On Friday night the Victoria Shamrocks (5-2) host the Maple Ridge Burrards (5-2) in a battle for first place in the WLA. Maple Ridge is coming into this game after winning a nail biter against New Westminster. Victoria on the other hand are coming in having lost a close game to Burnaby in their last outing.
In the last meeting between these teams the Burrards gave the Shamrocks their first loss of the season as they beat the Shamrocks 13-10. Victoria was victimized by Curtis Dickson as he scored four goals and two assists and led the Burrards offense. The Burrards did a good job of slowing down the potent Shamrock’s offense and made the Shamrocks go 0-3 on the power play. Chris Levis made a statement as he stopped 37 of 47 shots.
The Shamrocks in this game need to get their offense going against the Burrards as the Burrards are one of the few teams that can come close to matching the Shamrocks offensive output. In their last meeting the Shamrocks held Cory Conway and Scott Ranger in check. Both these players will need to find a way to contribute more in this game if the Shamrocks want to have success. The Shamrocks will need to spread the ball around and use their offensive depth in order to overwhelm Chris Levis and the Burrards defense. The Shamrocks if they play to their potential should be able to beat the Burrards.
The Burrards in their last meeting with the Shamrocks were successful as they had Bradon Bertoia, Aaron Pascas, Mike Mallory and Jarrett Davis to step up and support Curtis Dickson. If Dickson is able to open up space he will be able to open up the floor and continue to spread the ball around. The Burrards will need their offense to do the exact thing they did last game against the Shamrocks and generate numerous scoring chances against the Shamrocks. The Burrards will need to play solid defense and once again shutdown Ranger and Conway while limiting the rest of the Shamrocks offense.
In the end expect the Shamrocks to get their revenge as their offense will be able to overwhelm the Burrards and win this game although it will be close and probably come down to the final minutes of the game.
