Maple Ridge鈥檚 six-game victory over Shamrock in last year鈥檚 WLA final, which resulted in the first trip to the Mann Cup national final for the Burrards franchise since 1990, has added another dimension to it.
The Shamrocks (6-2-1) and Burrards (6-3) renew acquaintances tonight at Cam Neely Arena in Maple Ridge, described by Shamrocks head coach Bob Heyes as an 鈥渙ld school barn.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檝e met a few times in the playoff and we have beaten them in previous series, but they beat us last year,鈥� added Heyes.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of feelings between the two clubs. If we want to get to the Mann Cup, it will probably have to go through Maple Ridge.鈥�
Victoria is ranked No. 3 in the national Senior A rankings and Maple Ridge No. 4 behind the top-rated Peterborough Lakers and No. 2 Six Nations Chiefs of Ontario.
The teams split their first two meetings of the season with Victoria winning 12-10 on June 11 in Maple Ridge and the Burrards staging a five-goal third-period rally to edge the Shamrocks 10-9 Friday at The Q Centre.
Heyes said these Burrards are less about the rough stuff than they used to be in the past: 鈥淢aple Ridge is a very good team. They are still physical but don鈥檛 play the way they used to. They have built this group in a different way. They have depth and an outstanding offence.鈥�
Not to mention six-foot-three, 285-pound goaltender Frank Scigliano, who plays winters in the pro NLL for the Calgary Roughnecks.
鈥淪cigliano is a big guy in net and keeps the Burrards close enough in games for them to strike suddenly for victory, as he showed on Friday night,鈥� said Heyes.
Victoria didn鈥檛 help its cause with several careless penalties in the third period Friday.
鈥淲e have to keep our emotions in check and need to be better mentally focused,鈥� said Heyes.
鈥淎nd we need to outwork them. They outworked us last game.鈥�
Victoria continues to fight injuries, with offensive star Rhys Duch seeing only limited action this season and 2017 Victoria No. 1 draft pick Evan Messenger from Delta having not seen the floor yet.
鈥淲e鈥檙e fighting through these things,鈥� said Heyes.
The Shamrocks return home for the Island derby against the Nanaimo Timbermen on Friday at The Q Centre.
