Power usually beats pesky.
It did Friday night as the two-time Western Lacrosse Association champion Victoria Shamrocks defeated the youthful Coquitlam Adanacs 10-9 to extend Victoria鈥檚 winning streak to five games while snapping the A鈥檚 victory run at three games.
But the Shamrocks were far from satisfied with the effort before more than 2,000 fans at the Q Centre in Colwood.
鈥淪ometime we think we can just show up and win a game. We were lacklustre. Coquitlam outworked an outhustled us tonight,鈥� said Corey Small, who had four goals and three assists for Victoria.
Victoria head coach Bob Heyes concurred.
鈥淚t was not an acceptable performance,鈥� said the bench boss.
鈥淲ith what we are putting together here, the talent level is there. Our hard work needs to be better than it was tonight. Hopefully, this is a wake-up call.鈥�
Cory Conway, doing his best Steve Nash impression, had seven assists to take the league lead with 23. Rhys Duch鈥檚 had two goals and three assists while Ohio State Buckeyes field-lacrosse grad Jesse King added two goals.
Carson Barton and Brendon Anger led Coquitlam with two goals each.
Victoria took four leads in the first period, but each time Coquitlam had an answer and entered the break 4-4. The fourth A鈥檚 goal was it for starting Shamrocks goaltender Matt Roik, who was replaced by Cody Hagedorn, the latter who acquitted himself well in relief.
Victoria outshot the A鈥檚 42-35.
Coquitlam took its first lead of the game, 5-4 at 6:15 of the second period, on Terry Ellis鈥� short-handed unassisted goal. Then came yet another Coquitlam short-handed goal, by Anger, at 12:10 to make it 6-4. But just when it appeared the Victoria special teams were coming apart at the seams, Small let go a missile on the Shamrocks power play at 12:38 to make it 6-5. Small brought Victoria level at 6-6 at 14:52.
But the tenacious A鈥檚 led 7-6 before Small, with his fourth goal of the night, equalized once again on the power play as the second break ended 7-7.
Both teams came into the game on winning runs 鈥� Victoria with four consecutive victories and Coquitlam three 鈥� after each dropped their first two games of the season. Something had to give. It turned out to be the Adanacs, but not for lack of effort.
BOXLA BITES: Friday was Alumni Night, with Shamrocks from the 1950s on the floor for the ceremonial opening face-off . . . . The Shamrocks travel to Maple Ridge on Sunday to meet the Burrard (2-5) . . . The next Victoria home game, Friday against the New Westminster Salmonbellies (6-1), is looming as a big one.
