1 Victoria Shamrocks (LW – 1)
Record: 11-2-0 Goal Differential: +60
Last Week: 11-6 W vs. Langley, 14-7 W vs. Burnaby
This Week: vs. Coquitlam, vs. Nanaimo
It was business per usual for the Shamrocks, who beat two tough teams rather handily to push their WLA league lead to three games over second-place New Westminster.
It was the defence that lead the charge for much of the night in Victoria’s gritty 11-6 win over the Thunder. But the offence was able to return the favour in Burnaby, all but putting the game away before the third period; they lead 13-4 after 40 minutes. It has to be disconcerting for teams to see Victoria winning in more ways than one, especially with the defence coming around. Although, it was hard not to see the D coming around, given the stable of talent they have coming out of the back gate.
Cody Hagedorn had two good performances in Aaron Bold’s absence, allowing 13 goals on 73 shots.
2 Maple Ridge Burrards (3)
Record: 5-8-0 Goal Differential: 0
Last Week: 15-14 W (OT) vs. Coquitlam, 12-9 W vs. Langley, 11-10 L vs. New West
This Week: vs. Coquitlam
As many predicted around the league, the Burrards didn’t allow their opening-season woes to define their campaign, and they have vaulted right back into playoff contention with a pair of big wins. Their tough loss in New West has taken an odd turn as well, as the Burrards look set to receive the two points from that game due to the ‘Bellies playing hold-out Neil Tyacke as the backup in two contests.
That swing in points may be a game changer in the playoff landscape, especially if it means a team like Burnaby or Langley is left on the outside looking in. But the Burrards deserve to be in the top four at some point during the season, given their balanced mix of talent. If they want another shot at Victoria, though, Ridge will need to find a way to get by New West.
3 New Westminster Salmonbellies (4)
Record: 8-5-0 Goal Differential: +5
Last Week: 9-7 L vs. Burnaby, 11-10 W vs. Maple Ridge
This Week: vs. Langley, vs. Coquitlam
It has to be disappointing to drop two points in a big win over a rival, but the ‘Bellies are still in good position in the WLA standings and regaining their form from the start of the season.
Goaltender Eric Penney is also rounding into fine form, making 40 saves on 50 shots and closing out the game with a couple of big saves. New West is also getting Keegan Bal back, who made a solid return with a five point effort behind a pair of goals and three assists. That will definitely give New West more looks on O, but maybe more importantly, more speed on the perimeter.
Next week, they get a chance to avenge a pair of tough losses to Langley and Coquitlam.
4 Burnaby Lakers (5)
Record: 6-6-0 Goal Differential: -16
Last Week: 9-7 W vs. New West, 14-7 L vs. Victoria
This Week: vs. Nanaimo
The Lakers are the latest team to look helpless against the Shamrock juggernaut, but after getting the game taken to them through 40 minutes, they played a pretty solid third period. Of course, it takes a 60 minute effort in most cases to score a win over Victoria, but you have to take the positives from the negatives and Burnaby will surely do that.
The Lakers are winners of three of five and get Nanaimo coming to the Mainland on a Friday night next week. Look for them to take full advantage of the travel factor to go back above .500.
5 Langley Thunder (2)
Record: 7-7-0 Goal Differential: -4
Last Week: 11-6 L vs. Victoria, 7-6, 13-11 (OT) W vs. Nanaimo, 12-9 L vs. Maple Ridge
This Week: vs. New Westminster
Tough week for the Thunder as they split their four games, but it’s not an entirely bad week given how many games they had. They won the two games they were expected to win against the T-Men but stumbled against Maple Ridge, who now owns the season series advantage over them. That may be a factor in the playoff race, especially with the Burrards holding a game in hand.
Patrick Saunders continues to have a quality year for Langley, taking over the WLA lead in goals scored with 24—just one more than Victoria’s Jesse King. Alongside Ratcliff and Iannucci, the Thunder are getting consistent production, but they could use a little more consistency in net to allow that offence to become more of a difference maker.
6 Coquitlam Adanacs (6)
Record: 4-6-0 Goal Differential: -18
Last Week: 15-14 L (OT) vs. Maple Ridge
This Week: vs. Victoria, vs. Nanaimo, vs. Maple Ridge, vs. New Westminster
Playing just 10 games this season, the Adanacs haven’t had the time some other clubs have had to find some chemistry and consistency. Another one game week for Coquitlam, a high-scoring overtime affair loss to Maple Ridge, means they fall back to sixth place and two games behind Maple Ridge.
Their week this week consists of a couple of winnable games and another visit to Victoria, where they fared well last time. We will likely get a pretty good sense of where Coquitlam’s playoff hopes are trending after this week. A potential 1-3 week would be a major blow to those chances.
7 Nanaimo Timbermen (7)
Record: 2-9-0 Goal Differential: -27
Last Week: 7-6, 13-11 (OT) L vs. Langley
This Week: vs. Coquitlam, vs. Victoria, vs. Burnaby
The Timbermen continue to learn how tough it is to win in the WLA, but they are clearly getting better every week, even if luck may not be on their side. They played the Thunder tough in their pair of games this week, pushing the return game to overtime on the road. As the narrative has been through their season, though, they just didn’t have enough gas to get by.
You have to wonder what the next step of Nanaimo’s development will be though. While the youth are getting some valuable experience, Nanaimo needs to start finding guys who have won before. Veterans beyond a guy like Cayle Ratcliff insulate that inexperience and the T-Men just don’t have that right now.
