There has been a movie about the Seven Year Itch and a song about the Seven Year Ache. The Victoria Shamrocks felt none of that in advancing to the Western Lacrosse Association playoff final for the seventh consecutive season.
Top-seed Victoria won the Island derby best-of-seven semifinal series for the second consecutive year, sweeping the fourth-seed Nanaimo Timbermen 4-0. The Shamrocks put the finishing touches on the series with a 10-4 victory in the fourth game Monday night at Frank Crane Arena.
Shamrocks GM Chris Welch addressed the run: 鈥淲e had a good, young core of Victoria players to build around. And Victoria sells itself, so we have been able to also attract very good players from Ontario and Alberta to supplement our Island players.鈥�
The Shamrocks鈥� fine rookie class was heard from again as Marshal King and Chris Boushy had two goals each, Larson Sundown one goal with King adding four assists and Boushy and Sundown two each. NLL-pros Robinson (two goals and three assists) and Pace (one goal and three assists), on loan this season from the Langley Thunder in a blockbuster deal, were also heard from on the night. NLL-pro Jesse King added a goal.
Shamrocks goaltender and Nanaimo-native Pete Dubenski, a Timbermen cast-off who played Senior B last season, continued his WLA comeback storyline of the year, with a 41-save performance.
The second-seed Maple Ridge Burrards lead the third-seed New Westminster Salmonbellies 2-1 in the other semifinal. The Shamrocks will meet the winner of that series in the best-of-seven WLA final with the dates to be announced. The WLA champion will host the Ontario champion in the best-of-seven Mann Cup national Senior A final.
鈥淚t takes 12 wins to get to where we want to go, and we are only one-third of the way there,鈥� said Welch.
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