Victoria, BC – As fans were exiting The Q Centre, the arena speakers were playing the memorable tune “Don’t Stop” by Fleetwood Mac. While the song was intended for the more than 2,000 fans who were exiting the building after seeing their beloved Shamrocks fall 11-6 to their island rivals Nanaimo, both teams should’ve left Friday’s game thinking about Lindsay Buckingham and Christine McVie’s famous quote “Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow”. After all, it was just game 1 of many in the long and windy road that is the WLA.
Some say you only go as far as your goalie takes you and under Charles Claxton, the Timbermen showed the potential to go a long way. Claxton was excellent in the game, making critical stops throughout the game, including on Shamrocks’ powerplays. After posting a career-high 8.71 GAA and 0.827 save percentage last season, he showed that last year was no outlier as he earned first-star honours in tonight’s game.
On the other side, Aaron Bold showed a bit of rust in the Shamrocks crease. The Timbermen managed to get past 11 goals on Bold, who was making his first start as a Shamrock since August 27, 2017. It is unclear who will be starting for the Shamrocks on Sunday when they host Langley in the first meeting of the season. For now, though, both teams will continue to press forward and see where each new day takes them.
Nanaimo’s Next Game: 5/26 vs. New Westminster 6:00 pm
Victoria’s Next Game: 5/26 vs. Langley 6:00 pm
