The Victoria Shamrocks arrived home sunday with another season ending with a bitter taste in their mouth’s after losing in six games to the Mann Cup champion Six Nations Chiefs but really they have nothing to be ashamed about after a hard fought season which saw them repeat as WLA champs.
After finishing the season a stellar 14-2-2, the Rocks accomplished everything but the ultimate prize of a national championship but owning the WLA in more ways then one.
For starting goalie Matt Flindell to go 11-0-2 in a league as tightly contested as the WLA is no easy feet, he also put up a fantastic .683 GAA to go with his .834 save percentage to be in the conversation for goalie of the year, a prize which went to Frankie Scigliano after his impressive season with the Maple Ridge Burrards, but, from what I understand the voting came down to the last few votes so nothing to be ashamed of, and, until taking a huge shot off the mask in game four of the Mann Cup causing him to miss the rest of the tournament with a concussion he kept the Rocks in every game and made the Chiefs work for every ball they put behind him, just unfortunate to be forced out playing arguably his best lacrosse of his young career.
The Shamrocks roster was riddled with talent from the captain Scott Ranger who missed a few games and still ended the season with a dominant 31 points (12G,19A) in only 13 games played and also Rhys Duch and Corey Small who finished tied for the team lead in points with 76, only difference being Duch scoring a few more goals and Small passing the ball a few more times (Duch 40G,36A and Small 34G,42A) with both also finishing in the top five in league scoring overall.
We also can’t forget about a huge mid season trade that showed how serious the Shamrocks were about making a long Mann Cup run by acquiring Dhane Smith from the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks where he was among the top in league scoring in the MSL and just continued his strong play out west flourishing among a skilled roster amassing a total 21 points (8G,13A) in 9 regular season games but really waking up in the post season getting himself 41 points (10G,31A) in only 9 WLA playoff tilts and adding another 11 points (4G,7A) playing in only five of six games at the Mann Cup but without doubt made the impact that was needed to make the trade viable for the Rocks.
After going to last years NLL Champions Cup finals, and being a veteran of last years Mann Cup Karsen Leung also had another stellar regular season, his first as being an assistant captain on the Shamrocks and his defense and strong transition play saw him amass 17 points (9G,8A) in only 11 games played but it was his solid defense and timely loose balls he picked up that really made him into the consistent and smart player the Shamrocks and Calgary Roughnecks expect to see out of him and he has nowhere to go but up in his young career.
Looking to next year, the Shamrocks still have high hopes and championship expectations but that’s what happens when your back-to-back WLA champs and you continue to add depth, leadership and skill to a roster already bursting at the seams with talent and experience to which the Shamrocks used every bit of and losing two years in a row at the national championship has done nothing but teach them how close they are and what it really takes to get to the top and fuel that fire to get there!
