Armstrong Shamrocks’ netminder Owen Siddall got his first start of the year and made the most of it with first-star honours in a 6-2 Okanagan X-treme Lacrosse League win over the Vernon Tigers Friday night at the Nor-Val Sports Centre.
Playing in front of a packed house for second leg of the Shamrocks’ annual Lacrosse Night in Lacrosseville doubleheader, both teams started the game cautiously. The Rocks’ short man was pressed into action early, killing off three straight powerplays, anchored by the Siddall’s superb 39-save performance.
“I just had outside shots all night. Our defence was unbelievable. I owe Devin Rodger seven beer because he blocked seven shots,” grinned Siddall, who was happy to help the Shamrocks break a two-game skid.
“I was pretty nervous to start, but once the balls start flying your way, you just go into goalie mode.”
Scoreless after 20 minutes, Armstrong, first overall at 5-2, came to life in the second frame with a trio of unanswered special teams goals, two on the powerplay and one shorthanded.
The Tigers, now 2-4, eventually stopped the bleeding when Steve Latimer connected on a powerplay to end the period 3-1 in favour of the Rocks.
The third period saw the Shamrocks in penalty trouble yet again, but the short man stepped up to shut down Vernon’s attack. The Tigers’ Darren Holte snuck a late shot past Siddall to complete the scoring.
Armstrong finished the game with 36 penalty minutes to Vernon’s 14.
Jarrett Medhurst, with a goal and assist, and Chad Pounder, with two assists, were Armstrong’s top scorers.Robbie Short supplied two helpers for Vernon.
The Shamrocks host the Kamloops Rattlers (3-3) Friday night (8:00) at Nor-Val, while the Tigers entertain the second-place Kelowna Raiders (3-4) at Wesbild Centre that night at 7:30.
Meanwhile, the Rattlers leapfrogged the Tigers out of the OXLL basement and into third-place with a 7-6 win over the Raiders Friday night in Kamloops.
Devon Larsen, with a pair, led the Rattler attack, which got off to a great start with a pair of shorthanded goals in the first two minutes.
Jake Illichman and Steve Plasko each fired two goals for the Raiders, who were missing eight regulars.
The Raiders’ Graham Cousins (33 saves) and Rattlers’ Stu Ford (21 saves) were both sharp in net.
