The theory was the Victoria Shamrocks鈥� veteran experience would be too much for the youthful Nanaimo Timbermen in their best-of-seven Western Lacrosse Association semifinal series.
After all, the Timbermen haven鈥檛 been in the playoffs since 2007, which coincidentally, is the last time the Shamrocks missed the post-season. That鈥檚 more than a decade ago, for those keeping count. Eleven seasons to be exact.
But the Timbermen ran that theory right out of the Q Centre, quite literally, with their fast-break transition game that caught Victoria flat-footed Wednesday in the Timbermen鈥檚 thrill-a-second 12-11 double-overtime victory in Game 1.
Game 2 is tonight at Frank Crane Arena in Nanaimo with Game 3 at the Q Centre on Sunday evening and Game 4 on Tuesday at聽Frank Crane.
The second-seed Shamrocks looked older and slower as they set up their methodical half-floor offence. It didn鈥檛 help their cause that third-seed Nanaimo dominated in the faceoff circle and in picking up loose balls. Possession is not only nine/10ths of the law, it鈥檚 also nine/10ths of lacrosse. And once Nanaimo got the ball, they were quickly down the floor with it, with their pressure offence that gave the Victoria defence scarce time to set up.
Game 1 was a like a debutantes鈥� playoff ball for the young Timbermen players, almost all of them making their career WLA playoff debuts.
鈥淥ur average age is 23, and younger guys are fast and in condition, and we use that youthfulness to our advantage,鈥� said Timbermen head coach Kaleb Toth.
鈥淲e have a fast, young team that is eager and athletic, and we鈥檝e used that to beat opponents.鈥�
They have been doing just that, having now won seven of their past eight games.
The scary thing is that Toth doesn鈥檛 believe his club played its best transitional game Wednesday.
鈥淚 thought it was the worst game in transition we鈥檝e played in quite a while. We鈥檙e usually better than that,鈥� he said.
That is a sentiment to make Shamrock fans gulp. Because the Timbermen looked plenty good enough in transition Wednesday, at least to the lay-person鈥檚 eyes.
Nanaimo鈥檚 youth brigade is indeed impressive, and bodes well for the future.
Chase Fraser is maybe the sport鈥檚 next Curtis Dickson. The six-foot-two forward swirled and sniped around the Shamrocks crease for the hat-trick in Game 1, and set up the winning goal, to show how he scored 144 goals in 68聽Junior 鈥楢鈥� games for the Delta Islanders and 30 goals and 52聽points last season in being named WLA rookie of the year.
The Timbermen have two of the top-15 picks from the 2017 pro NLL draft with Fraser having gone to the Buffalo Bandits at 13th overall out of NCAA field lacrosse at the University of the District of Columbia and Drew Belgrave 15th聽overall to the Georgia Swarm out of the New Westminster Junior Salmonbellies.
Fraser and fellow WLA sophomore Evan Messenger of the T-Men went to the 2016 Minto Cup national Junior 鈥楢鈥� championships together with Delta while two-time sa国际传媒 Junior 鈥楢鈥� all-star Brody Eastwood scored 38, 38 and 42 goals for the Junior Shamrocks in his career. Fellow Victorian Mason Pynn, who had two goals Wednesday for Nanaimo, came out of the Junior Shamrocks and NCAA Div. 1 Drexel. Both Eastwood and Pynn were 2016 NLL draft picks.
Throw in defensive standout Jordan Gilles, an NLL pro with the Colorado Mammoth, who had Junior 鈥楢鈥� championship success with both the Coquitlam Junior Adanacs and Delta Islanders.
Gilles was key in helping stymie Victoria鈥檚 lethal shooters on Wednesday.
鈥淰ictoria has a very dangerous offence, but we helped each other on defence, and kept the Shamrocks to the outside,鈥� said Toth, himself a two-time Mann Cup national champion as a whiplash-lethal scorer with the Shamrocks and also for the NLL pro Calgary Roughnecks.
As with any good teams when they meet, one side looks to counteract the other鈥檚 strengths. And both the Shamrocks and Timbermen have plenty of good qualities, if in completely different fashions.
鈥淭his is going to be a very close series,鈥� said Toth.
