Victoria Shamrocks Advance to the Minto Cup Final

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.

August 20, 2026

*Photo credit: National Junior A Lacrosse Championship of Canada on Facebook*

The Victoria Shamrocks led from start to finish to defeat the Calgary Mountaineers 9-2 in their semifinal matchup and advance to the Minto Cup Final.

Victoria jumped out to a 4-1 lead after the first period before completely shutting down Calgary’s offence in the second period.

The Shamrocks were led by Greysen Thompson with a goal and four assists. Evan McDougall had a hat trick, while Carter Quested had three assists.

Between the pipes, Greyson Beggs played the majority of the game and stopped 30 of 31 shots. Angus Snow played 9:04 and stopped three of four shots.

For the Mounties, their lone goals came from Caiden Moon and Callum Zarsky, with assists going to Wil Hofstetter and Ryan McDonald.

Justin Melnyk and Tommy St. Louis split the time in goal and combined to make 30 saves on 39 shots.

Victoria will now face the Okotoks Raiders in the championship final. Game 1 of the three-game series is Friday night.

First Period

Victoria got off to a quick start, with McDougall scoring 1:02 into the game.

Zarsky replied for the Mounties at 6:35 to tie the game.

The Shamrocks then ended the period with a three-goal run, started by McDougall 24 seconds later.

Ryan Lowe found the back of the net for the Shamrocks with 5:32 remaining, and Luca Pivetta scored shorthanded with 34 seconds left as Victoria led 4-1 heading into the second.

Second Period

Victoria was called for a boarding major 20 seconds into the second period, but that didn’t stop the Shamrocks.

Phillip Busenius, who has had an outstanding tournament, scored shorthanded at 4:12 to give Victoria a four-goal lead.

Jett Klassen extended the lead to 6-1 just over five minutes later. Busenius scored his second shorthanded goal of the game and the third for the Shamrocks at 11:02.

Thompson rounded out the scoring with 2:30 on the clock to put the Shamrocks up 8-1 heading into the third. Beggs stopped all eight shots he faced in the second period.