With the WLA season wrapping up this weekend there were only three games on the schedule. The first two games were on Saturday night as the Victoria Shamrocks took on the Nanaimo Timbermen and the Coquitlam Adanacs took on the Burnaby Lakers. On Sunday night the Maple Ridge Burrards took on the New Westminster Salmonbellies in a must in game for New Westminster if they hoped to make the playoffs.
In the first game on Saturday the Victoria Shamrocks took on the Nanaimo Timbermen. Victoria were looking for a win in order to secure second place in the WLA while the Timbermen were playing for pride as they could not make the playoffs even with a win. Nanaimo drew first blood in the game as Joel Henry scored 3 minutes into the game while his teammate Ryan Keith would score just a minute late to give Nanaimo a 2-0 lead. Victoria though kicked their offense into high gear as Jeff Shattler, Michael Teeter, Mike Pires, and Corey Small each scored consecutively to give Victoria a 4-2 lead. Ryan Keith would strike for Nanaimo 10 minutes into the period in order to cut Victoria’s lead to one as the score now was 4-3. Victoria would respond once again with an offensive assault though as Micheal Teeter, Kyle Morwick, Ryan Benesch and Corey Small each scored in order to give Victoria a 8-3 lead heading into the second period. In the second period Nanaimo scored twice in the opening 5 minutes in order to cut the lead to 8-5. Victoria would extend their lead on a Mike Pires goal to make the score 9-5. Greg Harnett would score 13 seconds after Pires for Victoria to make the score 10-5. Nanaimo continued to scratch at the lead as Blake Kenny score to make it 10-6. Victoria would not give an inch though as Derek Lowe scored to extend the lead to 11-6. Nanaimo would continue to fight though as Scott Ranger and Graham Palmer scored for Nanaimo to make the score 11-8. Victoria would continue to build their lead as Mike Pires scored to extend Victoria’s lead to 12-8. In the third period the two team’s defenses stepped up and slowed the offensive assault for the first half of the period. At the halfway mark of the period Karsen Leung and Derek Lowe would score minutes apart in order to give Victoria a 14-8 lead. Nanaimo though fought till the end and received two more goals from Cody Bremner and Graham Palmer in order to make the score 14-10. Victoria would hold off Nanaimo though for the Victory.
Nanaimo will now look to the offseason and look to improve for next year. Victoria looked to be in playoff form tonight as they took control of this game early and never looked back. Victoria with the win remains in second place in the WLA with 22 points.
In the second game on Saturday night the Burnaby Lakers took on the Coquitlam Adanacs. Burnaby needed a win in this game to secure 4th place in the WLA and the last playoff spot while Coquitlam with a win would move into a tie for second with Victoria. The first period of this game was all Burnaby as Casey Jackson scored just 54 seconds into the game. Burnaby would then add goals from Scott Jones and Colton Clark in order to take a 3-0 lead. Coquitlam could not get their offense going in the first period as Burnaby’s defense shut them down in the period. In the second period Burnaby continued to build on their lead as Dane Stevens scored just a minute into the second period to give Burnaby a 4-0 lead. Daryl Veltman would get Coquitlam’s offense back on track as he scored 2 goals just minutes apart in order to cut Burnaby’s lead in half. Ryan Johnson would add another goal at the 11 minute mark  in the period for Coquitlam in order to make the score 4-3. Burnaby would extend their lead though before the period ended as Scott Jones and Dane Stevens scored to extend Burnaby’s lead to 6-3 at the end of the second period. In the third period Burnaby would continue to build their lead as Dane Stevens scored 3 minutes in to give Burnaby a 7-3 lead. Ryan Johnson would then get Coquitlam back in the game as he scored on the power play for Coquitlam and then scored a shorthanded goal to make the score 7-5. Burnaby though would prevent a comeback as Colton Clark scored to make Burnaby’s lead 8-5. Burnaby’s defense would hold off Coquitlam for the rest of the game to secure the 8-5 victory.
Burnaby with the win finish in fourth place in the WLA while Coquitlam with the loss finish third in the WLA. Burnaby played great in this game as they took control of the game from Coquitlam due to their dominance in the first period on both offense and defense. Dan Lewis was great in net stopping 24 of 29 shots on net. While Dane Stevens earned first star honors for his 3 goal and 2 assist performance and Scott Jones was named second star for his 2 goal and 3 assist performance. Burnaby will look to make some noise in the playoffs but will be in tough as all the teams are evenly matched.
In the final game of the WLA season the New Westminster Salmonbellies fought the Maple Ridge Burrards in a must win game. New Westminster needed a win in order to knock Burnaby out of the last playoff spot in the WLA. While Maple Ridge wanted to play spoiler and prevent New Westminster from making the playoffs. In the first period New Westminster drew first blood as Alex Gajic scored. Maple Ridge though scored consecutive goals as Curtis Dickson and Garrett McIntosh scored to make the score 2-1. Kevin Crowley would score for New Westminster with 4 minutes left in the period to make the score 2-2. Brandon Bertoia would score with 2 minutes left in the period to give Maple Ridge a 3-2 lead heading into the second period. In the second period New Westminster took the lead as Ilija Gajic scored 2 goals in the first 3 minutes of the period to give New Westminster a 4-3 lead. Maple Ridge though would control the rest of the period as they scored 5 goals in the period as Curtis Dickson scored 3 goals while Brandon Bertoia, and Patrick O’Meara each had a goal in order to give Maple Ridge a 8-4 lead at the end of the second period. Maple Ridge would continue their offensive assault in the third period as Curtis Dickson and Creighton Reid scored to extend Maple Ridge’s lead to 10-4. New Westminster fought back though as Alex Gajic and Corbyn Tao scored in order to make the score 10-6. Maple Ridge would not let up and scored another two goals from Curtis Dickson and Dayne Michaud. Maple Ridge’s defense would then hold off New Westminster’s offense for the 12-6 victory.
Maple Ridge ends a dreadful season on a winning note while New Westminster let the playoffs slip through their fingers. New Westminster’s inability to win on the road cost them a playoff position as they had a road record of 1-9. Both these teams will be busy in the offseason as try to improve in order to make the playoffs next year.
The final standings of the WLA are the following:
- Langley Thunder
- Victoria Shamrocks
- Coquitlam Adanacs
- Burnaby Lakers
- New Westminster Salmonbellies
- Nanaimo Timbermen
- Maple Ridge Burrards
The first round playoff matchups will be the Langley Thunder against the Burnaby Lakers and the Victoria Shamrocks against the Coquitlam Adanacs. Expect the playoffs to be exciting as all four of these teams were very evenly matched in the regular season.
