PREVIEW: Salmonbellies Looking To Steal Road Win

GAME 5 - SERIES TIED 2-2

SATURDAY - 4:00 PM - SAVE ON FOODS MEMORIAL CENTRE

GAME 1 - NW 9 VIC 8 (2 OT) 

GAME 2 - VIC 10 NW 7

GAME 3 - VIC 15 - NW 14

GAME 4 - NW 13 VIC 11

To say it has been one hell of a series so far would be an understatement. Each game has been intense with lots of goal scoring, physicality and timely saves. The two teams have been virtually inseparable. So far, the total goals scored in the first four games leans slightly to the Shamrocks by a 44-43 margin. The Salmonbellies currently lead the shot battle 201 to 188. 

One of the keys in this game will be for either team to try and stop the bleeding when the opposition goes on a run. Each game has featured multiple points where a team has gone on a run of three or more goals. Victoria used two separate runs of three and four unanswered goals in the first period of Game 2 that arguably paced them through the rest of the game despite being outshot 55-40. The next game, New West used a five-goal run to almost fuel a comeback before ultimately falling short. 

New Westminster has been led by the same guys they have been all season. As Tre Leclaire and Will Malcom go so will the 'Bellies offence. They have a combined 40 points (Leclaire - 10 G 11 A 21 PTS / Malcom - 9 G 10 A 19 PTS) and have proved to be a tough task for the Shamrocks D to try and shut down. Victoria is also leaning on its big guns in the likes of Teioshontathe McComber and Zach Manns. How the secondary scoring for each team pans out over the rest of the series will be one of the keys in who clinches a Minto Cup berth. New West has had big moments from in-season acquisitions Gabe Procyk and Ty Yanko, and the reinforcements they made to help the defence and transition have proven to be strong. Ben Preston has been a revelation for the Shamrocks with his playmaking ability, as he had nine assists in the first two games alone. 

Goaltending will be, as we know all too well, another crucial part of this series. Both teams have starters that hail from Ontario in Cam Dunkerley and Kyle Hebert. Hebert has had a bit of a rougher series than Dunkerley, who has been excellent before being pulled in the latter stages of Victoria's Game 4 loss. But we've seen what Hebert can do in his short time with the 'Bellies and is more than capable of putting together some strong performances.

Game 5 is often regarded as the most important game of any series in sports and you can't think any differently about this one. New West has a chance to steal another one on the road and have a chance to close it out on the wood floor of QPA. The Shamrocks will want to take this one feeling confident they can take one of the final two games, especially with a potential Game 7 at home. The Minto Cup looms large in all of this and that means any prediction may as well be thrown out the window right now, because as we've seen in the BCJALL this season, if the unpredictable can happen, it will.