Having stolen the opener 9-8 in Burnaby on Thursday, the Shamrocks 鈥� who are expected to have Joe Resetarits and Tyler Hass back 鈥� could go up by two in the series with a home-floor victory.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a 6 o鈥檆lock game, so we鈥檒l see what time the fans get there,鈥� Shamrocks head coach Bob Heyes said with a chuckle, referring to the much earlier start than the normal 7:30 p.m. faceoffs. 鈥淚t鈥檒l be a hot, sweaty building, but it should be fun. It always is as we have the best fans in the league.鈥�
They will likely see a more desperate Lakers team.
鈥淭hey鈥檒l be tougher, for sure,鈥� Heyes said of the Lakers, who were on a roll prior to Victoria shocking the No. 1-seed in Game 1 and stealing home-floor advantage.
鈥淭hey鈥檒l make adjustments and we鈥檒l make adjustments. We should have a slightly different lineup, too. I like the way we performed [Thursday], but Joe will get right in there and add to it,鈥� Heyes said of Resetarits.
The status of injured brothers Greg and Jon Harnett for Game 2 remains in question for the Shamrocks.
鈥淎 win gives us an excellent opportunity to reassess that,鈥� is all Heyes said.
Goaltender Aaron Bold鈥檚 performance in Thursday鈥檚 win was a key as he shut out the Lakers in the opening period, stopping all 17 shots he faced. The Victoria native made 41 saves in total.
Having been dealt from the Saskatchewan Rush to the New England Black Wolves of the National Lacrosse League during the week, in what was a shocking deal, Bold鈥檚 focus was sharp as he headed into the WLA playoffs.
Bold was a big part of the Shamrocks鈥� run to the 2015 Mann Cup crown and Heyes, himself a former goaltender, knows the importance of the big man between the pipes.
鈥淭hat was his type of game. His first period, allowing us to go up 3-0 was a big deal, a huge confidence builder for him and the rest of the team,鈥� said Heyes. 鈥淗e was seeing the ball and we were allowing him to make those saves and he controlled rebounds well.鈥�
Game 3 is set for Monday back in Burnaby and Game 4 goes Wednesday at The Q Centre. All games are at 6 p.m.
CLOVER POINTS: Victoria was without some key personnel, including Rhys Duch, but the Lakers also played Game 1 without the services of talented scorer Josh Byrne, who completed his contractual obligations in the Major Lacrosse League on Thursday. Byrne scored seven times for the Chesapeake Bayhawks and established a new rookie record in the pro field circuit with 39 goals in nine games. Tyler Digby was also out for Burnaby.
