On Sunday night game five of the WLA final took place. Victoria Took game four in overtime by a score of 4-3 in order to tie the series. Both teams came into this game looking to take the series lead. Victoria got more bad news before game five though as not only were they going to be without leading scorer Corey Small but also their second leading scorer Rhys Duch due to injury.
The game got off to a slow start and was beginning to look like another defensive battle between these two teams until Cory Conway broke the deadlock with eight minutes left in the period to give Victoria a 1-0. Victoria would quickly build on their momentum as Mitch Jones scored to put the Shamrocks up 2-0. Langley would get into this game thanks to a goal from Dane Dobbie but the Shamrocks would restore their two goal lead to make it 3-1. With just a second to go in the period Steven Neufeld would score to make it a one goal lead as Langley trailed 3-2 at the end of the first period.
In the second period Langley would waste no time as Dane Dobbie scored his second goal of the night to tie the game 3-3. Victoria would answer with a pair of goals from Jon Harnett and Scott Ranger to take the lead 5-3. Langley would respond with a barrage of goals to take the lead as Mark Matthews, Garrett Billings, and Brett Mydske found the back of the net to put the Thunder up 6-5. Victoria would not be denied their lead as Brody Eastwood would tie the game 6-6 and then Mitch Jones and Dan MacRae would score to end the period putting the Shamrocks ahead 8-6 at the end of two periods of play.
In the third the Shamrocks would extend their lead as Cory Conway would score to put the Shamrocks in front 9-6. Langley would not back down as Athan Iannucci and Adam Jones scored to pull this game within one and give the Thunder hope as the score was now 9-8. Langley would pull their goalie for the extra attacker but could not get the equalizer as Tyler Hass and Mitch Jones scored to seal the Shamrocks 11-8 victory. The Shamrocks now lead the series 3-2 as it heads back to Victoria. The Shamrocks finally found a way to hold off the Langley attack which has been a problem for them in this series as they were falling apart in the third period and allowing the Thunder to take control which enabled the Thunder to win games one and three. The Shamrocks will need to continue their strong play if they hope to win the WLA final while the Thunder will need to kick it up a notch to beat the Shamrocks who have begun to evolve and figure out Langley’s game.
