1. Victoria Shamrocks (1)
Record: 9-2-0 Goal Differential: +48
Last Week: 18-8 W vs. New Westminster, 15-3 W vs. Coquitlam, 13-8 W vs. New Westminster
This Week: vs. Langley, vs. Burnaby
The Victoria Shamrocks have put a stranglehold on the rest of the WLA with one of the more dominant weeks of lacrosse in recent memory. After putting a combined 31 goals on New West and conceding just 16, Victoria has set the benchmark for what it will take to pull off the upset in the playoffs: play perfectly and efficiently on defence and hope the offence can score enough to keep up. It’s a pretty simple strategy, but hard to employ against a team with as many options as any senior team in the country, both offensively and defensively.
Aaron Bold has come in and played well for the Shamrocks, starting two games and allowing just 11 goals on 69 shots, good enough for a .841 save percentage. He was great against the Adanacs, although he wasn’t asked to do much: he faced just 28 shots in the 15-3 win.
You never want to start talking Mann Cup this early in the year, but it might be time to start discussing the possibility of the Shamrocks winning yet another WLA Championship.
2. Langley Thunder (4)
Record: 5-5-0 Goal Differential: +1
Last Week: 8-7 W vs. Burnaby
This Week: vs. Victoria, vs. Nanaimo, vs. Maple Ridge, vs. Nanaimo
Langley has a busy week after winning their lone game in close fashion, a big win over Burnaby that allows the Thunder to overtake the Lakers for third place in the standings. With Maple Ridge looking better every game and two key games against the Timbermen, Langley will need to continue their winning ways in order to keep themselves from falling back into a dogfight for the final two playoff spots.
There wasn’t a lot of offence to be had in the Burnaby game, with just 88 shots between the two teams. But give Langley credit for building a team that isn’t reliant on two to three players; six players still found the back of the net for those eight goals.
We’ll see how the Thunder fair on their upcoming back-to-back with the island teams. If Langley plays competitive against Victoria, they should start to find legitimate momentum as they head towards the playoffs.
In terms of roster moves, Langley moved Joel McCready from the Active List to their hold-out list, effectively ending his season with the Thunder after just one game played.
3. Maple Ridge Burrards (6)
Record: 3-7-0 Goal Differential: -3
Last Week: 12-8 W vs. Nanaimo
This Week: vs. Coquitlam, vs. Langley, vs. New Westminster
For being the two worst teams in the league record-wise, the game on Sunday night between the Burrards and the visiting Timbermen was an exciting affair with great transition lacrosse and a high tempo throughout. It was a game the Burrards really needed, not just to get back into the win column, but to establish some confidence ahead of an important week of lacrosse.
They had enough to put away Nanaimo in the third period after the T-Men led through most of the second period. Their four goal run to answer Eli McLaughlin’s then-go-ahead goal just 13 seconds into the third period was all the Burrards would need, but they showed glimpses of the team they want to be come playoff time. They ended up scoring six of the eight goals in the final frame.
4. New Westminster Salmonbellies (2)
Record: 7-4-0 Goal Differential: +14
Last Week: 18-8 L vs. Victoria, 13-8 L vs. Victoria
This Week: vs. Burnaby, vs. Maple Ridge
The Salmonbellies have fallen back down to earth after their pair of losses to the Shamrocks, but it’s good motivation for the post-season and provides some teachable moments for coach Steve Goodwin.
Given the talent we know New West has, this can’t be considered more than a minor slump, a result of maybe playing too tentatively offensively and too hesitantly on defence. They have two good opportunities to sort the bugs out, starting tonight when they make a trip to the swamp to play the Lakers, who are now suddenly just a game and a half back of New West. Later in the week, the Burrards come looking for revenge for a tough 7-6 loss earlier in the year, as well as a potential Amesbury-Birkhoff round two match. Ding, anybody?
5. Burnaby Lakers
Record: 5-5-0 Goal Differential: -11
Last Week: 8-7 L vs. Langley
This Week: vs. New Westminster, vs. Victoria
Despite a close loss that allowed Langley to overtake them in the standings, the Lakers have to believe in the nucleus they built and take the opportunities to make some noise in the upcoming weeks. They’ve played inconsistent ball and it’s resulted in a .500 record, but perhaps getting Tyler Digby back adds another element to their offence.
You also have to wonder if the back-end of the roster will be able to hold up throughout most of the year and if Tye Belanger will continue to be a beam of consistency in net. The Lakers don’t have very many backup options in either case, except if they decide to make room for some Junior A or Senior B call-ups.
6. Coquitlam Adanacs (5)
Record: 4-5-0 Goal Differential: -17
Last Week: 15-3 L vs. Victoria
This Week: vs. Maple Ridge
Well, 28 shots in a game doesn’t exactly put you in an optimal position to succeed, as the Adanacs found out last week against Victoria. This is where you see the difference between a top-flight team and Coquitlam, who’s still trying to figure out how to win consistently in the league.
Yet they’ve still only played nine games, and host a good Burrards team who play good two-way lacrosse, much in the same mould Coquitlam plays in. If they find a way over Maple Ridge, they open a two-game gap and really get themselves in the middle of the playoff race.
7. Nanaimo Timbermen (7)
Record: 2-7-0 Goal Differential: -24
Last Week: 12-8 L vs. Maple Ridge
This Week: vs. Langley x2
Sunday’s loss in Maple Ridge is basically a good snapshot of their season so far. After playing great for 40 minutes, the wheel’s sort of came off and all composure, and the game, was lost. After Maple Ridge made it 10-8, Zak Boychuk was visibly frustrated with his defence and the lack of tracking back in transition that cost Nanaimo the two previous goals. He came over, tore a piece out of his bench and went back in and made a few key stops in the process. I love to see that competitiveness from a goalie, or any player for that matter.
That’s why it will be tough to count Nanaimo out down the stretch, they’re an intense, young group who want to win. Whether they have enough pieces to consistently do so this year is a major question mark, they do have an intriguing core of players.
