There were four games on the WLA schedule this weekend. There were two matchups on Friday night as Burnaby took on New Westminster and Victoria took on Langley. On Saturday night Langley took on Nanaimo and Victoria took on Coquitlam.
In the first game on Friday night the Burnaby Lakers took on the New Westminster Salmonbellies. The first period between these two teams was close as Burnaby only lead 2-1 after one period of play. In the second period New Westminster’s offense got going as they scored two goals in the period but Burnaby’s offense was up to the task and scored three goals of their own to make the score 5-3. In the third period though Burnaby sealed their win by playing excellent defense as they held New Westminster’s to just a single lead while Burnaby built their lead by scoring four more goals to make the final score 9-4 in favor of Burnaby. With the loss New Westminster falls to 6-7 with the loss. Burnaby improves to 6-5-2 on the season and remain in third place in the WLA.
New Westminster lost this game due to their poor defense as Burnaby was able to get the edge due to their ability to find holes in the New Westminster’s defense. The other reason New Westminster lost is due to their poor play on the road as they are 1-6 in road games this season.
Burnaby won this game due to their strong defensive play and Dan Lewis’ strong play in net. Burnaby received great performances from Dane Stevens who was named first star, Scott Jones who was name second star, and Jackson Decker who was named third star. Burnaby will next be in action July 13 against Nanaimo. While New Westminster meet the Langley thunder on Thursday July 12.
The second game on Friday night was between the Victoria Shamrocks and the Langley Thunder. The game got off to a frantic start as both teams found success early on offense as the score was tied 5-5 after one period of play. The two teams continued to fight back and forth in the second period but Langley was able to gain a slight edge and lead 10-8 after two periods of play. In the third period Victoria was able to gain the advantage on offense and out score Langley 3-1 in the period. 60 minutes of play though solve nothing as the two teams were tied 11-11. In overtime Langley was able to put the game away as they shutdown Victoria’s offense and scored 3 unanswered goals to win the game 14-11.
These two teams once again showed how evenly matched they are as the game came down to which team was better in overtime. Unfortunately for Victoria the Langley Thunder were able to win the game due to their ability to re-adjust on defense which enabled them to shutdown Victoria’s offense. Langley was able to win due to the strong play of Lewis Ratcliff who had 4 goals and 2 assists in the game and earned first star honors while Athan Iannucci had 3 goals and 4 assists and was named third star of the game. Victoria though saw strong play from rookie Karsen Leung who showed off his playmaking skills with 7 assists and earned second star of the game. With the win Langley improves to 9-4 on the season and a hold a four point lead on the Victoria Shamrocks for first place in the WLA. With the loss Victoria fall to 7-4 and remain in second place in the WLA.
The first game on Saturday night was between the Nanaaimo Timbermen and the Langley Thunder. In the first period the two teams traded blow back and forth on offense and were pretty even as the score after one period of play was 2-2. In the second period Langley jumped out to a quick lead scoring three consecutive goals in order to take the lead 5-2. Nanaimo though would answer back by scoring two goals of their own but Langley added another goal to extend their lead making the score 6-4 after two periods of play. In the Third period Langley continued to build their lead by scoring to open the period in order to make the score 7-4. Nanaimo though would score to try and attempt a comeback. Langley though stopped them in their tracks by scoring two consecutive goals to make the score 9-5. Nanaimo would add one more goal but Langley would take the game 9-6.
Langley won this game due to Steve Fryer’s strong play as he stopped 48 of 54 shots on net and was able to shutdown Nanaimo’s offense. For his performance Fryer earned second star of the game. Langley also received strong play from their offense lead by Athan Iannucci who had 1 goal on the night which helped spark the offence. Langley extended their lead in the WLA to six points over second place Victoria with the win and will next be in action Thursday July 12 against the New Westminster Salmonbellies.
Nanaimo lost this game due to their defense as they allowed Langley to open up the floor and find cracks in their defense. Matt King was good in net for Nanaimo but struggled just a bit as he only stopped 32 of 41 shots on net. Nanaimo though was able to keep this game close due to their ability to dominate on the power play as they went 4 for 7 on the man advantage. Nanaimo was lead on offense by Scott Ranger’s 2 goal 1 assist performance that earned him third star of the game. Nanaimo falls to sixth place in the league with the loss and will next be in action Sunday July 8th against Maple Ridge.
The Second game on Saturday night was between the Victoria Shamrocks and the Coquitlam Adanacs. In the first period the two offenses went to work as both teams found offensive success early. Coqutilam though were able to grab the lead 4-3 at the end of the first period. In the second period Victoria took control as their offense heated up and scored 5 goals in the period and stepped it up on defense holding Coquitlam to just a single goal in the period. After two periods of play the score was 8-4 for Victoria. Coquitlam though rallied in the third period by playing strong defensively and shutting out Victoria’s offense in the period. Coquitlam though would score four consecutive goals in order to win the game 9-8.
Coquitlam won this game due to their ability to adapt on defense as they were able to shutdown Victoria’s offense in the third period despite their struggles against Victoria’s offense early in the game. Nick Rose was solid once again in net for Coquitlam and stopped 31 of 39 shots on net. Coquitlam though was lead in the game by Ryan Johnson who had 3 goals on the night and was named first star of the game. Coquitlam with the win move to 6-6 and remain in fourth place in the WLA. Coquitlam will next be in action on Saturday July 14 in a rematch against the Victoria Shamrocks.
The Shamrock showed in this game their offensive skill but were unable to find defensive success as Coquitlam was able to break their defense apart in the third period. Victoria’s inability to solve Coqutilam’s offense in the third period cost them the game. Victoria saw a good performance between the pipes from goal Matt Flindell who stopped 34 of 43 shots on net. Victoria was lead by forward Corey Small who had 3 goals and 2 assist on the night and was named second star of the game. With the loss Victoria remain in second place in the WLA with a record of 7-5. Victoria will next be in action on July 14 against Coquitlam.
