On Friday night the Victoria Shamrocks (2-0) take on the Burnaby Lakers (0-1). The Shamrocks have been impressive so far this year and are one of the only two undefeated teams in the WLA. In the Shamrocks last game they made an example of New Westminster defeating them 10-7. While the Lakers fell in their first game 8-7.
The Shamrocks so far this season have been impressive. In their last game though it was Matt Flindell who shined and stole the show. Flindell made 44 saves on 51 shots and stymied the Salmon Bellies offense. Flindell will have another tough game ahead of him though if he can keep up his strong play he should be able to frustrate Burnaby. So far Victoria’s offense has been impressive as Jeff Shattler, Cory Conway, Scott Ranger and Cory Small have each been registering at least three points a game. The Shamrocks will have a good test in the form of Burnaby goalie Dan Lewis who has been a solid goalie during his career and seems to be on track for another great year after making 29 saves against the Timbermen. The Shamrocks will want to continue to follow their game plan by spreading the ball around in order to generate scoring chances against Burnaby. The Shamrocks offensive depth is their greatest strength so expect them to continue to use it.
The Burnaby Lakers lost a heartbreaker in their first game as they came up just short against the Timbermen. The Lakers had strong performances from Justin Salt and Jackson Decker who each had three points in the team’s first game. Against the Shamrocks the Lakers will need the rest of their offense to step up. Scott Tinning and Dane Stevens two of Burnaby’s top players were held off the score sheet in the Lakers first game. Expect Tinning and Stevens to break out against the Shamrocks if the Lakers want to have a chance of winning. Dan Lewis will be in tough against the Shamrocks but he has proven he is one of the best goalies in the WLA and looked sharp against the Timbermen. The Lakers will need to play tight defense against the Shamrocks and if they can force outside shots from the Shamrocks they will have a good chance of winning this game.
In the end the Shamrock should prevail in this game as they have been able to combine both good defense and great offense this year which has allowed them to be undefeated this year. The Shamrocks will improve to 3-0 after a tight game against Burnaby.
