The Maple Ridge Burrards have moved to the top of the heap.
Their 10-9 home court win Tuesday against the top-rated Victoria Shamrocks pushed the Burrards to become the WLA’s new leaders, with a 7-3-0 record and 14 points overall.
That knocks the Shamrocks down to second place for the first time this season, just one win and one point behind Maple Ridge.
The victory also saw the Burrards win the season series against the Shamrocks 2-1. The next time they meet will likely be the playoffs.
The Burrards came out swinging at the top of the game, scoring the first four goals of the night.
Three of those goals were scored by Ben McIntosh, Luke Gillespie, and Jeff Cornwall, all of whom would lead the night in scoring with two points each.
The Burrards kept the Shamrocks at a distance throughout the majority of the game, although Victoria’s fortunes almost turned when they were able to tie the game 8-8 at the end of the second period.
Another Victoria goal eight minutes into the third briefly gave the visitors the edge, but McIntosh struck back to tie back up minutes later, followed by the winning shot from Riley Loewen.
McIntosh’s 13 shots on net helped the Burrards outshoot Victoria 48-38. The offender won the night’s first star.
The Burrards will stay home for their next match against the Coquitlam Adanacs on Tuesday, July 4, before heading to New Westminster to face the Salmonbellies on July 6.
Royals off to provincials
The Ridge Meadows Royals are heading to the provincials, after winning 12-2 in the fifth inning of their game against the Abbotsford Angels Tuesday.
The mercy win bumped the Royals up to a 22-6-1 record, which secured the bantam team’s tournament berth and fourth place in the standings.
Royals pitcher Brendan Morrison managed five strike-outs and only one earned run across four innings.
Owen McCuaig was the team’s top scorer of the night with three runs, followed closely by Zach Beckley with two runs.
The Royals now get some time off before facing the Vancouver Minor Expos on July 5. They’ll follow that with a double-header against the Vancouver Community Vipers July 8.
