Shamrocks Take Season Series Over Maple Ridge

Shawn Slaght

I've been a professional journalist since 2005 and I've covered sports across Saskatchewan and Alberta including World Cup Alpine Skiing, national and world curling championships and junior hockey. I've been cover lacrosse and the Saskatchewan Rush since 2017.

The Victoria Shamrocks picked up a 5–3 win on Tuesday night to claim the season series against the Maple Ridge Burrards.

Victoria’s head-to-head record with Maple Ridge is now 2-0-1. The Shamrocks remain tied for first place with the Coquitlam Adanacs, both sitting at 12-2-1. With last week’s win over Langley, the Shamrocks have officially clinched a playoff spot.

Maple Ridge drops to 5-8-2 and remains two points ahead of the Langley Thunder for the fourth and final playoff spot in the WLA standings.

Tuesday’s matchup was a goaltending duel. Chris Origlieri stopped 43 of 46 shots for Victoria, while Brandon Humphrey turned aside 45 of 50 for Maple Ridge.

At the faceoff dot, Reese Barnes went six for 10 for the Burrards. For Victoria, Nate Wade went one for two and Kyle Pepper was three for five.

Quiet First Period

The opening period saw little scoring as both teams battled defensively. Maple Ridge struck first at 13:27 when Kaden Doughty scored shorthanded off a feed from Brayden Laity.

Victoria answered late in the frame, with Pepper burying a goal at 16:57 with assists from Patrick Dodds and Brodie Wade to tie the game 1-1.

Stalemate Continues Into the Second

The Shamrocks came out strong in the second. Zach Manns scored on the power play at 9:15, and Andrew Kew followed at 11:15 to make it 3-1 for Victoria.

Maple Ridge responded with a two-goal run to close the period. Rhys Porteous scored off a Marcus Klarich setup at 16:15, and Payton Cormier added a power-play goal with 2:40 left to even the game at 3-3 heading into the third.

Burrards Shut Out in the Third

Maple Ridge’s offence went silent in the third, despite outshooting Victoria 17-14 in the period. Origlieri stood tall, stopping everything that came his way.

Jesse King scored the game-winner at 3:49 off a feed from Dallas Wade. Kew added an insurance marker with 6:29 remaining to seal the 5-3 victory, giving Victoria the season series win over the Burrards.