Tonight in the WLA there are two key games on the schedule as the Langley Thunder face off against the Burnaby Lakers while the Coquitlam Adanacs face off against the first place Victoria Shamrocks.
Langley Thunder vs. Burnaby Lakers
The Thunder come into this game after fighting to a stalemate with the New Westminster Salmonbellies on Wednesday night. While Burnaby is coming off their biggest win of the season as they defeated the Maple Ridge Burrards. Burnaby took the last meeting between these two teams as they squeaked out a 9-8 victory.
The Thunder owe their recent success to the strong play of Brodie MacDonald as he has been lights out in net for the Thunder and has kept them in the game when their offense has struggled at times this season. For Langley Athan Iannucci will need to spark the offense and open up space for fellow forwards Shayne Jackson and Alex Turner. If these three can control ball possession then Langley will win this game.
Burnaby has turned around their season recently thanks to the return of Scott Jones who has been stellar and thanks to Dane Stevens recent domination as he has 41 points on the season. Stevens is making a case to be the WLA MVP this season and if he can help the Lakers get into the playoffs he will make a strong case to win the award.
This will be another hard fought game between these two strong teams but expect Langley to avenge their earlier season loss to Burnaby and to keep pace with Victoria for first in the WLA.
Coquitam Adanacs vs. Victoria Shamrocks.
The Adanacs have been an interesting team to watch this season as they have been up and down all season. The Adanacs need to bring their best tonight if they hope to beat the Shamrocks. The Shamrocks drew first blood in the season series winning 10-6 in their first meeting.
The Shamrocks offense has been dynamite this season as they have three players in the top 10 of scoring while Jeff Shattler sit right outside the top 10 with 27 points on the season. If the Shamrocks can control ball possession and spread the ball between all their offensive weapons they will win this game easily. The Adanacs do not have the fire power to keep up with the Shamrocks.
The Adanacs first and foremost in this game need to play solid defense. The Adanacs need to play man to man defense and hold off the Shamrocks attack and force them to take low quality shots. Dane Dobbie has been the offensive engine for Coquitam notching 34 Points on the season. The Adanacs have got a recent offensive boost as Jeff Zywicki has added another offensive weapon for Coquitlam. Couitlam will also need Adam Shute to have one of his best games of the season if they hope to win this game.
In the end Victoria will once again defeat Coquitlam thanks to their superior offense as Coquitlam will have no answer for Victoria’s offense.
