Led with another stellar effort from goaltender Cogy Hagedorn, the Victoria Shamrocks beat the Thunder 6-3 in Langley last night to clinch the regular season title in the Western Lacrosse Association.
The talented netminder shut out the home team for the first 35 minutes of the game, before Athan Ianucci solved him late in the second period. The Shamrocks (12-1-2) had built a 5-0 lead by that point on goals by Corey Small, Scott Ranger, Brandon Bull, Mitch McLaren and Rhys Duch.
The Thunder (6-9) outscored the 'Rocks 2-1 in the third period, but were outshot 19-9 in the frame. Ranger fired his second goal for the visitors, while Daniel McQuade and Ian Poole tallied for Langley.
Small and Duch added two assists each in the win to maintain their 1-2 hold, respectively, on the WLA scoring race. Small now has 28 goals and 38 assists for 66 points, while WLA goal-scoring leader Duch's totals sit at 32-29-61.
Hagedorn lowered his goals against average to 6.31.
The Shamrocks, who outshot Langley 60-34 overall, come home for their final three games of the season, starting with Friday's (July 18) contest against the New Westminster Salmonbellies. Game time is 7:45 p.m. at 100.3 The Q Centre.
editor@goldstreamgazette.com