Thunder head to Victoria for Shamrock showdown

by Gary Ahuja

The Langley Thunder head to the provincial capital tonight for a showdown with the Victoria Shamrocks.

The Thunder (9-6) are looking for a second consecutive victory as they look to hold off the New Westminster Salmonbellies (8-8) for the fourth and final Western Lacrosse Association playoff spot while the Shamrocks (11-4) work towards clinching top spot.

The game gets underway at 6:45pm at the Q Centre and can be streamed at www.wlalacrosse.com/wlatv

Previous Game

Langley is coming off their most impressive win of the season as they held the Coquitlam Adanacs to a single goal in a 9-1 victory at Langley Events Centre on July 27. Frank Scigliano made 42 saves on 43 shots while Dane Dobbie scored four goals and finished with five points.

Victoria is coming off a 15-9 road win over the Burnaby Lakers on July 26 as Jesse King had three goals and seven points in the victory.

Offence

The Shamrocks boast the WLA’s most potent offensive attack as they average 13.2 goals per game and are also a league-best +57 in goal differential.

King leads the league in assists (61) and points (92) and sits second in goals (31). His 7.1 points per game are also tops in the WLA.

Marshal King is second on the team with 27 goals and 59 points while Jacob Ruest (20 goals, 55 points), Larson Sundown (25 goals, 46 points) and Rhys Duch (10 goals, 35 points) round out the team’s top five.

Dobbie leads Langley with 31 goals and 60 points while Curtis Dickson is second on the team with 23 goals and 58 points and they sit second and tied for third with 5.0 and 4.8 points per game, respectively. Robert Church (26 goals, 51 points), Connor Robinson (12 goals, 33 points) and Chase Scanlan (10 goals, 29 points) round out the top five in point leaders for Langley.

Goaltending

Scigliano leads all WLA goalies with an 8.15 goals against average and is second with an .835 save percentage as he has played in 12 of his team’s games. Steve Fryer has made one start with a 7.00 GAA and .860 save percentage.

Pete Dubenski is fifth in the league with a 9.82 GAA. He also has a .781 save percentage but has not played since July 8 with Colin Jeffrey handling the bulk of the Shamrock goaltending duties since then with a 9.94 GAA and .735 save percentage.

Special Teams

Both teams have dynamic power plays with Langley (36-for-72, .500) ranked No. 1 and Victoria (31-for-71, .437) No. 2. The Thunder penalty kill enters the game tied for second as they have allowed 25 goals on 67 chances (.627) while the Shamrocks come in at No. 6 (31 goals allowed on 66 chances, .530).

Each team is a threat whenever they are a man down as Victoria leads the WLA with 11 shorthanded goals while Langley is right behind with 10.

Head-to-Head

This is the second of three meetings between the rivals with the Shamrocks winning 18-7 in Victoria on June 18 with Jesse King scoring twice and finishing with 10 points in the victory. Church led Langley with two goals and four points.

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