VICTORIA 10 - LANGLEY 8
The Victoria Shamrocks jumped out to a 3-0 first-period lead, then fended off a serious charge by the Langley Thunder to eventually take Game 1 of the Western Lacrosse Association final 10-8 on Saturday night at The Q Centre.
Jesse King, Mathieu Gautier and Marshall King gave the No. 1-seed Shamrocks a 3-0 lead before the game was 14 minutes old. The Thunder got three of the next four goals, then the teams traded goals pretty much the rest of the way as the Shamrocks will take a 1-0 series lead into Game 2 on Monday night at the Langley Events Centre.
Shamrocks playmaker Clarke Patterson was named the game’s first star thanks to a six-assist performance. Jesse King finished with three goals to lead Victoria in the goal department.
Following Game 2 on Monday, Game 3 of the best-of-seven series will also be at the LEC, before the series shifts back to The Q Centre for games 4 and 5, if needed, next Friday and Sunday.
The series winner advances to the Mann Cup national championship series at the home of the Major Series Lacrosse champion.