Tonight in the WLA the Victoria Shamrocks host the Maple Ridge Burrards. Heading into tonight’s game the Shamrocks sit in first place in the WLA with seven points while Maple Ridge is close behind in second place with four points. In their last game the Shamrocks defeated New Westminster 9-7 and will look to keep their winning ways going against the Burrards. The Burrards on the other hand are on a two-game losing streak and will look to break it against the first place Shamrocks.
In order for the Burrards to win they need to find some way to shut down Corey Small. Small has been on a tear this year and has shown no ill effects from the torn ACL he had repaired last summer. Small leads the league with 24 points and has been the spark for the Shamrocks offense. The Burrards need to keep him under control as much as they can or they will be in for a long night. Chris Levis in net will need to be on the top of his game as the Shamrocks have the highest scoring offense in the WLA this season so he will be barraged by shots all night. Levis will need to stand tall under the pressure and hold out in order to give his team a chance to win. Maple Ridge will need to get their offense going early and hopefully build a quick lead and try to avoid trading goals with Victoria as the Shamrocks will win thanks to their offense. The Burrards will need Andrew Murphy and Mike Mallory to lead by example on offense if they hope to win.
For the Shamrocks to win this game they will want to turn it into a run and gun affair. The Shamrocks need to take advantage of their superior offense against the Burrards and bury them early. The Shamrocks will need to spread the ball round as Small will be under heavy coverage but that should open up space for Rhys Duch and Jesse King who have been great so far this season for the Shamrocks. Matt Flindell should be able to handle whatever the Maple Ridge offense throws at him in net as he has been great this season posting a .824 save percentage and an 8.05 Goals against average. If Flindell can hold the Burrards offense then the Shamrocks should win this game.
After all is said and done the Victoria Shamrocks will win this game thanks to their superior offense. The Burrards will have no answer for Victoria’s offensive pressure and will crumble under it.
