The Victoria Shamrocks will be kicking it old school tonight. Fans of a certain age will recall that Wednesday was the traditional night for Shamrocks lacrosse at the old Memorial Arena, affectionately and sometimes not-so-affectionately dubbed the Barn on Blanshard by a generation of sports fans.
Most Shamrocks home games are now Friday nights at The Q Centre in Colwood with the rare exception tonight in the Island rivalry game against the Nanaimo Timbermen at 6:45 p.m.
The Timbermen (10-4-1) have survived a mid-season coaching change and come in with a six-game Western Lacrosse Association winning streak.
Last season, Nanaimo made the WLA final for the first time since 1968 and hasn’t looked back. That has transformed what was a moribund Island derby — Victoria was a powerhouse while the Timbermen made the WLA playoffs only once in a 13-season stretch from 2005-2018 — into something much livelier and more animated.
“This has become more of an intense rivalry as Nanaimo has improved and gotten really good,” said Shamrocks head coach Mike Simpson.
“The Timbermen are rolling right now and are the hottest team in the league until somebody stops them and says they’re not.”
The Shamrocks (7-6-1) could be that team. Victoria, which this season embarked on a major rebuild and youth movement, is on a roll of its own with three consecutive victories to answer a previous five-game losing skid.
“We’ve bounced back a bit and got our confidence back, which is an important thing for athletes,” said Simpson.
You don’t realize how fragile a thing that is on the floor and in the dressing room until it’s gone. The Shamrocks seem to have it retrieved from wherever it was lost.
“You are less resilient when you are not confident,” said Simpson.
The Shamrocks must contend with Timbermen star Zach Manns, who leads the WLA with 72 points, which is 10 clear of second-place Haiden Dickson of the New Westminster Salmonbellies.
The six-foot-two Manns, out of NCAA Division 1 Drexel University and a pro in the National Lacrosse League with Toronto Rock, is a former standout with the Victoria Junior Shamrocks. Manns and current senior Shamrocks Patrick Dodds, Casey Wilson and goaltender Cam Dunkerley had some productive seasons together with the Junior Shamrocks, including making it to the 2019 Minto Cup national Junior A championship tournament.
Insider knowledge, however, may not be enough to stop Manns.
“Some guys command special attention and Zach Manns is one of those guys,” said Simpson.
But Simpson knows there is more to the Timbermen than just that. Nanaimo’s roster lists 19 players who also play in the professional NLL and eight players who are alumni of NCAA Division 1 field-lacrosse teams.
“Nanaimo’s special teams are solid. We have to play five-on-five and not get into a special teams battle against them,” said Simpson.
Tonight will be Victoria’s third game in a run of four games in seven days, concluding Thursday night at Queen’s Park Arena in New Westminster against the Salmonbellies.
“Depth becomes important,” said Simpson.
“But we’ll have eight days off after this stretch to reload.”
