Tmen fall 11-4 to Victoria in Game 1 of the playoffs

By Ian McNaughton

The Victoria Shamrocks dominated from beginning to end Tuesday as they defeated the Nanaimo Timbermen 11-4 in Game #1 of their playoff series. The Rocks led 4-1 after the first period, 8-3 after the second period, and score three goals in the final period to get the convincing victory. With the win, Victoria takes a 1-0 series lead as the two teams square up again Thursday night in Nanaimo. 

T-Men call-up Ryan Sheridan scored his first career playoff goal for Nanaimo and finished the night with two points. Jon and Gord Phillips each had two points as Nanaimo finished with just 40 shots in the game. The Shamrocks did an excellent job of shutting down Colton Clark as he finished with no points on eight shots. Timbermen goalie Charles Claxton was pulled midway through the second period as he gave up eight goals on twenty-nine shots. 

The Shamrocks got two impressive performances from Jesse King and Chris Boushy as they each had a hat trick. While he didn’t score any goals, Tyler Pace was making plays all over the place. Pace had four assists in the game, two more than any other game this year, and will continue to be a playmaker this series. A key stat entering this series was faceoff, and if Tyler Burton could win the majority of faceoffs, the Shamrocks could control the series. Burton did his part, winning 17 of 19 draws in the faceoff dot. Look for Burton to be an impactful player once again Thursday.