Quarter Series'

Submitted by League Reporter, Jen Mutas

The Delta Islanders wrapped up their meeting in the quarter finals with the Burnaby Lakers on Sunday night, taking game two by a score of 9-7 and sweeping the series; over on Vancouver Island the Shamrocks headed up to Nanaimo on Tuesday night hoping to even up the series for game two.

Saturday night the T-Men pulled an upset by rolling into Bear Mountain Arena and taking the first game of the quarters against their Island rival 11-9. Three days later the ‘Rocks hit the road with intentions of an away with of their own, and at the end of the night it was mission accomplished.

After playing to a three goal tie in the first period, the Timbermen went ahead by one with a shorthanded goal from Paul Brebber with just a minute left in the period. The play would have much of the same feel in the middle frame as both teams scored one on the power play and the T-Men notched another goal while playing a man down, but after two periods of play the score was all tied up at seven and the ‘Rocks would have the second half of a back-checking penalty to work with in the opening minutes of the third.

Karsen Leung would score his third goal of the night and second on the power play to put the ‘Rocks ahead, and just as quick Nanaimo came back to tie and also go ahead by one. A few more goals from each side would see the game tied once again with the end of the period drawing near; the road hero for the ‘Rocks would be Mark Lawrence who scored his fourth goal of the night and third of the period with just over a minute left in the game. Final score from the Nanaimo Ice Centre was 12-11 for the Shamrocks.

The Timbermen were outshot by nine in the third period and Nanaimo goalie Scott Bannister faced the majority of the shots on the evening making 35 saves and also notching three assists in the losing effort. Glenn Foley had a hat trick in the game, and Nanaimo’s highest scorer was Ryan Forslund with two goals and two helpers. Scoring was a bit more concentrated with the ‘Rocks as Lawrence led in goals with four, but as far as total points were concerned Leung led the way with nine (3 goals 6 assists) and followed closely by Blair Pinnock who had one goal and six helpers.

The final game of the quarter-final series gets underway Thursday night at 7:00pm at Bear Mountain Arena in Victoria.