Rick Stiebel/News Staff
The Victoria Junior A Shamrocks are off to the Minto Cup final, thanks to a thrilling victory in Game 7 Wednesday against the New Westminster Salmonbellies.
“It was a massive win for our organization,” said Shamrocks general manager Wade Murray. “We’re thrilled to go to the Minto Cup. It’s been a long time coming, and it’s taken a lot of hard work by the entire organization to get there.”
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Jackson Boyd fired home the winner with less than a minute to go in the game at The Q Centre for a 9-8 win, which sets the stage for a trip to the finals against the Coquitlam Adanacs. The victory also earns Victoria a berth in the Minto Cup, which takes place Aug. 15 to 26 at the Langley Events Centre.
Patrick Dodds and Ben Preston came through for Victoria with a pair of goals each, while Teishontathe McComber tallied five points on a goal and four assists. Brayden Brown, Jackson Boyd, Zach Manns and Denton MacDonald accounted for the other Shamrocks goals. Cameron Dunkerley had a strong night in goal with 37 saves in front of a strong defence.
Victoria and Coquitlam will both play for the Minto Cup, regardless of the outcome of that series because B.C. is the host province this year. The Shamrocks last played for the Minto Cup in 2008, when they finished second.
Victoria will start the league final best-of-three series on the road in Coquitlam on Saturday, Aug. 3 at 2 p.m., with game two set for The Q Centre on Sunday, Aug. 4 at 2 p.m. A third game, if necessary, will be played on Friday, Aug.9 in Coquitlam.
“That will be another hard-fought series as well,” Murray predicted. “We’re going against another great team.”
rick.stiebel@goldstreamgazette.com