The Victoria Shamrocks face elimination tonight at 6 at Planet Ice, trailing the Maple Ridge Burrards 3-2 in the Western Lacrosse Association best-of-seven championship series.
A win forces Game 7 back at The Q Centre on Sunday at 6 p.m. A loss ends the Shamrocks鈥� three-year reign as league champs and the title of defending Mann Cup champions.
鈥淥ur backs are against the wall, but we鈥檙e all confident that we all have the tools required to do what we need to do. We鈥檒l fix our mental mistakes and we鈥檒l come out ready to play [today],鈥� said Victoria鈥檚 Chris Wardle, who had four shots in Wednesday鈥檚 12-8 loss, but like most of his teammates, was stymied by goalie Frankie Scigliano.
It was the fifth straight victory by the road team in the final series in which the winner advances east to start the 2016 Mann Cup on Sept. 9.
鈥淚t seems strange that way, but again our backs are to the wall this time and we鈥檙e in their barn and they鈥檒l be ready to go. We鈥檒l make our fixes and be ready to go,鈥� added Wardle, who has eight goals and 15 assists in 12 playoff games.
Game 5 was an outing in which the Burrards looked more fresh in the second end of back-to-back games. Of course, they went through the first round in just five games while the Shamrocks went seven. The fatigue was obvious Wednesday.
鈥淭he guys didn鈥檛 quit, but there were a lot of little mistakes out there that cost you,鈥� said Shamrocks head coach Bob Heyes. 鈥淪ome of those decisions 鈥� when to shoot a ball, when not to shoot a ball 鈥� the little things sometimes come back to bite you.
鈥淲e鈥檒l correct those, make some adjustments and make sure we have the best lineup we can for the next game.鈥�
It was three quick goals in 24 seconds midway through the second period that were most costly, giving Maple Ridge an 8-3 lead, which they never squandered.
鈥淚t鈥檚 tough. How do you stop the momentum at times,鈥� queried Heyes.
鈥淭hey came out wanting it,鈥� Heyes added of the opponent. 鈥淲e鈥檒l come out ready to play. We have a good veteran leadership core here. They鈥檙e determined and the young guys are there, learning period-by-period, shift-by-shift, what it takes.鈥�
The Burrards themselves are a team that just won鈥檛 go away, with a never-say-die attitude.
鈥淭his team has been doing that all year,鈥� head coach Rob Williams said after winning Game 3 in Victoria, scrapping back from 5-0 and 11-9 deficits. 鈥淔or us it鈥檚 been, 鈥榃hat鈥檚 next?鈥� Down 11-9, it鈥檚 like, 鈥極K boys, we鈥檙e down 11-9, what鈥檚 next?鈥� I know it sounds like a cheesy quote, but that鈥檚 what it鈥檚 been.鈥�
And as for the physicality of the series, he said: 鈥淔or me it鈥檚 playoff lacrosse.鈥�
Which means the Shamrocks need to be ready for a full 60-minute war tonight.
Asked if there was a belief the Shamrocks can rebound, Wardle stressed: 鈥淎bsolutely. More than anything.鈥�
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