There were 3 games on the WLA schedule this weekend. The first game this weekend was on Friday night as the Burnaby Lakers took on the Nanaimo Timbermen. On Saturday there were two games on the WLA schedule as the Coquitlam Adanacs took on the Victoria Shamrocks and the Nanaimo Timbermen faced off against the Maple Ridge Burrards. With the WLA standings being so tight each game has gained importance as with one loss a team can quickly find themselves without a spot in the playoffs.
The first game this weekend was between the Nanaimo Timbermen and the Burnaby Lakers. Nanaimo struck first just 24 seconds into the game as Scott Ranger scored to continue his great offensive season. Burnaby though would begin to take full control of this game as they started to frustrate Nanaimo. Burnaby received a goal from Casey Jackson to tie the game then Bryan Safarik added a shorthanded goal for Burnaby to make the score 2-1. Burnaby continued the offensive pressure as Jackson Decker scored to make it 3-1 Burnaby. Nanaimo began to get undisciplined by taking four straight penalties. Burnaby did not pass on this opportunity though as Dane Stevens scored on three of the power plays to complete a first period hat trick while Casey Jackson scored on the fourth power play.  Burnaby’s ability to go 4 for 4 on the power play gave them full control of this game as the score was now 7-1. Burnaby would add another goal to make the score 8-1. Before the period ended Nanaimo showed some life as they capitalized on a Burnaby penalty in order to make the score 8-2. After one period of play Nanaimo was getting out played on both offense and defense and appeared to be out matched by Burnaby.
Nanaimo started the second period by continuing to build off the momentum from their late goal in the first period as they scored three consecutive goals to open the second period and make the score 8-5. Burnaby though continued to get the edge on offense as they added another two goals to make the score 10-5. Nanaimo was not deterred though as Sean Nugent and Cayle Ratcliff both scored for the Timbermen to end the second period. After two periods the score was 10-7 for Burnaby but Nanaimo had managed to climb their way back into this game. In the third period Burnaby opened the scoring to extend their lead to 11-7. Nanaimo though did not back down as they continued to exploit Burnaby’s defense by scoring five straight goals in order to take the lead 12-11. Burnaby though would receive a goal from Casey Jackson with just two minutes left in the game to tie the game 12-12. This game needed overtime to declare a winner. In overtime Burnaby dominated as Colton Clark and Peter McFetridge scored to give Burnaby the 14-12 victory as Burnaby was able to shutdown Nanaimo’s offense in overtime.
This game showed the great resolve of Nanaimo as they fought back in this game and were able to adjust on defense as they held Burnaby to just 4 goals after getting beat for 8 goals in the first period. Zach Boychuk was the main reason for this as he took over for Matt King who gave up all 8 first period goals. Boychuk would go on to stop 39 of 49 shots on net. Burnaby was able to win this game due to their offense as they never got complacent and kept building on their lead and were finally able to put away Nanaimo in overtime. Scott Jones of Burnaby earned the first star of the game for his 5 assist performance, Cody Bremner of Nanaimo earned second star honors for his 3 goal and 2 assist performance and Dane Stevens of Burnaby earned third star honors for his 3 goal and 4 assist performance. Burnaby moves into second place with the win while Nanaimo fall to second last after the loss. Burnaby will next be in action Friday July 20 against Coquitlam. Nanaimo though would receive no rest as they were back in action Saturday night against the Maple Ridge Burrards.
In Nanaimo’s second game of the weekend they took on the Maple Ridge Burrards on Saturday night. This was a rematch of their game from last Sunday in which Maple Ridge walked away with a 10-9 win over Nanaimo. So Nanaimo came into this game looking for revenge.
These two teams showed how evenly matched they were in the first period as the two teams exchanged goals with each team being able to score 4 goals. After the first period the game was tied 4-4. In the second period Maple Ridge struck first which gave them the lead 5-4. Nanaimo though would respond with two goals of their own in order to make the score 6-5. Maple Ridge though would once again answer back with goals from Jarrett Davis, and Riley Loewen in order to take a 7-6 lead. Nanaimo decided to change things up after Maple Ridge regained the lead as they pulled goalie Matt King who had only made 13 saves on 20 shots on net and brought in Zach Boychuk in hopes he could stop Maple Ridge’s attack and give Nanaimo the edge. After the goalie switch Nanaimo were able to build a lead as Scott Ranger, Cody Bremner and Kaleb Toth each scored before the period ended to give Nanaimo a 9-7 lead. Nanaimo went into the third period with a lead due to strong play from Zach Boychuk in the second period as he was able to hold off Maple Ridge’s offense. In the third period Nanaimo continued to build their lead as Myles Kenny scored shorthanded to make the score 10-7. Maple Ridge tried to comeback as Jarrett Davis scored in order to make the score 10-8. Nanaimo though quickly squashed the comeback as Cayle Ratcliff scored twice in order to give Nanaimo a 12-8 lead. Maple Ridge scored one final goal to make the score 12-9 but it was a close as they got as Nanaimo was able to play strong defense in the third period and stall Maple Ridge’s offense.
Nanaimo was able to win this game due to making adjustments on defense the biggest of which though was switching goalies and brining Zach Boychuk into the game as he stopped 23 of 25 shots on net and stymied Maple Ridge. Maple Ridge lost this game due to their inability to switch tactics on offense in order to solve Zach Boychuk and in the end cost them the game. The first star of the game was Kenny Myles who had a 3 goal performance, the second star of the game was Jarrett Davis of Maple Ridge who had a 4 goal 3 assist performance, and the third star was Cayle Ratcliff who had 2 goals and 2 assists on the night. With the win Nanaimo sit one point out of third place while Maple Ridge with the loss continues to hold sole possession of last place in the WLA. Nanaimo will next be in action Thursday July 19 against the New Westminster Salmonbellies. Maple Ridge will next be in action Maple Ridge will next be in action on Sunday July 15th against the Coquitlam Adanacs.
The second game on Saturday night was between the Coquitlam Adanacs and the Victoria Shamrocks. Victoria came into this game looking to avenge their loss to Coquitlam last Saturday as they lost 9-8. Coquitlam opened the scoring in the game on a goal by Dane Dobbie in order to give Coquitlam a 1-0 lead. Most of the first period was a defensive chest match between the two teams as neither could get their offense going. With just about 8 minutes left in the period though Coquitlam struck again to take a 2-0 lead. Victoria responded though with consecutive goals from Corey Small in order to tie the game. The two teams then exchanged goals to end the period as the game was tied 3-3 after one period of play. The second period began by both team defenses continuing their strong defensive play but 6 minutes into the period Kevin Olson scored to give Coquitlam a 4-3 lead. Dane Dobbie and Kevin Olson would then continue the Coquitlam offensive assault by adding two more goals to extend their lead to 6-3. Victoria though responded as Corey Small and Derek Lowe scored to cut the lead to just one and make the score 6-5. The third period began with Coquitlam extending their lead on a Travis Cornwall goal to make the score 7-5. Victoria though would kick their offense into gear and score three straight goals in order to take the lead 8-7. Coquitlam though once again received goals from Dane Dobbie and Kevin Olson which once again gave Coquitlam the lead 9-8. Victoria would score with four minutes left to tie the game 9-9. Coquitlam though would receive late game heroics from Dane Dobbie who scored with just 56 seconds left in the game in order to give Coquitlam the 10-9 victory.
Coquitlam and Victoria once again proved how even they were as both team’s defenses and offenses were able to match each other move for move. Coquitlam though gained the advantage due to the excellent play of Nick Rose in net as he stopped 48 out of 57 shots on net. While Matt Flindell and Chris Levis struggled in net for Victoria and could not shutdown the Coquitlam offense. The first star of the game was Coquitlam’s Dane Dobbie for his 4 goal and 2 assist performance, the second star was Victoria’s Corey Small for his 5 goal performance, and the third star was Coquitlam’s Kevin Olson who had 4 goals and 2 assists on the night. With the win Coquitlam move into a tie for third place with Victoria who stayed in third due to their loss. Coquitlam will next be in action on Sunday July 15 against the Maple Ridge Burrards. Victoria will next be in action on Tuesday July 17th against the New Westminster Salmonbellies.
