opened the scoring at 2:03 for Victoria off a feed from Will Johansen. The Lakers replied 47 seconds later when McDonald found the back of the net.
The Shamrocks took over from there with a five-goal run. Kew started the surge at 4:26 and added his second goal just 45 seconds later to make it 3-1.
Manns scored at 6:08, followed by Ari Stevens unassisted at 7:44. Kew completed his hat trick at 15:42 to put Victoria up 6-1.
McDonald struck back unassisted at 19:02, but Manns responded with six seconds left as the Shamrocks led 7-2 after the first period.
Lakers Shut Out In The Second
Dunkerley stopped all 16 shots he faced in the second period, while the Shamrocks outscored Burnaby 3-0.
Kew opened the period at 9:17, and off the ensuing faceoff, Johansen scored just 14 seconds later to make it 9-2.
Manns capped the period with a shorthanded marker at 16:14, sending Victoria into the third with a 10-2 lead.
Deficit Too Much For Burnaby
Burnaby blanked Victoria in the third period, but the eight-goal gap was insurmountable.
McDonald scored 37 seconds into the period, then added a power-play goal at 11:26. He completed his natural hat trick at 16:26 to cut the lead to 10-5.
Jack Charboneau scored with 2:25 left, but Victoria held on for a 10-6 win to force a showdown for first place against Coquitlam to close out the regular season.
Top Scorers
Victoria Shamrocks
- Andrew Kew – 4g, 2a
- Zach Manns – 3g, 1a
- Kyle Pepper – 3a
- Clarke Petterson – 3a
Burnaby Lakers
- Ben McDonald – 5g
- Jack Charboneau – 1g, 2a
- Gordie Phillips – 2a
Three Stars
- Andrew Kew, Victoria Shamrocks
- Ben McDonald, Burnaby Lakers
- Ari Stevens, Victoria Shamrocks
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