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Life is good for Corey Small, on and off the lacrosse floor.
Showing no ill effects from his knee injury two years ago, that rough patch is well behind him. The future looks bright, too, as he will marry his sweetheart, Lauren Lysiuk, in November.
Add the fact that the veteran Victoria Shamrock and his teammates are on a roll with 11 straight wins and it鈥檚 obvious why there鈥檚 a big grin on the Ontario native鈥檚 face.
鈥淜nock on wood, it鈥檚 feeling great,鈥� Small said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one of those things where last year I wore the [knee] brace and changed my game a bit to let things heal properly. I had another season in the NLL [this year with Vancouver] with the brace and I feel confident with it.鈥� Small no longer dons a knee brace.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a crazy few years,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was a tough year with things being difficult when I had the surgery [in late 2013] and I wasn鈥檛 able to play. Lauren was a good sport and by my side through it all, even when I was probably a pain.鈥�
These are far better times for Small, who leads the Western Lacrosse Association in points with 55, before Thursday play. He鈥檒l attempt to add to it tonight as the Shamrocks play host to Coquitlam at 7:45 p.m. at The Q Centre. Small is coming off a six-point performance.
鈥淭he last five games or so, we seem to have brought it to a new level,鈥� Small said, referring to Victoria outscoring opponents by an amazing 71-32 margin. 鈥淥ur team is playing at a high level right now.
鈥淥ur offence is offence by committee,鈥� he added. 鈥淭here might be a game where I have three goals or there might be one where I don鈥檛 have any and a guy like Jesse King steps up, or Duchie [Rhys Duch] or [Cory] Conway. There are so many premier guys that it鈥檚 easy to play unselfish. And our defence is in its third year together and they鈥檙e doing business as usual.鈥�
Small definitely got the job done in Tuesday鈥檚 14-7 win in Burnaby. His six-point night included three goals and two assists in the second period.
鈥淚 was a little snake-bitten in the last two games. I hadn鈥檛 scored in either, so it was good to get a few,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the players you play with, really. There were a couple of plays where Kinger found me in a seam, and that makes it easy.鈥�
As does his relationship off the floor with his fianc茅e.
鈥淲e鈥檙e in the thick of it now with [wedding] planning and paying deposits,鈥� said Small, who will marry Lysiuk in Mexico with family and friends present. The two have been together in Victoria for a handful of years now and have settled in from Ontario.
鈥淚 was like, 鈥楲auren, do you want to go out to Victoria, play some lacrosse and enjoy West Coast life?鈥� 鈥� he recalled of moving as far west as possible. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the old story, we came out for three months and we鈥檝e now been out here for five years.鈥�
CLOVER POINTS: The Junior Shamrocks begin best-of-five playoff action on Saturday at home at The Q Centre at 5 p.m., before venturing to Ladner to play Delta in Game 2 on Sunday at 5 p.m. Game 3 goes on July 18 at 5 p.m. at the Panorama Rec Centre. The Intermediate Shamrocks begin their playoffs on the July 18-19 weekend with a schedule TBA.
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