While Boston Bruins president Cam Neely watches his club in a crucial Stanley Cup finals hockey game today in St. Louis, his namesake arena in his hometown will host a key early-season Western Lacrosse Association game.
The Victoria Shamrocks and Maple Ridge Burrards meet at Cam Neely Arena in Maple Ridge in a reprise of the 2018 WLA final. The defending league champion Burrards are off to a 4-1 start and the Shamrocks a surprising 1-3.
Victoria was winless until a late unanswered four-goal rally, started by an unlikely end-to-end unassisted goal by defensive-specialist Ben McCullough, gave the Shamrocks a 12-9 victory in the Island derby Thursday in Nanaimo against the Timbermen.
鈥淚t鈥檚 that little thing, that spark, [that can turn a season],鈥� said Shamrocks head coach Bob Heyes.
Heyes also threw back-end and transition players Steve Priolo and Dallas Wade into attack in Nanaimo in an attempt to make something happen on an offence that had previously been averaging only five goals a game.
鈥淲e face another big game [today]. We played a full 60 minutes in Nanaimo. We have to build on that and look for game-to-game consistency,鈥� Heyes said.
Maple Ridge sniper Curtis Dickson鈥檚 pro field-lacrosse team is scheduled to play this morning in a game televised live on NBC.
The 30-year-old Dickson, nicknamed Superman for his exploits on the lacrosse floor, is also a standout in the field version of the sport.
He led Delaware to its only NCAA Final Four appearance in 2007 during four outstanding university seasons with the Blue Hens and won silver with sa国际传媒 last year at the 2018 world field-lacrosse championships in Israel.
鈥淲e play our game and not worry about who is in or out of the opposition lineup,鈥� Heyes said.
The Shamrocks, however, cannot help but notice at least one opposition player tonight as former Victoria star Jeff Shattler, one of the best transition players in the sport, appears in a Burrards jersey.
The Shamrocks traded Shattler to Maple Ridge before the season for rookie Marshal King, who is returning this week after graduating from NCAA play with Drexel in Philadelphia, and expected in the lineup when the Shamrocks return to the Q Centre on Friday to meet the New Westminster Salmonbellies.
