An off-floor whirlwind, including a game relocation from Port Alberni and a coaching change in Nanaimo, has swept through the Western Lacrosse Association.
The closure of Highway 4 due to clean-up efforts and safety inspections in the wake of the Cameron Bluffs wildfire has forced the shifting of the scheduled June 24 game in Port Alberni between the Victoria Shamrocks and Burnaby Lakers to The Q Centre in Colwood.
Fans who had purchased tickets to the game in Port Alberni, which was to be counted as a Shamrocks home date, will be refunded. A portion of the proceeds of the June 24 game at The Q Centre will be donated to the Bread of Life Centre in Port Alberni, which served breakfast to those who found themselves stranded in Port Alberni without accommodations.
“While we know this is a huge disappointment for lacrosse fans in Port Alberni, as well as our players and coaches, our primary responsibility is the health and safety of the firefighters and road crews, and we are committed to returning to Port Alberni in 2024,” WLA commissioner Paul Dal Monte said in a statement.
Shifting venues isn’t as easy as it sounds, especially on short notice.
“Westshore Parks and Recreation [which operates The Q Centre] has really stepped up to help us keep costs down so as much money as possible from the game can go to Port Alberni,” said Shamrocks general manager Chris Welch.
“We’re disappointed, for sure, but are trying to turn disappointment into something positive.”
David Michaud, president of the Alberni Valley Bulldogs of the sa国际传媒 Hockey League, expressed disappointment but said his organization and the WLA are committed to rescheduling a Shamrocks home date for 2024.
The tentative start date of two-way, single-lane traffic opening on Highway 4 is June 24.
“That is tentative and it should be for essential travel only and two team buses are not essential,” said Michaud.
“It worked out The Q Centre was open. Everybody has been very professional through this and it’s a classy move to donate the proceeds of the 50/50 from the relocated game to the Bread of Life in Port Alberni, which helped travellers so much when the highway first closed.”
On the floor, meanwhile, will be two of the most anticipated games of the early WLA season this weekend. The Shamrocks will host the Maple Ridge Burrards (2-3), the only team to blemish Victoria’s 3-1 record, tonight at The Q Centre. That will be followed by the Island derby Saturday night at Frank Crane Arena against the Nanaimo Timbermen (4-2 heading into Thursday night’s game in New Westminster against the Salmonbellies).
“With such a short season, all games in the WLA are important,” said Welch.
“We want to even up with Maple Ridge and get a jump on Nanaimo.”
Victoria head coach Mike Simpson echoed those sentiments: “We feel we owe Maple Ridge one. And the games against our Island rival Nanaimo always have that extra something to them and the Timebermen have a lot of talent.”
Tonight will be the last WLA game for star Sharmocks rookie Casey Wilson, the NCAA Div. 1 Denver University standout, who will miss five games due to representing sa国际传媒 at the upcoming world field lacrosse championship in San Diego.
The Shamrocks, however, are set to add two key veteran pieces from the pro National Lacrosse League with the return of impact offensive players Chris Wardle from the Colorado Mammoth this weekend and Brad McCulley from the Buffalo Bandits next week. McCulley’s Bandits defeated Wardle’s Mammoth 13-4 before 18,296 fans at KeyBank Center in Buffalo in the deciding Game 3 of the NLL final this month.
“Those are two detailed, veteran players who set examples for the rest of the team,” said Simpson.
The Timbermen, meanwhile, announced that the club and head coach Tewanee Joseph have “mutually agreed to part ways effective immediately.” In his first season with the T-Men, Joseph was named WLA coach of the year in 2022 for guiding the club to a 16-8 regular season record and to Nanaimo’s first appearance in the WLA playoff final since 1968.
“In 2022, the Timbermen had our best season ever in making it to the WLA finals. Tewanee was a huge part of that with his work behind the bench and in the local Nanaimo and Snuneymuxw communities,” Timbermen president Chris Bowman said in a statement.
“He has had a positive impact on our players and the entire organization. We wish him all the best in the future.”
Joseph, in a statement, said: “It has been my honour to go to battle with these exceptional athletes. I admire them as individuals and have the highest respect for each of them.”
There has been no announcement as to Joseph’s replacement as Timbermen head coach.
