The youthful and rebuilding Victoria Shamrocks know they hold the underdog status as the fourth seed in their Western Lacrosse Association semifinal series against the top-seed New Westminster Salmonbellies. So just go with it.
“I told the guys be young, be fearless and just go out and play and push the floor and outwork them,” said Victoria head coach Mike Simpson.
“[The Salmonbellies] are a great team and have talent all over the floor. Our advantage is that we run the floor hard.”
New Westminster, which won the WLA regular-season championship at 15-3, hosts the first game tonight at Queen’s Park Arena against the fourth-seed Shamrocks (10-7-1). The second game is Friday night at The Q Centre and the third game Aug. 9 at Queen’s Park Arena. If required, the fourth game would be Aug. 11 at The Q Centre and the fifth game Aug. 13 at Queen’s Park Arena.
The best-of-five format for the semifinals adds an air of immediacy.
“There is no time to ease into the series. You have to get after it right away. There are no throwaway games,” said Simpson.
It begins tonight in the most hallowed house in lacrosse against a franchise that is the WLA equivalent of the Montreal Canadiens and New York Yankees in terms of tradition and championships won.
“There is tons of history in Queen’s Park,” noted Simpson.
The wooden floor is a legendary feature of the arena.
“The bounces off the floor are true, so the Salmonbellies don’t have an advantage in that regard,” said Simpson, who performed on the floor as a visiting Shamrocks player.
The Salmonbellies, however, do have a pronounced advantage in firepower led by WLA goals leader Haiden Dickson, the Calgary Roughnecks National Lacrosse League pro, who netted 53 goals this season for New Westminster.
“Dickson is a load, but if you key on him, there is Mitch Jones who will hurt you,” said Simpson, of the NLL pro with the Philadelphia Wings and former Mann Cup champion with the Shamrocks.
Not to mention Kevin Crowley, a former NLL first overall draft pick out of NCAA Div. 1 Stony Brook, who still holds the school career scoring record.
“New Westminster was first in regular-season power-play goals. Its special teams are elite. We have to stay out of the penalty box,” said Simpson.
“Not only because of their power play but because penalties take us out of our game of running the floor.”
Meanwhile, the other best-of-five semifinal series opened Tuesday night at the Langley Events Centre with the second-seed Thunder (14-4) defeating the third-seed Nanaimo Timbermen(12-6) 14-6. The second game is Thursday night at Frank Crane Arena in the Harbour City. The Timbermen are looking for a reprise of last season’s playoffs, in which Nanaimo made the WLA final for the first time since 1968.
The winners of the semifinal series will advance to the best-of-seven WLA final series beginning Aug. 16. The WLA champion will host the best-of-seven Mann Cup national championship series against the champion of Ontario’s Major Series Lacrosse beginning Sept. 8.
