The Victoria Shamrocks won their season opener 9-4 on home floor against the Coquitlam Adanacs on Friday night.
One of the bigger surprises was Adam Bland, who got the start between the pipes for Victoria, outdueling Coquitlam’s Christian Del Bianco.
Question marks remain surrounding Coquitlam’s defence, as Del Bianco faced 59 shots in the loss. Meanwhile, Bland stopped 30 of 34 shots in the victory.
Coquitlam held a 4-3 lead midway through the second period. However, Victoria scored six unanswered goals to pull away for the win.
Cole Pickup led the way for Victoria with two goals and an assist, while Zach Manns, Patrick Dodds, and Brenden Jamieson each recorded a goal and two assists.
For Coquitlam, Dennon Armstrong was the only player with a multi-point night, picking up two assists.
First Period
Coquitlam opened the scoring when Ben Coghill found the back of the net 2:20 into the game.
Victoria answered right back, with Jamieson scoring for the Shamrocks at the 6:06 mark.
Special teams took over at the 13:01 mark as Armstrong found Laszlo Henning for a power-play goal to give the Adanacs a 2-1 lead.
The Shamrocks tied the game again with 4:05 remaining in the period as Jacob Hickey scored, with Denton MacDonald picking up an assist.
Coquitlam rounded out the scoring when Sean Kriwoken found the back of the net with 1:27 left in the period to make it 3-2 for the Adanacs after the opening frame.
Second Period
Victoria shut down Coquitlam’s offence over the final two periods, outscoring the Adanacs 7-1.
Pickup opened the second-period scoring at the 1:56 mark to tie the game 3-3.
The Adanacs regained the lead at the 9:48 mark when Aden Marcher found Carter Cook, but it was all Victoria after that.
Pickup scored again at the 14:17 mark to tie the game and spark a six-goal run for the Shamrocks.
Ari Stevens found the back of the net with 2:31 remaining to give Victoria its first lead of the game. Manns rounded out the second-period scoring with 1:10 left as the Shamrocks took a 6-4 lead into the final frame.
Third Period
Coquitlam managed only seven shots on goal in the third period, and Bland turned aside every attempt.
Chris Wardle opened the third-period scoring at the 9:25 mark, followed by Nick Preston at 14:05.
Dodds rounded out the scoring with 1:45 remaining to make the final 9-4 as the Victoria Shamrocks captured their season opener.
Top Scorers
Victoria Shamrocks
- Cole Pickup, 2g 1a
- Zach Manns, 1g 2a
- Patrick Dodds, 1g 2a
- Brenden Jamieson, 1g 2a
Coquitlam Adanacs
- Dennon Armstrong, 2a
Three Stars
- Adam Bland, Victoria Shamrocks
- Brenden Jamieson, Victoria Shamrocks
- Ben Coghill, Coquitlam Adanacs
Don’t forget to check us out every Sunday night at 8pm (ET)
