It could be chippy, or downright nasty tonight at the Nanaimo Ice Centre, where organizers are predicting a sellout for the first meeting of the season between the Victoria Shamrocks and Nanaimo Timbermen.
The Western Lacrosse Association game, which starts at 7 p.m., rekindles an Island rivalry that heated up in the off-season.
The storm began to brew when the Shamrocks fired coach Art Webster. The 'Rocks also finished at odds with their star player, Lewis Ratcliff, who won both the WLA MVP and scoring titles in 2009, but wanted to play with brother Cayle, who was in Nanaimo.
In the end, Ratcliff and George Westwood went to Nanaimo, and Webster took a job with the T-Men as an assistant coach. On Friday, Webster was promoted to head coach. Added to the mix are several former Shamrocks and Junior Shamrocks.
"We're going to see how they can play," Victoria coach Walt Christianson said, after the Shamrocks doubled Burnaby 10-5 on Friday. "If they want to get silly, that's to our advantage.
"We're going to do whatever it takes to win."
The Shamrocks are 3-1, and Nanaimo is 1-3, including two overtime losses.
T-Man Scott Ranger is leading the league in scoring, with 12 goals and 11 assists, and Ratcliff has 16 points, compared to Victoria's top scorer, Jeff Shattler, with 15.
"We have to play tough defence," said Christianson, who'll have extra help from new additions Ryan Benesch and defenceman Chet Koneczny.
Benesch, a transition player, will make his debut in Nanaimo. Both played in Kitchener, Ont., last summer, and wintered in the National Lacrosse League -- Koneczny with Orlando, and Benesch with Minnesota.
The rookie of the year in both the Ontario Major Series and the pro league in '07, Benesch has racked up 242 points in 60 NLL career games, and the Shamrocks have high expectations.
The Shamrocks are in New West on Thursday, and have a home rematch with Nanaimo on Friday.
