But the Victoria Shamrocks turned that plot on its head Tuesday night by edging the Burnaby Lakers 8-7 in the deciding Game 7 of their Western Lacrosse Association playoff semifinal series at Bill Copeland Arena in Burnaby.
The Lakers came into the series as the top seed after winning their first WLA regular-season championship in franchise history. The Shamrocks, meanwhile, not only failed in their attempt to win a fifth consecutive WLA regular-season title but slid to fourth place. Yet, this supposedly-fading group proved it had a lot of fight left in it.
鈥淚t came down to experience. We have been here before,鈥� said Shamrocks head coach Bob Heyes.
The Shamrocks couldn鈥檛 match the depth of the Lakers鈥� top-end offensive talent, so the 鈥橰ocks neutralized it with a smothering approach that blunted what Burnaby does best.
鈥淥ur defence tonight was outstanding,鈥� said Heyes.
That included the last line of defence as goaltender Aaron Bold turned in a stellar 45-save performance.
鈥淎aron was there for every [Lakers] shot we needed him to be there for,鈥� said Heyes.
Victoria forced Eric Penney into 27 saves.
The Lakers, trailing 3-1 in the series, climbed back into it by outscoring Victoria by a combined 9-1 in the third periods in victories in Games 5 and 6. It looked like it might happen again when the Lakers pulled to within one in Game 7 after Victoria led 8-5 with less than six minutes remaining.
鈥淚 told our players this would likely come down to the final possession; and challenged them to play the full 60 minutes,鈥� said Heyes.
It took every one of those 60 minutes to win, after Victoria fell behind 3-1 early in the second period before heading into the final period leading 6-4.
鈥淥ur defence was relentless and our offence was opportunistic,鈥� said Heyes.
Casey Jackson, a key off-season hometown addition, led Victoria with three goals and three assists. Joe Resetarits, the Rochester Knighthawks NLL pro who has been an invaluable signing this season, scored three goals for the Shamrocks. Chris Wardle, quiet earlier in the series, came through when Victoria needed him the most with a goal and four assists. The WLA points-champion Corey Small added three assists. Jackson Decker led Burnaby with two goals.
Victoria also edged Burnaby in seven games in last year鈥檚 semifinals. But the seedings were inverted last year with Victoria No. 1 and Burnaby No. 4 and that Game 7 victory was at The Q Centre in Colwood.
Meanwhile, the third-seed Maple Ridge Burrards and fourth-seed New Westminster Salmonbellies meet in the deciding Game 7 of their WLA semifinal series tonight at Cam Neely Arena in Maple Ridge.
The best-of-seven 2017 WLA championship series begins Friday night with Victoria visiting either Maple Ridge or New Westminster. The second game will be Sunday at 6 p.m. at The Q Centre.
