Saturday Night WLA Recap
Coquitlam Adanacs 11 vs. Burnaby Lakers 7
On Saturday night the Coquitlam Adanacs faced off against the Burnaby Lakers. Burnaby took the early lead in this game as Casey Jackson and Darren Kinnear scored to give the Lakers a 2-0 lead. Coquitlam though would respond with two goals to tie the game up. Jason Jones would then respond for Burnaby and gave the Lakers a 3-2 lead. Coquitlam though fought back and scored two consecutive goals to end the period with a 4-3 lead over the Lakers.
Early in the second period Casey Jackson would score on the power play for Burnaby in order to tie the game at 4. Coquitlam would take control of the game as Brett Hickey would spark a four goal streak for Coquitlam giving the Adanacs 8-4 lead. Burnaby would respond with a later goal to cut the lead to 8-5 at the end of two periods. Coquitlam would seal the game in the third period with two early goals from Scott Tinning and Matthew Dinsdale. Coquitlam would go on to win the game 11-7.
Sunday Night WLA Previews
New Westminster Salmonbellies (4-5-1) vs. Nanaimo Timbermen(3-7)
This will be the third meeting this season between these two teams this season. So far the two teams have split the series with each team winning one game. The Timbermen won the last meeting between these two teams on Thursday night as they took the game 14-11. Both teams will be motivated to win this game not only to win the season series between the two teams but to also improve their position in the WLA standings.
The last two meetings between these two teams have turned into offensive affairs with the two teams scoring 52 goals in two games. Expect this matchup to be no different as it will likely come down to the last few seconds. In the end the Salmonbellies will emerge victorious as they have the deeper offense and will be able to create mismatches which will enable them to win the game.
Victoria Shamrocks (7-2) vs. Maple Ridge Burrards(5-4)
The season series between these two teams is tied at 1-1. This will be the third and final matchup between these two teams. The Shamrocks will look to secure their hold on first place in the WLA while Maple Ridge will try to rebound after two straight losses. In their last meeting the Victoria Shamrocks dominated the game taking the win 14-9. Victoria has been rolling as of late and will look to get in the win column once again.
Both these two teams have talented offense but it will come down to a battle of the superstars. Curtis Dickson the current scoring leader in the WLA will go head to head with Corey Small who sits third in league scoring. Dickson has been the engine for the Burrards this season scoring 34 goals along with 28 assists. If Dickson is able to find space in this game he will carry the Burrards to victory. On the other side the Shamrocks have Corey Small who has led one of the most talented offenses in the WLA. The advantage Small has is the players he has around him as Cory Conway, and Scott Ranger have also been phenomenal. Small is so dangerous as he can either score himself or draw the focus of the defense and open up space for Ranger and Conway.
In conclusion the Shamrocks will win a close game between these two teams. The Shamrocks will win this game as Matt Vinc the reigning NLL Goaltender of the year has joined the team and will give the Shamrocks the edge in this matchup.
