The Victoria Shamrocks鈥� clash on Friday night against the visiting Langley Thunder 鈥� in a battle of previously undefeated teams 鈥� was sold as Speed vs. Speed on Western Speedway promotion night.
It turned out to be a drag, all right, for the Thunder, who suffered their first loss of the Western Lacrosse Association season in a tight 8-7 result.
Shamrocks captain Scott Ranger set the pace with three goals for the now 4-0 victors in a matchup that was also billed as the Fastest Game on Two Feet.
Both teams tripped over theirs like a rookie hung up on a gas hose in the pits as the first 20 minutes produced just a 2-2 score in front of 1,845 fans at Bear Mountain Arena.
Not exactly a high-octane start, but there was some solid defence and goaltending from both Victoria goalie Matt Flindell and Langley鈥檚 Brodie MacDonald.
The scoring got the green light in the second as the Shamrocks took a 7-5 lead into the intermission, including a pair of beauties from Jeff Shattler and recently returned Rhys Duch before it stalled out again in the third.
Shattler gave fans a little shake and bake, Talladega Nights style, on a short-handed tally and Duch went behind his back to ignite the crowd.
Cory Conway, with the winner at 17:17 of the third, Corey Small and Tyler Burton also scored for the Shamrocks, who went 18:07 between their seventh and eighth goals.
鈥淥ffence is going to take time 鈥� it鈥檚 part of the chemistry,鈥� said Shamrocks head coach Bob Heyes. 鈥淲e can rely on the talent that we have, and that came out for sure, but once they start clicking it will come.
鈥淭here are instances out there where we look great and there are others where we force the ball or want to get too fancy.鈥�
Shayne Jackson and Scott Johnston, with a pair each, Joel McCready, Tor Reinholdt and Scott Johnston scored for Langley, now 3-1.
It took a huge save by Flindell off Alex Turner to preserve the win.
It was also a night in which players celebrated a bit of a win as a whole as they earned a victory in the ongoing mask issue that has hampered senior lacrosse the last few weeks.
Players over the age of 21 can now revert to the helmets and masks they used last year, as several injuries were reported with the new mandatory replacements.
Ranger was one of the leaders across the country in the fight to abolish the new gear.
鈥淗appy that @Lacrossesa国际传媒 came (to) their senses for Sr lax. But it鈥檚 unsafe for all. #changethecage for all,鈥� he posted on his Twitter account beforehand.
鈥淔or those involved in the #changethecage issue. Thank you for the support,鈥� he added in another tweet.
The Canadian Lacrosse Association posted an amendment to policy 12.4.2, which was passed on Friday, stating: 鈥淭he CLA鈥檚 highest priority is player safety. We have listened to the concerns, addressed them, and we will continue to do so.鈥�
However, juniors and minor players are still stuck with the mandatory Canadian Standards Association approved masks.
The Shamrocks venture to Maple Ridge on Sunday and Nanaimo on Wednesday.
