It was mission accomplished last night at the Q Centre for the Victoria Shamrocks and the club is now firmly in the driver’s seat in their best of seven series with the Burnaby Lakers.
The Shamrocks burst out of the gates, struggled in the second period, and came on strong late for a 10-7 win that has given them a 3-0 series lead.
Early on, the ‘Rocks looked like they were going to run away with last night’s matchup, taking a 5-1 lead 46 seconds into the second period when Rhys Duch completed a hat trick, but the Lakers roared back, scoring five of the next six goals to square things up at six goals apiece by the early stages of the third.
The teams played back and forth lacrosse for the next few minutes of play, trading goals near the period’s midway point for a 7-7 tie.
Enough was enough for Victoria at that point, as Duch notched his fourth and Braylon Lumb and Taylor Northway chipped in markers to make things comfortable for the home side.
Adam Shute made 33 saves on 40 shots in the win.
The game was littered with penalties, many of the major variety, and the teams weren’t shy about showing their distaste for one another.
The series will now shift back to Burnaby, where the Shamrocks will look to complete the series sweep. If necessary, Game 5 will be at The Q Centre on Wednesday night.
