A's Take on 'Rocks in Game 1

The Coquitlam Adanacs and the Victoria Shamrocks opened up their series on Saturday afternoon at the Coquitlam Sports Centre.

The Adanacs started the first period rather physical and with the Shamrocks still feeling some nerves early on, they got a little mixed up at the bench and they received a too many men penalty at 2:07. It didn’t take long for the Adanacs to make the Shamrocks pay as Cole Shafer picked up a rebound off the boards and put it past Shamrocks goaltender Charles Claxton to go up 1-0.

Goaltender Claxton made some big saves after the Adanacs goal, but Shafer looks to have Claxton’s number as he netted his second of the game at 9:01 to give the Adanacs a 2-0 lead.

The Shamrocks had an opportunity to get on the board with Adanacs’ Keegan Rittenger sitting in the box for interference, but then Shamrocks’ Mason Pynn took a bad delay of game penalty less than a minute into their power play. The Shamrocks got a second opportunity to get on the board at 14:30 when Adanacs’ Erik Klein got two minutes for high sticking and with some great passing, Jake Cullen beat Adanacs goaltender Riley Camazzola to make it a 2-1 game.

Adanacs’ Klein might not have liked sitting in the penalty box, but he made up for it seconds after the Shamrocks goal as he beat Claxton to give the Adanacs a 3-1 lead.

The Adanacs continued to add pressure, but Claxton came up big for the Shamrocks as he made 16 saves in the first period.

The Adanacs turned up the heat early on in the second period as Tyler Pace scored 41 seconds in and then Shafer continued his dominance as he scored at 1:46 to make it 5-1 Adanacs.

At 7:14, Adanacs’ Eli McLaughlin scored his first of the game to make it 6-1 Adanacs. The Shamrocks called a timeout and it was the perfect time for one. Not only did the Adanacs lose their momentum, the Shamrocks picked it up. It seemed as if Cullen was the only Shamrock to show up this afternoon as he scored at 11:49 and 14:12 to make it a 6-3 game.

The game got a little heated at 15:04, maybe moreso for Challen Rogers who picked up two minutes for tripping and two minutes for unsportsmanlike. Adanacs’ Andy Taylor received two minutes for slashing and Shamrocks’ Max Fredrickson got two minutes for slashing.

The Shamrocks were looking to claw back into the game, but Adanacs’ Michael Messenger beat out two defenders and scored shorthanded at 15:38 to give the Adanacs a 7-3 lead.

The Adanacs looked to go up by 5, but Claxton came up big on a 2-on-0 making his 36th save of the game. After the save, the Shamrocks went back the other way and with 11 seconds remaining, Matt Hamilton scored for the Shamrocks to cut the Adanacs lead to 3.

Just before the buzzer went, Nate Wade found a fresh Brendan Mykle-Winkler come off the bench who let it rip past Camazzola to give the Shamrocks some life heading into the third period.

Trade deadline acquisition Pete Dubenski started the third period for the Adanacs after what happened in the last ten seconds of the second period and talk about a great decision. Nothing against Camazzola, but Dubenski came up big for the Adanacs as he made crucial saves early on in the third period as the Shamrocks pressured, but starting at 7:09, it was all Adanacs.

An unlucky bounce off Claxton meant another goal for Pace, followed by McLaughlin’s second goal of the game on a delayed penalty at 11:41 to make it 9-5 Adanacs. The Adanacs continued to press forward and the Shamrocks looked defeated. Pace netted his third of the game 19 seconds after McLaughlin’s goal, followed by a goal by Jean-Luc Chetner and McLaughlin’s third 29 seconds apart to make it 12-5 Adanacs.

Chase McIntyre added another one for the Adanacs and the Adanacs went on to take game 1 by a score of 13-5. Dubenski finished the third period with 10 saves and no goals allowed.

Three stars of the game
1. Coquitlam – Tyler Pace – 3 goals, 4 assists
2. Coquitlam - Eli McLaughlin – 3 goals, 1 assist
3. Coquitlam – Brett Hawrys – 4 assists

There will be no rest for these two teams as they are back at it on Sunday with Coquitlam heading to the island for game 2. Could we see Dubenski start for the Adanacs in game 2? Find out tomorrow at Westhill Arena at 5:00PM.