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Bob Heyes isn鈥檛 about to lament his team鈥檚 situation.
Down several bodies due to injuries, Heyes will piece together his Victoria Shamrocks roster for tonight鈥檚 Game 5 of the Western Lacrosse Association鈥檚 best-of-seven semi-final against the Burnaby Lakers at 7:45 p.m. at The Q Centre.
Heyes鈥檚 Shamrocks have a 3-1 series lead, but are without Jesse King, Doug Langlois, Josh Fagan and Cory Conway.
Heyes was upset that a suspension didn鈥檛 follow a hit on Conway that drove him into the boards in a Game 3 victory. Conway finished that game, but was feeling the effects from the blow and missed Game 4鈥檚 10-8 loss in Burnaby on Sunday.
鈥淓very day off has been vital for us,鈥� Heyes said. 鈥淲e pushed hard in the last three games of the regular season to get first place and we carried a few injuries and banged-up bodies into the playoffs, but that鈥檚 the way we play.
鈥淲e never turn away and not put our best foot forward. We鈥檙e always going to come out and play, so we鈥檒l come out focused Wednesday and ready to play,鈥� said Heyes, who will need some big performances to attempt to end the series and possibly earn some more rest.
He is expecting captain Corey Small to lead the way tonight.
鈥淚 think Smallsy was a little snake-bitten. He had a lot of shots [Sunday],鈥� Heyes said of his one-goal and five-assist performance. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a guy we count on in the playoffs and I know he鈥檚 going to lead the way and, hopefully, he鈥檒l be a key catalyst in putting the pressure on them in Game 5.鈥�
As for his injured players, Heyes doubted whether he will see any of his guys back
鈥淭here鈥檚 no panic. Regardless of how many games it takes, I didn鈥檛 think it would go four,鈥� Heyes said of the hard-nosed series against the Lakers. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a different mindset when you鈥檙e at 3-0 and you have a chance to close it out. That game was there for the taking on Sunday and we didn鈥檛 take it.鈥�
Heyes expects a similar type game plan from Burnaby tonight.
鈥淲e just need to address that and if they play like they did earlier in the series [more physical], that will play into our hands, too. We鈥檙e just going to play our game and we鈥檒l need that contribution from the young kids, the old guys, the defence and goaltending,鈥� Heyes said.
鈥淚 think [goalie] Adam Shute played well, but I think he can be a couple of saves better. I don鈥檛 think he was happy with his performance and we have guys who have won the big games, the clincher games and there are others who have never been here before.
鈥淵ou have to find that killer instinct and crush them when you can. Don鈥檛 wait and think that it鈥檚 3-0 and they鈥檒l lay down and die. They鈥檙e lacrosse players who want to compete and win and go down fighting.鈥�
It promises to be another dog-fight. In their three wins, the Shamrocks have held a one-goal lead or were tied with the Lakers after two periods. In Game 4, they were down by three entering the final frame and 9-5 early, but fought back to within 9-8 before allowing a late goal.
鈥淚t seems like this year we鈥檝e been a third-period team. We鈥檝e played a calm, cool, collected type of game. If we can keep it close, we usually pull away in the third,鈥� said veteran Jeff Shattler.
鈥淚 like how we finished the game Sunday, it鈥檚 that middle part we need to address,鈥� Heyes said.
