Timbermen Fall to Undefeated Victoria Shamrocks

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.

Photo courtesy: Nanaimo Timbermen/Facebook

A five-goal second period propelled the Victoria Shamrocks to a 9–6 win over the Nanaimo Timbermen on Saturday night in WLA action.

Marshal King led the Shamrocks with four goals and one assist for five points, while Zach Manns recorded a hat trick against his former team.

Cam Dunkerley got the start in goal for Victoria, stopping 40 of 46 shots in the win. It was a long night for Colby Bowman between the pipes for Nanaimo, as he faced 58 shots and turned away 49.

With the victory, Victoria improves to 4–0, leaving the Shamrocks and the New Westminster Salmonbellies (3–0) as the league’s only undefeated teams. Meanwhile, Nanaimo remains winless at 0–3.

Shamrocks Hold Slight Edge in the First

The first period featured a series of scoring runs. Mathieu Gautier opened the scoring 6:53 into the game to give Victoria an early lead.

Nanaimo answered with two quick goals. Thomas Vaesen scored on the power play at 10:38, followed by a goal from Colin Bell off a Brenden Boyle feed at 12:00 to give the Timbermen a 2–1 lead.

Marshal King tied it up just over a minute later, beginning a run of seven unanswered goals for the Shamrocks. Clarke Petterson scored with one minute remaining in the period to give Victoria a 3–2 lead after one.

Victoria Dominates Second Period

The Shamrocks took control in the second period, scoring five straight goals. Zach Manns opened the scoring at 4:27 off a feed from Gautier.

Marshal King then went on a tear, scoring three straight. His first came on the power play at 6:30, followed by an unassisted goal 1:13 later. He capped the natural hat trick with his fourth goal of the game at 11:28.

Manns added his second goal—also on the power play—just 11 seconds later to make it 8–2.

Nanaimo finally responded with 35 seconds left in the period, as Ryan Sheridan found the back of the net with an assist from Colton Lidstone to make it 8–3 heading into the third.

Timbermen’s Comeback Falls Short

The Timbermen made a push in the third period behind the efforts of Sheridan and Luke Pilcher, but the deficit proved too much to overcome.

Sheridan scored on the power play just 1:08 into the period to cut the lead to 8–4.

However, Victoria struck back with a shorthanded goal from Manns at 7:28, restoring the five-goal cushion.

Pilcher responded quickly, scoring at 8:11 to bring Nanaimo within four. He added another with 4:08 remaining, but it wasn’t enough as the Shamrocks secured the 9–6 win.