Staring an elimination game straight in the face, Victoria Shamrocks head coach Bob Heyes says he has full faith that his team can rebound and win the Mann Cup.
Down 3-2 in the best-of-seven Canadian Senior A championship lacrosse series, the Shamrocks will attempt to fend off the Six Nations Chiefs in Game 6 tonight at 7 at Bear Mountain Arena.
鈥淚 believe in them,鈥� Heyes said of his Shamrocks. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been through a lot, sacrificed a lot to get here - from leaving families to leaving home - this is a dream for them and, absolutely, I believe in them.
鈥淪o much so that I put my neck on the line to make those calls and give us an opportunity,鈥� Heyes added, referring to his two illegal equipment checks on Chiefs netminders Brandon Miller and Evan Kirk in a controversial Game 5.
Both goalies were kicked out of the game and veteran lacrosse star Colin Doyle played the final 11 minutes of the Chiefs鈥� 11-7 win.
鈥淚鈥檓 trying to give them the best opportunity to win,鈥� said Heyes. 鈥淚t looked good for a bit, but they鈥檙e (the Chiefs) resilient.
鈥淵ou have to take the good and the bad. When you make a call like that, you fire up the opposition and it just added to the legend of Colin Doyle, I guess. Unfortunately.鈥�
Heyes took a huge chance making the calls, a move most people are calling desperate.
鈥淭hat was one of the craziest things I鈥檝e ever seen in lacrosse and like I told my players, that was one of the gutsiest performances I鈥檝e seen out of a team,鈥� Chiefs head coach Rich Klgour said of his victorious group, which can win the Mann Cup tonight.
鈥淲e win with 25 strong, that鈥檚 our battle cry. Anyone who gets their number called better be ready to go and everyone we have called on in this series has done their job.
"We still have one more win to go and you know the old saying, the fourth one is the hardest,鈥� added Kilgour.
If the Shamrocks are to have a chance they will need to shut down Cody Jamieson, who was 12 points in his last two games and has easily been the best player on the floor.
鈥淐ody is a great player. He鈥檚 phenomenal,鈥� said Heyes. 鈥淲e key on him and he still scores goals. He finds ways to score. He鈥檚 a talent. He鈥檚 their best player, their threat and an answer is to try and find a way to stop him.He killed us (Tuesday) and (Wednesday) he did it again.鈥�
But after Wednesday鈥檚 result, there is no tomorrow if the Shamrocks should lose tonight.
A win would force Game 7 on Saturday.
