Tonight could normally be described as a trap game for the Victoria Shamrocks (6-2), who face the last-place Maple Ridge Burrards (1-7) at the Q Centre, before a much-anticipated contest Saturday in Coquitlam against the Western Lacrosse Association-leading Adanacs.
But teams that have lost their previous game, as the Shamrocks did last week in falling 13-11 in the Island derby against the Nanaimo Timbermen, can’t afford to look past anybody.
“We are only worried about Maple Ridge,” said Shamrocks head coach Mike Simpson.
“So-called trap games are less of a concern coming off a loss. We have no business looking past Maple Ridge or feeling good about ourselves after our last game.”
Simpson said the Burrards are better than their record indicates.
“They are a young, rebuilding team that plays a heavy game and are very physical,” he said.
Simpson also doesn’t need to remind his charges that they had to rally from five goals behind in the latter stages to edge the Burrards in the first meeting between the clubs last month at Cam Neely Arena in Maple Ridge. “We respect them,” said Simpson.
The Burrard rebuild is led by the likes of Vancouver Warriors National Lacrosse League pro Dennon Armstrong, who won Minto Cup national Junior A championships in 2016 and 2018 as a standout forward with the Coquitlam Junior Adanacs, and was the second overall WLA draft pick in 2020 by the Burrards. Armstrong has 32 points to lead Maple Ridge this season.
Meanwhile, the Shamrocks roster is now set at 25. The latest additions include forwards Chris Wardle and NCAA Division 1 Robert Morris University graduate Brad McCulley. They are settling in with two games each for the Shamrocks after being in the NLL pro final, Wardle with the champion Colorado Mammoth and McCulley with the finalist Buffalo Bandits.
“Chris Wardle is a glue guy. He doesn’t say a lot, but when he does, everybody listens,” Simpson said of the 30-year-old Shamrocks veteran sniper.
“[Pro rookie] Brad McCulley is still finding his way in the NLL — it’s a rare guy who steps in and plays a lot right away in the NLL and he was on a loaded team in Buffalo — but he is a great player who is going to be a WLA staple with the Shamrocks for the next 10 years.”
The 25th signing was veteran Steve Priolo, a six-foot-five defender whose size belies his speed and fluidity. The 33-year-old former U Sports basketball player will join the Shamrocks next week for his fifth WLA season after helping lead Buffalo to the NLL final.
“He is an elite player who will fit in right away and be a team leader,” said Simpson.
On the floor Thursday night, the Adanacs (7-3) were playing the Salmonbellies (4-6) in a late-finishing game at Queen’s Park Arena in New Westminster.
